Starbucks, facing the realities of the worst recession in decades, announced on Thursday it will begin selling instant coffee at its outlets.

Amazingly fast, since the final vote on the first Senate proposal took place only Tuesday, the House and Senate came to quick agreement on a reconciled stimulus package on Wednesday. Or did they?

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the new "bank rescue" plan, detailing major changes as well as expansion to the program.

One week before a deadline to submit a restructuring plan to the government, which it must do to keep billions of dollars in loans, General Motors said that it would lay off 10,000 salaried workers worldwide this year.

The revised stimulus package passed a major milesone on Monday, setting up a final vote by the Senate on Tuesday.

According to a Merrill Lynch analyst, the actual unemployment rate, when taking into account those who are "underemployed," is actually 13.9%.

Many have seen their retirement savings dry up as the stock market has dropped precipitously in the recession. But there are also those who were victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme who lost everything. And one such California resident has had to return to work, at age 90.

Late Friday, on a day when the Labor Department said the U.S. unemployment rate reached 7.6%, the Senate appeared to have reached a deal on reductions to the economic stimulus package which could lead to a vote as early as tonight.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000. The prior week's upwardly revised figure was 591,000. Analysts' expectations had been for a total of 583,000.

Adding still more money to the proposed stimulus package, the Senate on Wednesday approved an up to $15,000 tax credit for new home buyers.

This morning Barack Obama unveiled his plan to limit executive compensation for companies taking federal bailout money to $500,000. Here is the full transcript of his speech.

In its monthly report on U.S. job cuts, outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas said tbat planned layoffs at U.S. firms in January reached a seven year high, showing the recession continues to gain steam.