I have been thinking a lot about the economics of marriage, especially given that it’s such a huge issue in the Republican primaries. Rick Santorum has argued that to avoid poverty, all Americans need to do is finish high …
Get Your Colleagues’ Attention
To capture any audience’s attention, you must frame your message properly. Whether you’re making a presentation, composing an email, or talking with your boss, here’s how to convey your idea:
Housing Prices Dip for the Fourth Time in Three Years
After the Great Recession, there were some pundits who theorized that real estate would make a W-shaped recovery. With the S&P/Case-Shiller housing prices out this morning, it’s now clear that there are not one but two W’s in the chart — and that’s not a good thing. Index prices fell 1.1% from November to December. In other words, …
Free Pancakes Today at IHOP, and More Freebies (Pretzels, Ice Cream) Coming Soon
Tuesday, Feb. 28, is Free Pancake Day at IHOP, when each customer is welcome to a short stack of buttermilk pancakes on the house.
Opinion: Do-Not-Track Plan a Good First Step for Digital Privacy
The recent agreement between the White House and tech companies on a voluntary “do-not-track” (DNT) system for web browsing — accompanied by a framework for a more comprehensive vision of the nation’s privacy policies — …
Critics Slam AT&T Plan to Charge App-Makers For Data Use
AT&T’s plan to ask application developers to pay the mobile giant for data use by their customers hit a buzzsaw of criticism Monday, hours after a top company executive floated the idea in an interview with The Wall Street …
Rent Was Too Damn High. Now It’s Even Higher
The data on housing costs isn’t pretty. Most experts recommend spending no more than one-third of your income on housing, and yet, in a new study, nearly one in four American households now spends more than half of its income on …
Living to 100: As It Becomes Common, Money Regrets Follow
We’re on track for a population with 600,000 folks over the age of 100 by 2050. Yet almost nobody is planning for it financially.
How to Ask For a Higher Credit Limit
If you’re a credit card customer with an account in good standing, this is a good time to ask for a credit limit increase. After the financial crisis in 2008, issuers got very stingy with credit, cutting limits or closing …
‘Gordon Gekko’ Joins FBI Battle Against Wall Street Fraud
Gordon Gekko has apparently had a change of heart. Well, not exactly, but Michael Douglas, the actor who played the infamous corporate raider 25 years ago, has lent his “Wall Street” character to a new FBI campaign targeting …
How the Warm Winter Is Mother Nature’s Mini Stimulus Program
It Was a Bad Year for Movies—and a Worse Year for ‘Oscar Movies’
Last year saw the fewest tickets sold at movie theaters since 1995. Ticket sales were down during the “blockbuster” season of summer, and the year’s “best” films—in terms of critical acclaim and awards like last night’s