Double Dip

We knew it was bad, but news out from across the pond indicates that uncertainty in Europe might be slamming the economy there even more than had been thought. Revised data show that Britain's gross domestic product contracted more than previously believed in the first quarter, indicating that its economy not only entered a double-dip recession earlier this year, but that the drop was also deeper than expected. Britain's GDP fell by 0.3% in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, and output in production industries fell by 0.4%.

Double-dipping -- it's the gravest of party fouls. Well, if you don't count passing out on someone's front lawn, breaking a window or accidentally knocking over an entire bottle of liquor. But, it's up there with the worst things you can do. Dip once, you're good. Dip twice, you get the boot.  But if you've ever been at a party and thought you could sneak in a double-dip, you're not alone. In honor of National Chip and Dip Day, which happens to be Saturday, Tostitos commissioned Ketchum communications agency to conduct a survey about double-dipping.

The Eurozone is back in a recession, its first in three years, as gross domestic product for the debt-plagued 17-nation bloc contracted 0.1% in the third quarter from the earlier quarter. In the second quarter, the currency collective tightened 0.2%, according to the official European Union statistics agency, Eurostat . Two consecutive quarterly slips make a recession. Compared with a year earlier, GDP is down 0.6%. Eurostat said last month that unemployment in the bloc was at a record high of 11.6% . Protests and strikes rippled across Europe on Wednesday.

A previously low-profile race for Los Angeles city controller has begun to heat up as opponents of City Councilman Dennis Zine accuse him of "double dipping" the city's payroll and question why he is considering lucrative tax breaks for a Warner Center developer. Zine, who for 12 years has represented a district in the southeast San Fernando Valley, is the better known of the major candidates competing to replace outgoing Controller Wendy Greuel. The others are Cary Brazeman, a marketing executive, and lawyer Ron Galperin.

Joining a growing chorus of economists raising alarms about a double-dip recession, former top White House economic advisor Lawrence Summers said there's at least a 33% chance the faltering U.S. economy will slip into another economic downturn. Summers, who stepped down at the end of last year to return to Harvard University, also predicted that the unemployment rate would be above 8.5% at the end of next year. The rate was 9.2% in June, with July numbers coming Friday. "With growth at less than 1% in the first half of this year, the economy is effectively at a stall and facing the prospects of shocks from a European financial crisis that is decidedly not under control, spikes in oil prices and declines in business and household confidence," Summers wrote in an opinion article in Wednesday's Washington Post.

Double-dipping -- it's the gravest of party fouls. Well, if you don't count passing out on someone's front lawn, breaking a window or accidentally knocking over an entire bottle of liquor. But, it's up there with the worst things you can do. Dip once, you're good. Dip twice, you get the boot.  But if you've ever been at a party and thought you could sneak in a double-dip, you're not alone. In honor of National Chip and Dip Day, which happens to be Saturday, Tostitos commissioned Ketchum communications agency to conduct a survey about double-dipping.

WASHINGTON - Republican lawmakers investigating the Fast and Furious program want to know why a top official who oversaw the failed gun-tracking operation was allowed to stay on paid leave while taking a second full-time job in the private sector - an arrangement that is netting him two six-figure salaries. William McMahon, then the deputy assistant director for field operations for the federalBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, supervised the Phoenix-run Fast and Furious program, which allowed weapons to be illegally sold so they could be tracked to Mexican drug cartels.

The barrage of economic reports due this week is likely to steal the spotlight as investors search for signs that the dreaded "double dip," when the economy falls back into recession for a second time in quick succession, is at bay. The head of an elite panel that decides U.S. business cycles said the recession may have ended as early as last November, but his group won't formally declare it over until it rules out a renewed slump.

The NCAA Basketball Championship numbers game is down to four today, or "The Final Four," as the scribes like to dramatically label it. CBS covers the action from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., beginning at 12:30 p.m., Channels 2 and 8, with the first semifinal featuring the Villanova Wildcats (23-10) vs. the Memphis State Tigers (31-3). That will be followed by the other semifinal, pitting the Georgetown Hoyas (34-2) against St. John's (31-3).

They don't seem too worried about a "double dip" global recession in Germany, the world's second-largest exporter. The country's stock market has rallied back to within 3% of its spring high. In Indonesia, the fourth-largest nation by population, the economy is so good that the stock market already has recouped all its 2008 decline and this week hit a new all-time high. On Wall Street, even as fears about the domestic economy have deepened over the last two months, the interest rates that investors have been demanding to lend money via "junk" corporate bonds have fallen — which isn't what you'd expect if the bond buyers figured another economic downturn was just around the corner.

