The crisis hits Main Street

Last modification: 03/02/09

The financial crisis has changed the lives of millions of people around the world, from the United States to Iceland and South Korea. FRANCE 24 takes a look at what life has become for Main Street people, now that the storm has struck.

Read our special report : Capitalism on the brink?

CHINA

Graduate recruitment suffers

Chinese university students are starting to feel the heat from the global financial crisis as French supermarket giant, Carrefour, Liby, HSBC and Citigroup amongst others reduce their graduate recruitment intake to cut costs.
FINANCIAL CRISIS

Financial storm hits Iceland

The global financial crisis hit tiny Iceland - whose banks had extensive overseas dealings - especially hard. Hélène Frade and Angela Yeoh traveled to Iceland Oct. 9-15, 2008 to report from the scene.
UNITED STATES

Financial crisis shatters Americans' retirement dreams

The financial crisis has hit American retirees particularly hard. In the past, employer guaranteed pensions used to be the norm, but today, many Americans depend on their stock portfolio for their retirement.

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ECONOMIC CRISIS

Spanish unemployment hits 12-year high

The number of jobless in Spain has reached a 12-year high of 3.33 million after January saw the fastest monthly rise on record, according to government data. The unemployment rate is currently around 14%, but is expected to hit 19% in 2010.
USA - ECONOMY

Macy's to cut 7,000 jobs

Renowned US department store Macy's announced Monday it was shaving off 7,000 jobs in over 840 stores nationwide, in order to cope with the country's worsening "economic environment".
EMPLOYMENT

Additional 45,000 French job losses reported for December

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced Monday that 45,000 people lost their jobs in France in December 2008. She also said that France "will certainly be in recession at some point or another."
IMMIGRANTS - ECONOMY

Giving up on the 'American Dream'

Remittances to Mexico, money sent home by immigrants living in the United States, have fallen drastically in 2008. Rising unemployment and a US economy teetering on recession have many Mexicans thinking about crossing the border, southbound.
UNITED STATES

Las Vegas residents feel the pinch

Las Vegas residents have been hit hard by the financial crisis. Unemployment is at a record high, and even the casinos are suffering. Local authorities are struggling to cope; the crisis has already cost the state almost a fifth of its budget.
FINANCIAL CRISIS - SPAIN

Unemployment comes knocking in Villacanas

The door construction industry in Villacanas, flourishing until recently, has been hit hard by the bursting of the Spanish property bubble and the ensuing financial crisis. Factories are closing, and unemployment is spiralling.
ROMANIA

Migrant workers find prosperity at home

After Romania joined the European Union in 2007, 3 million Romanians travelled to Western Europe, walking right into a financial crisis. When those expat workers returned to their native land, they prospered.
INTERNET

Yahoo to shed 10% of its workforce

Following a sharp drop in third-quarter net profit, internet company Yahoo has announced that it will lay off 1,400 employees - at least ten per cent of its workforce. The group is hit hard by the economic slowdown and faces strong competition.
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Bordeaux Ford factory to shut down due to poor sales

The automobile industry is one of the hardest hit by the financial crisis. On Monday, Ford France announced the closure of its factory near Bordeaux from late October until at least early January.
HONG KONG

When markets take the rap, wine goes pop

As the financial crisis rumbles on, investors are on a constant lookout for safe havens, away from the world’s stock markets. Hong Kong’s investors are no exception, and the new investment of choice in the former British colony is fine wine.
OIL PRODUCTION

OPEC leader wants 'substantial' cut in oil production

OPEC chief Chakib Khelil says oil-producing countries will cut production during their next meeting amid prospects of falling demand due to the global economic slowdown.
ICELAND

National bankruptcy looms after Iceland's banks go bust

In the past week, Iceland's government took over the country's top three banks, hundreds of bank employees were fired and the stock exchange was closed down. The island nation of 300,000 people now faces bankruptcy.
FINANCIAL CRISIS

Wave of panic grips Chinese investors

In China, years of staggering growth have pushed around 100 million small investors to play about with the market. Yet, as the financial crisis kicks in, these non-professionals are left to grapple with a situation they are not trained to face.
IT

HP to cut 9,330 jobs in Europe

US technology giant Hewlett-Packard is about to layoff 9,330 employees as part of a previously announced three-year plan to reduce its workforce by 24,600. About 90 percent of the cuts concern EDS, a company HP recently acquired.
AEROSPACE - EUROPE

Airbus unveils new cost-cutting plan

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus will build a components factory in Tunisia to save costs as part of a restructuring plan aiming to save 650 million euros according to Louis Gallois, head of EADS.
BANKING - GERMANY

German bank giant to cut 9,000 jobs

Commerzbank's plans to buy the Dresdner Bank for 9.8 billion euros will result in Germany's second largest banking group. The takeover will involve the elimination of 9,000 jobs in order to save 2 billion euros in costs.