Farming a recovery. The U.S. farming industry remains relatively resilient despite the recession. The worth of agricultural products to be exported is expected at $107.5 billion, the second highest ever after the 2008 record of $115.3 billion. Still, agriculture can only account for a small fraction of the economy.

U.S. corporate buying frenzy. So far in 2010, the global volume of mergers and acquisitions is at $1.8 trillion, a 24% increase from the previous year during the same time. This activity was driven by companies in different sectors ranging from technology to agriculture. This included BHP Billiton’s $43.4 billion bid for Potash, Intel’s $7.7 bid for McAfee, and Sanofi-Adventi’s $18.5 billion offer for Genzyme among others.

Detroit. The city might be going through a rebirth as The Big Three – Ford Motor, General Motors, and Chrysler – highlights a series of improvements. Ford churned in more money during this year’s first six months than in the previous five years combined. After a $50 billion bailout, GM has filed one of the biggest public stock offerings in U.S. history. And Chrysler is hiring new workers.

Manufacturing growth. The U.S. manufacturing industry expanded faster than expected. Factories are adding new workers and raised production to respond to the increasing demands from markets abroad. Manufacturing, which accounts for about 11% of the U.S. economy, helped the nation keep up with the challenges of this recession.

Source: CNN Money

Rich people, who many may think have better financial wisdom than most, displayed some of the worst financial decision-making during the Great Recession. And it’s not only Bernie Madoff’s investors who got scammed. Other people got the same sucker punch from a slew of other opportunists.

Gallery owner Lawrence Salander was caught by feds after running a $120 million fraud scam that victimized the likes of Robert De Niro and John McEnroe. Money manager Ken Starr duped $30 million from Barbara Walters, Al Pacino, and Uma Thurman.

The interesting question is why do even rich people get scammed liked the average Joe.

Well, there are many possibilities to this. It’s easy to think that everyone’s just as smart as the next guy. Movie stars and athletes just so happened to make a lot of money because of their industry but financially, they might not be as savvy.

For some, it’s about the amount of money that they have. A thousand dollars would simply be a drop in a huge bucket that they can really gamble on a few drops without having to lose sleep over it.

My take? It’s just the human nature of wanting more. The irritating thing about it, though, is that if Al Pacino loses a few hundred thousand dollars, he won’t be starving. If Joe loses his house, that’s it for him.

Source: CNN

Investing on business attire can be costly. Decent business suits can run up to a few hundred dollars and with today’s economy, not everyone can spare that much money just to appear a bit more formal and crisp.

Then again, there’s still value on dressing to impress. For starters, it sends out the message that you’re not that hit by recession. And people always want to deal with someone who’s recession-proof. Suits also connote importance and authority.

You can always be a recessionista. Finding good deals and bargains. It’s really more about the style of dress. You need not be in $1,000 suits to be able to power dress. Neatness, fit, and confidence can trump any Italian brand.

Then again bums wear suits.

Done with the rescues (with several companies announcing that they will be paying the government back), rebuilding and reengergizing infrastructure and jobs would be next.

The government plans to create jobs by boosting infrastructure. Road works, transport systems, broadband installations, and health research funding are key areas the White House has identified on which to invest.

These investments are expected to creat a domino effect on the private sector as well.

According to the president’s people, the stimulus plan is said to have created or saved around 1 million jobs up to August. The second quarter also saw the rise in the country’s GDP by 2.3 percentage points and again, the stimulus plan has been cited as key.

“We have absolutely seen a change in trajectory,” presidential Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christine Romer said. “An economy that was in free fall with a tremendous amount of downward momentum has certainly seen something very different.”

Still, you can’t please everyone and naysayers are pointing out that even with so-called 1 million jobs created and saved, the country saw the loss of 3 million jobs. Unemployment remains to be critical in the forecast of the country’s recovery.

Source: CNN