The Eurozone is back in a recession, its first in three years, as gross domestic product for the debt-plagued 17-nation bloc contracted 0.1% in the third quarter from the earlier quarter. In the second quarter, the currency collective tightened 0.2%, according to the official European Union statistics agency, Eurostat . Two consecutive quarterly slips make a recession. Compared with a year earlier, GDP is down 0.6%. Eurostat said last month that unemployment in the bloc was at a record high of 11.6% . Protests and strikes rippled across Europe on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - Republican lawmakers investigating the Fast and Furious program want to know why a top official who oversaw the failed gun-tracking operation was allowed to stay on paid leave while taking a second full-time job in the private sector - an arrangement that is netting him two six-figure salaries. William McMahon, then the deputy assistant director for field operations for the federalBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, supervised the Phoenix-run Fast and Furious program, which allowed weapons to be illegally sold so they could be tracked to Mexican drug cartels.

Question: My homeowners association has contracted with the same attorney firm on retainer for more than 25 years. The attorney also receives 40% of any money collected from dues and fines, and the association is demanding more in settlements to recoup its attorney expenses. In response to questions of this practice at a board meeting, the president said that "we have no choice in this economy due to the high number of delinquencies but to use the attorney's services, and all HOAs are doing this now. " Many of my longtime neighbors are walking away from their homes because they can't meet these higher re-payment demands by the board.

We knew it was bad, but news out from across the pond indicates that uncertainty in Europe might be slamming the economy there even more than had been thought. Revised data show that Britain's gross domestic product contracted more than previously believed in the first quarter, indicating that its economy not only entered a double-dip recession earlier this year, but that the drop was also deeper than expected. Britain's GDP fell by 0.3% in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, and output in production industries fell by 0.4%.

Re "Treating a spending addiction," Opinion, April 30 I suggest that City Councilman Bernard C. Parks - who receives both a salary for his current job and, as a retired Los Angeles police chief, a pension - put his money where his mouth is and give up his double-dipping. Beyond that, Parks should really perform "public service" by proposing a ban on double-dipping. If an individual feels the need to spend his career in public service, it should be sufficient to retire on one pension.

Employers nationwide boosted hiring last month, but the pace was sluggish as the economy was stuck in low gear — neither speeding up nor downshifting, as feared, into a double-dip recession. About 103,000 net new jobs were created, more than experts predicted. But that didn't affect September's unemployment rate, which remained unchanged at 9.1% for the third straight month, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The department also reported Friday that job growth for July and August was higher than it previously had estimated.

A fresh batch of weak economic news Thursday heightened concerns about the staying power of the fledgling recovery, with more uninspiring news expected Friday when the government reports on the May job market. FOR THE RECORD: This article incorrectly says the government will report on the May job market Friday. It will report on the June job market. The number of pending home sales plunged 30% in May from April, to the lowest level since at least 2001, an industry group reported Thursday, reflecting a larger-than-expected fallout from the expiration of the federal tax credit for home buyers.

Retail sales showed decent growth in August, economic data indicated Tuesday, easing fears that the U.S. economy would stall out in coming months. Retail sales rose 0.4% last month, the Commerce Department said. It marked the second straight increase and was the largest gain since March. The Commerce Department reported separately that business inventories rose 1% during July, the seventh consecutive monthly increase and the largest in two years. Retail inventories, the only new information in that report, rose 0.7% in July, led by a sharp 2.5% increase in the retail auto sector.

In a move underscoring the urgency of the nation's economic problems, the White House issued a new assessment that predicted continued high unemployment through 2012. The grim outlook, part of the summer report on the nation's budget and the economy, was released Thursday as President Obama prepared to announce new stimulus proposals next week. The administration said that based on the latest economic data, it now expects the unemployment rate to end the year at 9.1%, which is where it stood in July.

Joining a growing chorus of economists raising alarms about a double-dip recession, former top White House economic advisor Lawrence Summers said there's at least a 33% chance the faltering U.S. economy will slip into another economic downturn. Summers, who stepped down at the end of last year to return to Harvard University, also predicted that the unemployment rate would be above 8.5% at the end of next year. The rate was 9.2% in June, with July numbers coming Friday. "With growth at less than 1% in the first half of this year, the economy is effectively at a stall and facing the prospects of shocks from a European financial crisis that is decidedly not under control, spikes in oil prices and declines in business and household confidence," Summers wrote in an opinion article in Wednesday's Washington Post.