Citibank customers who earned frequent flyer miles for opening accounts were caught by surprise when the bank labeled the bonus as taxable income. Faced with the prospect of hundreds of dollars in taxes for what they thought were …
The Redboxification of the American Shopping Experience
What will the vending machines of the future look like? What’ll they sell? Perhaps the question should be: What won’t they sell? Coinstar, the company that owns DVD kiosk giant Redbox, is testing out new machines that’ll sell …
Curious CapitalistEconomy & Policy
Is America’s Economic Recovery Real?
That’s the $64,000 question, particularly for the U.S. presidential elections – if things keep improving, it’s only good news for Obama. The economy has been on a roll this year, with unemployment down, consumer and …
Taco Bell, Transformed: Major Revamp of the Menu, Slogan, Restaurant Vibe
The last several years haven’t been good ones for Taco Bell. There was the E. Coli outbreak in 2006, the salmonella illnesses last year and the accusation that the fast-food chain’s beef is barely beef. (Taco Bell strongly …
How Job Candidates Now Resemble Reality TV Contestants
Want a job? Then get ready to perform. The days in which a good education, a solid resume filled with relevant skills and work experience, and straightforward, professional answers to interview questions were enough to warrant a …
LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman: How to Build Your Career in the Networked Economy
Reid Hoffman knows a thing or two about networking. Not only did he launch one of the most successful Internet companies of the past decade, LinkedIn, the social network for professionals, but he’s developed a formidable network of his own, one that’s given him the opportunity to invest such high-flying Internet start-ups as Facebook and …
Can a Second Bailout Save Greece?
After months of delays, arguments and doubts, euro-zone finance ministers agreed on a second, $170 billion bailout of beleaguered Greece in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The agreement will not only provide fresh financing …
ING and Capital One: Is a Culture Clash Inevitable?
The Federal Reserve Board cleared the way last week for Capital One Financial Corp. to complete a $9 billion, cash and stock deal for ING Direct USA. It’s a coup for Capital One, which already purchased a few smaller banks. But …
Groupon Is Selling ‘VIP’ Memberships for $29.99
It’s hard to escape the flood of daily deal offers in pop-up ads and your e-mail in-box. You can’t swing a mouse without hitting a daily deal from Groupon, LivingSocial, or one of hundreds of other sites. Millions of consumers …
Embrace Distraction
Recent studies have revealed the productivity cost of interruptions. But as the world gets more distracting, can we truly uphold the ideal of undivided attention?
AT&T Is Pulled — Unwillingly — Into the Great Patent Wars
A controversial investment fund run by a former Microsoft executive just added more fuel to the tech industry’s runaway patent wars by filing a new suit against AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
Don’t Look Now — But You’ve Already Been Enrolled in an IRA Savings Plan
Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans has been such a success that a lot of people want to duplicate it with IRAs. Proposals that would require employers to establish automatic payroll deductions for IRAs have been kicking around …