From Friday, January 29, through Saturday, February 20, Babies R Us and Toys R Us stories will give you 25% off the purchase of a range of new baby products if you bring in any used (and potentially unsafe) items such as cribs, car seats, strollers, high chairs, and toddler beds. More details about the “Great Trade-In” here.
SOTU by the Numbers: 107 Applause Breaks, 18 Minutes Wasted
Am I the only one driven nuts by how much time in the Presidents speech (or any president’s speech) is taken up by applause?
Let’s go create some jobs
This is not official Davos business, but I want to quickly weigh in on the State of the Union. I’ve written before about how it’s tough for the federal government to explicitly set out to create jobs.
Nonetheless, the President’s speech from last night had some decent ideas. Plus one really bad one.
Good idea No. 1: helping small …
How Dollar Stores Make Sure You Don’t Forget the Fabric Softener
Beware items splashed on the covers of weekly store circulars at super cheap prices. Retailers take great pains to carefully, scientifically select these items—because when they’re on sale, there’s often a dramatic increase in shoppers buying related items at full price. If laundry detergent is on sale at a dollar store, for example, a …
Is international financial regulation possible?
A lot of the talk here at Davos is, unsurprisingly, about financial regulation. At TIME’s Board of Economists yesterday morning, David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group had a nice take on why we probably shouldn’t hold our breath for a bunch of nations getting together to pass the same laws in order to prevent regulatory arbitrage:
“At
…
How Battling the Banks and Credit Card Companies Is Like Whack-A-Mole
Smack down one fee or money-making scheme and others are sure to pop up. And even if you’re really good at the game, there are always more moles than you can possibly whack.
Tim who?
After reading the Journal today and watching the grilling of Tim Geithner, I had to wonder what you need to do to be a Treasury Secretary and get noticed by the general public. While I do share some of their distaste of Geithner, the Congressmen who think they are winning votes by bashing poor Timmy on CSpan should take note. This from …
Cheapskate Wisdom from … National Jean Company Owner Steve Simon
“The obsession with the brand name — that’s passe. People don’t want to spend the extra money for it.”
It’s a Deal: 50% Off Second Pair of Shoes at Payless
Buy one pair of shoes and a second pair of equal or lesser value is half off right now about Payless Shoes. The sale lasts through February 15.
A Nation of Haters
People obviously resent bankers and their big bonuses. And now, in another sphere, it’s hard to tell who the public hates more: government officials or government workers.
Davos round-up: Day 1
Congressman Barney Frank says he was caught off-guard by the timing of last week’s unveiling of the Volcker Rule, but he likes the idea and it shouldn’t be a problem to work into the financial-reform bill he’s got going in the House.
Barclays chief Bob Diamond says he does not like the Volcker Rule and doesn’t understand why banks like …
The New Age of Haggling: Why Pay Retail When Almost Everything’s Negotiable?
An 8-year-old from a developing country can probably out-negotiate a 50-year-old American. Why? The child has a lot more experience with haggling.