Here are six low-tech healthcare services readily available to seniors and which will vastly improve their quality of life, according to the Hartford Foundation. Did you know that Medicare pays the full cost of one wellness checkup each year?
Are Diamonds An Investor’s Best Friend?
The past decade has been a nearly unqualified success for gold investors. The metal went for roughly $250 an ounce in 2001 and trades at around $1,650 an ounce today. The rise of gold is a complicated and controversial topic, but …
Citi’s CEO Pay Revolt: Capitalism Is Back, Baby!
One of the more gratifying moments so far this year – at least in the realm of high finance – was the decision last week by shareholders of Citigroup to reject a $15 million pay package for CEO Vikram Pandit. The shareholders …
Dying Is Expensive: The FTC Funeral Home Abuses
Consumers are at a big disadvantage when conducting business in unfamiliar venues. For most of us, happily, that includes shopping for funerals. As a result, the funeral home business is rife with exploitative practices, despite …
Netflix Horror Show: The Real Reason Shares Plunged 17%
As a purely financial matter, Netflix’s quarterly report should not have precipitated the absolute shellacking that the company’s stock suffered after-hours Monday, wiping out about $1 billion in shareholder equity. The company’s …
Bankruptcy at 30,000 Feet: The Battle for the Future of American Airlines
What would you call the combination of US Airways with American Air? US American Airways? It’s redundant, in the same way that airline service is a contradiction in terms. But a merger between the two is slightly more likely …
The Automaker with a Problem Most Businesses Would Envy
Not long ago, Hyundai had a less-than-stellar reputation for quality and had to resort to gimmicks to sell cars. During the Great Recession, the South Korean automaker’s fleet included the cheapest car sold in the U.S., and it …
Grave Robbing: 2.5 Million Dead People Get Their Identities Stolen Every Year
Being a victim of identity theft is always a frustrating ordeal, but millions of Americans have to face an even more troubling scenario: Finding out that a criminal has applied for credit in the name of a deceased family member. …
Retirement Income: 5 Steps to Fill the Gaps
It’s never too late to start planning your retirement security. Here’s a one-size-fits-all strategy that will help secure an adequate stream of income in your later years.
Facebook Reveals New Financial Data, Spends $550M For Patent Arsenal
With its planned initial public offering just weeks away, social networking juggernaut Facebook reported that its first-quarter profit fell 12% thanks to a dramatic increase in the company’s expenses as it continues its torrid …
How Big a Deal Is Walmart’s Mexico Bribery Scandal?
The Mexican bribery scandal engulfing Walmart rattled investors on Monday, sending shares of the company down nearly 5% and those of its Mexican subsidiary down over 10%. The key question now is how much damage the scandal will …
Why We’re Eating Fewer Happy Meals
Kids are less likely to order kids meals now. For the past five years, there has been an annual decline in the number of fast-food child meals that come with toys. In 2011, Happy Meal and other child meal sales were down 6%, from …