All Numbers Expected To Drop Forever

• UCLA economists expect the recession to get nastier before it gets better. Maybe in 2010 things will look up. [ Los Angeles Times ]

• The Chicago factory workers who proved that enough bad publicity reallycanchange the world reached a settlement with their former employer after Bank of America agreed to loan Republic Windows & Doors over $1 million. (JPMorgan Chase also threw in some cash.) [ AP ]

• Hey, good news about the recession! It's decreasing our dependence on terrible fossil fuels, because nobody needs gas to get to work anymore. [ Wall Street Journal ]

• Children from the People's Republics of Taxachusetts and Lake Wobegon perform very well in math and science tests against children from Asian countries. [ New York Times ]

• Foreclosures are expected to skyrocket next year, as more people lose their jobs and foreclosure moratoriums expire. [ Bloomberg ]

• Wow, that Blagojevich investigation -- the last phase of it, anyway -- moved fast! Feds started listening in on him in late October, and kablooey, here we are in December with the Illinois governor getting arrested. [ ABC News ]