Most consumers like the idea of pay per channel cable TV, in which the customer would select a la carte the channels he actually watches, rather than pay for a bundled service with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of channels that are …
7 Obstacles to Financial Success
Hundreds (thousands?) of new financial books are published each year. Only a handful become best-sellers. As you might expect, a lot of gems fall through the cracks, destined to soon be forgotten. The Quiet Millionaire by Brett …
Even More Credit Scores: Good or Bad For Consumers?
In theory, your credit score should be simple: three digits that correspond to how big of a risk lenders take when they extend credit to you. But in practice, it’s anything but.
New Sallie Mae Book Offers Advice on How to Pay for College
QuitAssist is a website Philip Morris offers to help you quit smoking the cigarettes that they sold you in the first place. And there’s Mohegan Sun’s Responsible Gaming hotline, which helps gambling addicts who throw their money …
What school lunches in Korea tell us about the future of the welfare state
There is an unusual political battle going on in South Korea right now, over, believe it or not, school lunches. The Seoul city council voted to implement a large-scale program to feed every primary and middle school student in the capital – all 850,000 of them – a free lunch every day, at a cost to the government of nearly $380 …
Buffett to Bank of America: I’ve Got Your Back
Before Warren Buffett poured $5 billion into one of the market’s worst performing stocks, he reportedly called CEO Brian Moynihan personally and said he wanted to invest in Bank of America, calling it a “strong, well-led company.”
Eye-Opening Good News: Coffee Prices Drop — Could Bacon Soon Follow?
Shaken to the Core: What Now For Apple’s Stock?
Now that Steve Jobs is out as Apple CEO, how will Wall Street react?
Adidas & the All Blacks: How to Anger an Entire Nation of Rabid Sports Fans
So much for a locals discount. With action at the 2011 Rugby World Cup just weeks from starting in host country New Zealand, sporting goods giant Adidas decided to charge 220 Kiwi dollars (about US$182) for a jersey of New …
The Problem with Government Mortgage Refinancing Plans
Remember “Cash for Clunkers” — that stimulus program that got Americans to buy, by one estimate, 125,000 new cars? It cost $3 billion. Any guesses as to how much money is set aside for housing stimulus that remains unspent? …
Rick Perry: Job Creation in an Oil-Driven Economy
Texas has created almost as many jobs during Rick Perry’s career as governor as the rest of the country has lost. So what’s the secret behind the “Texas Miracle”? Rising GOP presidential candidate Perry says it’s about putting job creation in the private sector’s hands. “We know dollars do far more to create jobs and prosperity in the …
Customer Service Done Right: When an Actual Human Being Answers the Phone
The ninth circle of customer service hell usually begins with a phone call looped through a maddeningly automated system known as IVR (Interactive Voice Response)—you know, the one in which you “Press 1 to continue in English” …