Many small businesses have recently decided to step in and offer jobseekers discounts and freebies to boost their confidence, such as complimentary dry-cleaning and shoes . The New York Times reports that a Greenwich Village salon, Cristiano Cora Studio recently offered free haircuts to anyone who brought proof of unemployment.

WASHINGTON — Job openings are at rock-bottom levels, according to government and private surveys released Tuesday, a trend that could keep the unemployment rate high even as layoffs slow. Small businesses in particular are reluctant to add workers as they struggle to obtain credit.

footnoted.org : What a year it has been [for Vonage] under Lefar. When he joined the company, Vonage stock was trading at around $1.50 and a little over a year later it’s trading at around $1.40. So what does the Vonage board decide to do


 
 Robert Cook, a securities lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, today was named director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Cook, 44, has been a partner in the Washington office of Cleary Gottlieb since 2001.

By Jason Simpkins Managing Editor Money Morning Declining investment and a lack of progress on alternative energy development could lead to sharply higher oil prices in the decades ahead, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its 2009 World Energy Outlook . The IEA for the past year has warned that the financial crisis was undermining investment in energy development. The advisor to 28 developed nations says the financial crisis is already responsible for a $90 billion drop in worldwide oil and natural gas investment, which is 19% below last year’s levels

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As part of its Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up a few of the best local stories of the day. In Elkhart, Ind., coroner John White has linked the rising suicide rate to the continuing economic recession, reports MSNBC’s JoNel Aleccia . As many as 24 people have killed themselves this year in the Northern Indiana region, and over a quarter of them can be directly tied to recent job loss or financial hardship