How is this affecting the way customers spend for Thanksgiving?  As I mentioned I saw some pretty hefty price increases on my last trip to the grocery store over the weekend and I already know several people who are taking advantage of layaway for their Christmas shopping. It would seem all retailers are experiencing some tough times. Normally this time of year is huge for shopping, but I don’t think we’re going to make those numbers this time around.

WASHINGTON - The country is sinking deeper into an economic hole, and it’s likely to stay there for a while.

That’s part of the latest outlook from forecasters in a survey to be released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics, also known as NABE.

Approximately 96 percent of the economists polled believe a recession has started, and nearly three-fourths think it could persist beyond the first quarter of 2009.

Economy sailing into rougher waters