Oil Rises on China Demand, Slowing U.S. Recession; Homebuilder Shares Surge After Order Increase; Natural Gas ETF to Suspend New Share Offers; Microsoft to Bring Office to Nokia Smartphones; J.D. Power: Auto Sales to Surge Next Year; WTO: China Violated Trade Rules on Books and Movies; Despite Shrinking Sales, Macy’s Beats the Street

This recession isn’t like anything we’ve seen previously. Even I’ve cut back on the egregious amount of fast food dining I do in the face of deflation.

Manufacturing Spending Continue Slide; Macy’s Cuts 7,000 Jobs; Banks Still Not Lending; Renew Energy Files for Bankruptcy; Morgan Stanley Slashes Workforce; Oil Prices Slide 4%; Steelcase Shows Weakness

Gloomy economic picture fuels risk aversion… Financials, energy, retailers among top drags… Dow off 4.3 pct, S&P 500 off 5 pct, Nasdaq off 5.3 pct

General Growth Properties Facing Bankruptcy; Macy’s Cut Capital Spending 45%; Oil Futures Dip; China Retail Sales Soar; Yum Restructures; AB Shareholders Approve InBev Merger

Retailers 3Q Earnings Dismal; Cisco Sees Small Biz Sales Growth; Blackstone Posts $502 million 3Q Loss; IEA Sees $100 Oil Average; Mattel Toying with Job Cuts; Direct TV Earnings Up; Fidelity Cuts 1,300 jobs; Jobless Claims Fall

Although consumers and businesses have gotten a bit of a reprieve at the gas pump as of late, says William Patalon in Money Morning, the escalation in oil prices we’ve seen over the past year has led to some major changes in overall consumer behavior. Many car-owners have dumped their gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs at the nearest used-car lot and used the proceeds to buy some gas-sipping rides.

“Sure, I’ll buy it at that price. It’s going to be here in 10 years. And it’ll still be here in 100 years.”