The American economy is once again tilting toward danger. Despite an aggressive regimen of treatments from the conventional to the exotic — more than $800 billion in federal spending, and trillions of dollars worth of credit from the Federal Reserve — fears of a second recession are growing, along with worries that the country may face several more years of lean prospects.

The recession has brought a shocking reality to the Generation Y professionals who stumped baby boomers when they first entered the workforce with their desire for work/life balance over the corner office. Stunned by a barrage of pink slips instead of promotions, Generation Y — people ages 18 to 30 — has swallowed a piece of humble pie. Those who still have jobs are adopting new workplace attitudes and making themselves more valuable.

The jobs picture is disappointing but the economic recovery is moving at a "modest pace," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this morning after the government revised downward its figures for growth of U.S. goods and services in the second quarter.

Stocks stumbled below the 10000 mark, settling at a fresh seven-week low amid continued concerns about the pace of the U.S. economic recovery. The Industrial Average erased earlier gains to finish down 74.25 points, or 0.74%, at 9985.81, its first finish below the psychologically important level since July 6, and the fifth such close south of 10000 this year.

Do we really need all we consume? After buying it, how much of it really satisfies? If we look to government to care for us, rather than looking to ourselves and to family, the time will come when government won’t be able to, health care will be rationed and our lives will be deemed unworthy of continuing.

US stocks rose in early trading on Tuesday after retail bellwethers Walmart and Home Depot reported positive earnings.

After three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures released early Monday. The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China’s ascendance is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower.

Regardless of where you find yourself, you may be feeling the brunt of the economic crisis on all sides. You probably feel helpless and outraged—and that’s true whether you have a job or not. On a purely practical level, there are several things you can do to help dissipate the financial anxiety and struggle of the current economic crisis including:

Right now, nearly 15 million unemployed Americans need to figure out what’s next. A great place to start would be to think about what went wrong last time. Do I need a new set of more marketable skills? Do I need to look for a new industry or field? The problem with our current economic policy is that we’re anesthetizing our failures with bailouts and stimulus and emergency aid, all of which leave us insensible to what’s really gone wrong.

From the day they pulled him off the pavement, Paul Sigler, a haunted-looking man with striking pale blue eyes, presented a mystery to Carrie Bach's team. He wasn't like the rest of the skid row crowd, he insisted. "I used to be a millionaire," he muttered. "I fell off the Empire State Building. They just fell off the curb."