Word: undertows
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Three other nations on the fringe of the euro zone--Portugal, Ireland and Spain--are caught in the undertow of Greece's crisis. All three have displayed better fiscal behavior than Greece, but they suffer from the same disconnect between their dire local economic conditions and the monetary policymakers in Frankfurt with other things on their minds. Meanwhile, a core euro-zone country, Italy, has also fallen out of favor with investors because of its high government debt. In a sure sign that these troubles are serious, market analysts have assigned them a catchy acronym: PIGS, for Portugal, Ireland, Greece...
Mystery writer Sue Grafton has one of the most recognizable trademarks in fiction: the books in her series, from A Is for Alibi in 1982 to her new book, U Is for Undertow, are all named after a letter of the alphabet. That formula regularly takes Grafton's books to No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list, and Undertow is no exception. TIME senior reporter Andrea Sachs talked with the prolific author about the ABCs of writing crime novels during her recent visit to New York City...
...course, not all economic metaphors are as long-lasting as the housing "bubble." Back in the beginning of 2008, when we were all still skittish about actually using the word recession, one metaphor some people turned to was that of an economic "undertow": it takes you out to sea. But undertow didn't make it into the canon - do you ever hear people talking about how much the undertow is easing up? - which leads to an important lesson...
...fallen behind on a mortgage is a loser complicit in the housing collapse. And not every solvent American has broken faith with those who are struggling. Obama, in presenting his mortgage plan, promised to distinguish between the sinners and those unlucky bystanders dragged down by the economy's undertow. His lifeline, he insisted, will not "rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible." Delivering on that promise is vital to Obama's future, because hope is a tough sell to people who believe that only the wicked prosper. And though it's not easy preaching cooperation when the public is feeling tapped...
...Real concern will come if the undertow moves to other parts of the economy which have been expected to hold up fairly well. Technology sector firms including Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), IBM (IBM), and Microsoft (MSFT) have cut large numbers of people, although they are still extremely profitable. Another set of broad layoffs among these companies would be extremely bad news. The reaction to increasing unemployment will worsen if job losses spread to the large energy companies and media conglomerates...