The researchers found that shoplifting — or what’s euphemistically known as product “shrinkage” — jumped 5.9% in the past year at the more than 1,000 retail chains the group surveyed globally. In previous years, the increase hovered at 1.5% annually. Though the problem was documented across all regions, the steepest increases occurred in North America (8.1%), the Middle East (7.5%) and Europe (4.7%). In terms of total losses, retailers in North America topped the charts at $46 billion, followed by Europe’s $44 billion and $17.9 billion in the Asia-Pacific region. In North America and Latin America, store owners and employees were the leading pilferers; in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, it was customers who were swiping the most loot.

Reports have recently noted that crime has not dramatically increased because of the recession. For those who don’t think that stealing from an employer is theft, then they need to realize that retail theft is still theft just as stealing office supplies or not doing any work while at work.

The study shows that there has been an increase of people stealing items, not that they need, but just things that they want. Basically, this is not Jean Valjean from Hugo’s Les Miserables stealing because of hunger. These are people who are stealing out of greed. Businesses pass these costs along to the shoppers at an average of $436 to the US consumer and $250 to European consumers.

If you can’t afford it, then don’t buy it or steal it.

The recession’s end would feel differently if there were more people employed and finding a job weren’t so difficult. But even for those who are employed, it is difficult to say that the recession is over given the fact that there are so many examples of people who are out of work and the businesses large and small are still struggling.

Not everyone has been affected by the recession, not because of anything they have necessarily done, but because of luck and good management on the part of the companies where they are employed.

Is the recession really approaching an end? What would be the sign of the recession’s end to you?

Would you change your spending habits of the past?

Many people I know learned from their bad habits by not spending a lot of money on credit cards or not wasting their money on things they really can’t afford.

If nothing else comes out of the recession the greatest gift will be teaching people to have better money management skills and not to overspend.

I’m happy with my spending habits and my saving habits. There are some things that I think I probably should have bought (generally souvenirs) but didn’t. None of those items cost less than $100 and nothing changed my quality of life.

Saving all the time can be as detrimental as spending all the time, Waiting to spend because you aren’t sure if you are going to see something better doesn’t help you. When you are not spending money on small ticket items because you are saving for a large ticket item, then that is different.

Past spending habits and saving habits have made me the frugal person I am today. There are some things I won’t buy just because I can afford them and there are other things that I want and will save up for, which makes me appreciate the purchase more. If you know that you had to sacrifice to buy something or sacrifice to maintain it, then you might think more about the item.

Thinking before buying can leave cash in your pocket…

Is the recession really ending?

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke feels that the recession is toward the end.

Though how will the end of the recession look for people who are looking for a job which has caused some financial problems? Bernanke warns that recovery will be slow, though for people who have been unemployed for a while and are trying to make ends met, the recovery can’t come soon enough.

“But the general view of most forecasters is that the pace of growth in 2010 will be moderate, less than you might think given the depth of the recession because of ongoing headwinds including still ongoing financial and credit problems, de-leveraging by households, the needs for adjustments in the economy, sectoral adjustment in the economy [and] the need for fiscal exit at some point,” he said.

Moderate growth is already happening in some sectors. Last Saturday I went to a movie theatre and it was crowded in the middle of the afternoon. Filmmakers must be producing better movies or people are really eager to go to the theatre. I went to this same theatre a few months before and it was not crowded at all. There were more workers working at the multiplex than there were patrons. Saturday things were different, there were long lines for tickets and concessions and more than one cashier for tickets. All of the central concession stands had cashiers and were busy.

The movie theatres are showing some growth, but there aren’t many other places that are showing the same type of growth.

Personally… what would the end of the recession look like to you?

The recession is ending, depending on whose opinion you believe, but even though economists and business people may want you to believe that the recession is over, there is still a problem that hasn’t reached its peak – foreclosures. Money.com reports that about 9% of homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages and the number is intended to rise in the fall.

What the rate does not include, however, are loans already in foreclosure. Some 4.3% of all the mortgages are in that stage, up from 3.85% three months earlier and 1.55 percentage points from one year ago.

Even if all of the people who are unemployed or underemployed try to recover and begin paying their mortgages again, it may take a while for people to recover if they haven’t already entered into the foreclosure.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also notes that “The states of California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada continue to have a disproportionately high share of foreclosure starts, although the share has fallen slightly from last quarter. Those four states had 44 percent of all of the nation’s new foreclosures during the second quarter of this year, down from 46 percent in the first quarter.”

Just because the numbers are dropping on the foreclosure rates doesn’t mean that the problem is over.  The delinquency rates are breaking records and being the highest ever since the MBA began keeping records in 1972.

The MBA’s final statement says it all…

“As for the outlook, it is unlikely we will see meaningful reductions in the foreclosure and delinquency rates until the employment situation improves. In addition, in some areas where a number of borrowers have mortgages that are larger than the current value of their homes, any life events such a divorce or loss of a job are likely to translate into foreclosures until prices in those areas recover, not just flatten.