Figures from the commerce Department show that between July and September, the US economy has shrunk at an annualized rate of 0.3%.

Though they showed the sharpest contraction of the economy since 2001, the gross domestic product (GDP) figures were better than expected. On the other hand, consumer spending that constitutes two-thirds of the US economy saw 3.1% shrinkage and it was the first contraction since 1991. This 0.3% shrinkage followed 2.8% growth during the last three-month period.

The figures related to shrinkage suggest that the US economy is halfway to the standard definition of a recession that shows two successive quarters of negative growth.

However, in the US the official definition is different and according to this definition the US economy is not officially in recession if the National Bureau of Economic Research doesn’t decide it.

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To restore the company’s fortunes in front of decreasing profits, Yahoo has announced to shed around 1,500 jobs that are 10% of its global workforce.

The company reported a 64% slump in third quarter profits. Yahoo announced 54.3million net profit in 3Q, while it was $151.3m in the same period last year.

Yahoo has rejected a buyout offer from Microsoft earlier this year.

These new results from Yahoo are worse than expected, as its revenues increased just 1% compared to $1.79bn (a year earlier).

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Did anyone ever approach you requesting a reference letter and you had to say no, as you didn’t know what to write?  If you don’t know how to write a letter, here is some help for you that may avoid you saying ‘no’ next time.

Usually reference letter is written to help someone who wants to get some employment. Similarly, they are also used to apply for college. More often, employers want this letter from their employers and consider it as a character reference. It is quite important to learn how to write an impressive reference letter because most of the time, the purpose for which a reference letter is intended is huge.

In almost every case, only those people can request this letter from you who know you well. However, it’s not difficult at all to learn how to write a reference letter. If you are familiar with the person you are writing about, it becomes quite easier for you to write a reference letter and if you don’t know the person, you may not even find where to take a start. It is better to decline the request instead of writing for such a person whom you don’t know. This kind of letter can be helpful only if you know about the person you are going to recommend.

A good reference letter is one that is not wordy or long enough. You just have to explain how do you know or relate to this person. Is s/he your   neighbor, co-worker, student or a business acquaintance? You have to mention how long you have known this person. It would help to determine how well you know the person. If you know or familiar with a person only for two days and write a letter of recommendation for him/her, your letter of recommendation for such a person wouldn’t be considered credible.

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The US president says that now Americans have begun to feel more positive about their country’s economy.

In Louisiana, the President said in a business meeting with business leaders that people had a more positive approach towards economic panic.

While Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said that we might need more spending to fight the slowdown.

Mr Bernanke said that American economy was weak for many quarters instead of saying that the US economy was in recession.

‘If a fresh economic stimulus package is given at that time, it would be more appropriate’ he explained in the US House of Representative budget committee.

While a White House spokesman explained that Bush administration was considering a new package and would seek guidance from others in this connection.

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In China, economic growth rate drops for the third quarter in succession and there are fears that the economy may see an intense downturn in the coming days.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, during the 3rd Q the economy grew at a rate of 9% that was 10.1% down compared to previous quarter.

Li Xiaochao, a spokesman from the National Bureau of Statistics, says in this connection, “The government wasn’t expecting such an intense impact of the global financial crisis.”

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The online search giant shows 26% rise in profits despite worsening economic conditions in the country. The announcement became a cause of 7% increase in the company’s shares in after-hours trading.

During the 3Q of the 2008, Google minted $1.35bn and beaten the analysts expectations quite easily.

The company said in an announcement that its earning had strongly grown and it’s mainly due to company’s online search and advertising businesses.

There was a 31% ($5.54bn) increase in Google’s quarterly revenue that also includes commissions to associated advertisers.

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