The Economy

It's not the $700 billion bank bailout. And no, it's not the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The real economic stimulus is ... wait for it ... the recession. That's right, the Great Recession. This upside-down economy is creating entrepreneurial opportunities aplenty, so long as you can deal with a situation about as stable as a lava flow.

Results from Challenger, Gray & Christmas' job market index revealed that 8.7 percent of job seekers gained employment by starting their own businesses in second quarter 2009--way, way up from the record low of 2.7 percent during the last quarter of 2008.

Even in finance, confidence and risk tolerance are on the rise. IbisWorld, an industry market research firm, expects that after a great purge, loan brokerage services will see 40 percent growth in 2010.


Related Articles
Bringing Wall Street to Main Street
They're young, talented and well-funded--but how are these former financiers faring as entrepreneurs?

Making the Best of a Bad Situation
These startups saw the recession as an opportunity to connect job seekers with employers.

Why Now is the Time to Open a Restaurant
Rents are dropping, talented chefs are up for grabs and, most important, smarter diners are looking for value, not glitz. Sunwest Bank, a community bank that caters to entrepreneurs, upped its total assets by more than $150 million during the worst of the financial crisis--and that was before acquiring two failing banks in July and September. "We were picking up good clients left and right," says CEO Glenn Gray. "Business owners are still seeing opportunity."

Delve further into the numbers. It appears startup rates remain steady through recessions. "Ten, 15 years from now, there will be a slew of companies that we'll point to and say they started in the recession," Kauffman Foundation senior analyst Dane Stangler says. "You don't see them yet, but you can be sure they're out there." In fact, more than half of today's Fortune 500 companies were founded during a recession or bear market.

Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter once described entrepreneurial innovation as a "perennial gale of creative destruction," forcing existing companies to adapt or fail. "Economic progress in capitalist society," he declared, "means turmoil."

Source : Google Hot Trends

Sandra and Reeves

Sandra Bullock's longtime pal Keanu Reeves -- who costarred with her in 1994's Speed and 2006's The Lake House -- wishes the best for the Oscar-winning actress, 45, whose husband Jesse James allegedly had an 11-month affair with a tattoo model.
Reeves, 45, attended the 2010 Toyota Pro/Celebrity race training at the Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosemond, Calif., Saturday.
PHOTOS: Jesse James' alleged mistress
Asked if he has any well wishes for Bullock, 45, he told UsMagazine.com: "Yes, of course, I mean for everyone."
Asked if he's reached out to her, he kept his mouth closed and walked off.
PHOTOS: Sandra and Jesse through the years
Earlier this week's Bullock's husband of nearly five years, James, 40, publicly apologized for causing the actress any embarrassment.
She has reportedly moved out of the couple's Southern California home and hasn't been seen since the affair news broke.
PHOTOS: Rocky post-Oscar romances
Meanwhile, James has still been wearing his wedding ring.
Get more Us! Follow us on Twitter, Friend us on Facebook, Join Us Weekly's Celebrity Fantasy League, Subscribe to Us Weekly
adsonar_placementId=1485482;adsonar_pid=1256769;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=615;adsonar_zh=116;adsonar_jv='ads.adsonar.com';