Economix: Podcast: Double-Dip Fears and Grab-and-Go Food

August is off to a rocky start.

Despite an agreement to raise the debt ceiling just hours before the government’s borrowing authority was set to run out, investors quickly switched their focus to the European debt crisis and weak prospects for the United States economy and pummeled stocks.

In the Weekend Business podcast, Floyd Norris, chief financial correspondent for The Times, discusses the possibility of a double-dip recession for the United States and the troubles plaguing Europe. In addition, he suggests that the unemployment report for July, which showed a better-than-expected gain of 117,000 jobs, could be overstating seasonal adjustments.

One place where workers seem pretty happy is Pret A Manger, the British fast-food chain. Its annual work force turnover rate is about 60 percent — low for the fast-food industry, where the rate is normally 300 to 400 percent. As David Gillen discusses with Stephanie Clifford, the chain is slowly expanding in New York and other American cities with its own brand of grab-and-go food and, more significant, a fresh approach to service. At Pret, the goal is to serve customers within 60 seconds, and with maximum currency.

You can find specific segments of the podcast at these junctures: Floyd Norris (15:51); news headlines (10:52); Pret A Manger (8:28); the week ahead (0:58).

As articles discussed in the podcast are published during the weekend, links will be added to this post.

You can download the program by subscribing from The New York Times’s podcast page or directly from iTunes.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=3a001047df1966ccd1e8221195ac5e3a