But wait, there's more...

If, as Matthew has advised, you've been saving money on coffee by perking up each morning with a glance at the latest new record for layoffs or jobless claims or GDP shrinkage, don't forget to pay attention to another key indicator of our economic implosion: the trade deficit.

The spiraling financial crisis has hit American businesses where it hurts: exports are falling as foreign economies stumble, undercutting a pillar of the economy.

The trade deficit widened in October for the first time in three months as exports dropped 2.2 percent, with big declines in sales of American-made products like automobiles and consumer goods. China, one of the larger sources of export demand, has cut back sharply, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

That's right. Even if America still had any interest whatsoever in backing out of this bullshit service economy and actually making shit again, it's not as though there are too many countries out there in any position to buy. And let us not forget that, at the end of 2007, the US International Trade Deficit had already grown to $712 billion.

Heckuva job.