From CVS to Starbucks and beyond, retailers have long been pushing customers to sign up for rewards cards, which allow you to build up points towards discounts or freebies with each purchase (and each obligatory card scan). But while stores love that these cards build loyalty and turn occasional shoppers into habitual devotees, there’s …
It’s a Deal: 20% Off Everything in L.L. Bean’s Home Department
Now through Sunday, February 21, all bedding, furniture, rugs, pet accessories, and other items in L.L. Bean’s Home Department are marked down by 20%.
Foreclosure Rage
By now, you’ve probably heard of IRS rage, with the story of a disturbed man who was apparently so angry at the government and tax collectors that he crashed a plane into an IRS building in Texas yesterday. Here’s another rage-filled incident, with no violence, but plenty of destruction: A man in Ohio bulldozed his home before a bank …
Must-Eat: Burger King’s $1 Double Cheeseburger
Well, it’s a must-eat only if you like ingesting this sort of thing, and only if want to pay just $1. In April, the price is going up.
Don’t kill the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Part 2
My colleague Michael Grunwald has a piece on Time.com making the case for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), since it seems the Senate Banking Committee may soon deliver the whole idea to the trash heap. I’ve said in the past why I think a stand-alone agency is a great idea; Ezra Klein more recently summed up the argument:
The
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Must-Read: ‘How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America’
So much for making lemons out of lemonade. Sometimes, when you’re given lemons (i.e., you get fired), it just sucks, no two ways about it. And on a broader scale, layoffs and the long-term, perhaps permanent disappearance of jobs could cause more problems for families, neighborhoods, and society as a whole than you can possibly imagine.
Must-Watch: ‘Lemonade’
When you get laid off, someone inevitably tells you that you’ll soon be telling people that being fired was the best thing that ever happened to you. Your knee-jerk reaction to such a statement might be, “Easy to say from somebody who has a job,” or perhaps “Go away before I cram your face in the paper shredder.” But for some people, …
The Great Unwind begins
Easy money is about to get a little less easy. Emphasis on the little.
Today the Federal Reserve announced that it would raise the interest rate it charges banks on emergency loans from 0.5% to 0.75%, effective tomorrow. In addition, on March 18, the Fed will shorten the length of time banks can borrow from the discount window back down …
Shout Out: “The Best Places to Buy an Old House”
In its annual roundup, This Old House features some affordable neighborhoods—and not only in Detroit.
It’s a Deal: Free Auntie Anne’s Pretzel on Saturday
On Saturday, February 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Auntie Anne’s celebrates Free Pretzel Day by (what else?) giving out free pretzels.
What’s Up? Also, What’s Down
The economy has had its ups and downs—OK, mostly downs of late. Here, some statistics showing the economic fallout on all sorts of things, including cheap booze sales (they’re up), military recruits with college degrees (also up), and excuses for getting out of jury duty (way up).
Forbes’ Unfortunate Luge Slip
Whenever there is a big event like the Olympics, you always see business reporters stretching to try to find an angle. Some of it makes for good journalism. The Wall Street Journal’s story on Wednesday on how the luge accident was driven by a desire to maximize profits for the track and its owners is an excellent piece of journalism. …