I just landed in Rome for some on-the-ground reporting on the latest twists and turns in the euro-zone debt crisis, and I immediately got some sound insights from our reporter here, Stephan Faris. Faris watches the situation in …
Cheers! Increase in Liquor Sales Bodes Well for Economic Recovery
Pop open a bottle of your favorite spirits. It’s time to celebrate. Liquor sales rose by 4% last year, and growth was particularly strong in terms of exports of American spirits (up 16.5%) and sales in the pricey “super premium” …
Is Freddie Mac Betting Against the American Homeowner?
The non-profit investigative journalism organization ProPublica, in cooperation with National Public Radio, published a story yesterday revealing that Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage financier, has recently been …
Study: Poor People Pay More for Auto Insurance
Low-income drivers are routinely charged higher auto insurance premiums than well-heeled car owners. But why should the poor pay a premium when it comes to premiums? Is the system inherently unfair? Or are there valid reasons why …
No Bottoming Out for Real Estate Market as Home Values Keep Falling
If you’re watching the real estate markets, the good news is that the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep interest rates low through 2014. The bad news is that the market is going to need it. The November Case-Shiller housing …
No Bottoming Out for Real Estate Market as Home Values Keep Falling
If you’re watching the real estate markets, the good news is that the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep interest rates low through 2014. The bad news is that the market is going to need it. The November Case-Shiller housing …
U.S. Beef Prices Rising Thanks to Drought in Southwest
The smallest cattle herd in 60 years is likely to push the price of beef, already at record levels, even higher.
Celeb Schwag: Famous People Get $100K Worth of Free Stuff Annually
Designer clothes, iPads, car leases, vacation packages, baby clothes, diapers … If you’re a celebrity, you’ll receive all of this and more for free, without ever having to endorse or even request anything.
Facebook Is Responsible for Creating 450,000 Jobs? Really?!
As Facebook prepares to file its IPO documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — as soon as Wednesday, according to recent reports — the company is trying to make the argument that it adds more to the economy …
Consumers Expected to Spend $11 Billion on the Super Bowl
The numbers show that, shaky economy or not, Americans are sparing no expense in order to be festive: We collectively dropped $7 billion on Halloween last year, and another $6 billion on Christmas decorations. And the Super Bowl? …
Obama Wants to Force Colleges to Reduce Tuition, but at What Cost?
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Obama “put colleges and universities on notice.” Find a way to stop tuition from going up, he told them, or risk losing federal aid money. Following up on that …
China State-Run Newspaper Praises Twitter’s New Censorship Policy
Twitter’s announcement last week that it could begin censoring tweets on a country-by-country basis drew criticism from many free-speech activists, including Reporters Without Borders, a global nonprofit group that advocates for …