The decline in movie theater attendance can’t be denied. The majority of people say they rarely or never go to the movies nowadays, and last year saw the fewest movie tickets sold since 1995. Yet one part of the business—the …
Exploding Ice Cream Scoops and Dangerous Dishwashers: A Year of Consumer Safety Complaints
After an unsure start and a threat to its very existence, the government-run database that documents consumers’ safety issues with everything from dishwashers to tricycles survived its first year and is beginning to mature into …
A Real Recovery? 6 Unconventional Economic Indicators Say Yes
Did Jon Corzine Lie to Congress about Missing MF Global Funds?
Last December, Jon Corzine appeared before a congressional committee investigating the spectacular collapse of MF Global, the financial broker that had gone bankrupt five weeks earlier, leaving $1.6 billion in client funds …
Can Asian-Style Capitalism Save the West?
As you can imagine, the people out in Asia are feeling pretty good about themselves these days. And why shouldn’t they? While the U.S. and Europe struggle with debt, unemployment and sagging competitiveness, most of Asia seems …
Facebook Weighs In and Blasts ‘Shoulder Surfing’ by Employers
Employers’ practice of demanding access to job applicants’ privacy-protected social-networking pages has sparked concern among privacy advocates and outrage among ordinary Americans who object to tactics like “shoulder surfing”: …
AmEx Gives Prepaid Card Users a Chance to ‘Graduate’ to a Regular Charge Card
Prepaid debit cards catch a lot of flak for being loaded with fees, but that’s not even our biggest beef with them: When people use prepaid debit in lieu of credit cards, they’re not building a credit history, which strands them on the fringes of the financial mainstream. When Suze Orman came out with her prepaid debit card, she said she …
Obama’s World Bank Pick, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Links Global Health and Economic Development
Jim Yong Kim would become the first doctor to lead the World Bank.
America’s Least and Most Expensive Cities to Do Business In
Corks must be popping in Cincinnati—albeit from bottles of Bonnaire—now that the Queen City has finished first in the U.S. in a recent ranking of the costs of doing business. That’s first as in cheapest: Thanks in part to especially low property taxes, transportation costs and leasing rates, Cincinnati was rated the least-costly city …
Before Promoting Someone, Do a Test Run
If you suspect an employee is ready for a promotion, don’t jump right in. Performance in a current role doesn’t always predict performance in a future one. Gather more information by designing an assignment for the employee that mimics the tasks and challenges of the new job. Be transparent and tell him that you are using this …
Study: Parents Are Terrible Financial Role Models
Talking to your kids about money shouldn’t be so difficult. They are generally eager to understand what it takes to earn and save, and how to set and achieve money goals. Yet parents are more comfortable discussing bullying and …
