April 17 to 25 is National Park Week, when admission is free to more than 100 parks and monuments that usually charge an entrance fee.
Why Are Workers Happy with Fewer Benefits and Longer Hours?
To begin with, they know that such a position is better than having a job without benefits—or not having a job at all.
April 15: The Day to File Taxes, Snag Freebies, Spend Money
All sorts of promotions entice the tax-weary to head out and indulge a bit on Tax Day—perhaps with free Cinnabon cupcakes or free tacos, a discount on your dinner tab or tax-free shopping at a range of retailers.
Greece: I’m Getting Bored
The ongoing fiscal meltdown in Greece has become something like watching a really bad action flick. The required damsel-in-distress (in this case named Greece), yelping and screaming from scene to scene, barely survives repetitive attempts to do her in by assorted bad guys (in this case called speculators), until some hunk with a lot of …
Dow Finally Breaks Through 11,000
Well, it happened. The Dow Jones finally closed above 11,000 a level it has not seen since the Fall of 2008. There weren’t much in the way fireworks to go along with the occasion and that could be because the rise was rather wimpy. The market closed with the Dow just 5.97 points above 11,000, a gain of a mere 8.62 points or 0.08%, hardly …
How Come You Don’t Have a Cell Phone That Sends Text Messages for 1¢, with No Monthly Fees?
Probably because you don’t live in India.
New column: price tags for health care
I’ve got a column in this week’s magazine on one of my favorite topics: injecting consumer price information into the health-care industry.
I quote a couple of different studies from the Center for Studying Health System Change, including this one:
Consider LASIK. Over a decade, the cost of the conventional version of the
…
The Recession Isn’t Over After All. Or Maybe It Is, But We Can’t Say For Sure
Economists tell us that the Great Recession ended last summer. One complication: Many people—President Obama included—are acting like we’re still in the midst of a recession. One more complication: A committee of economists now says that the recession that ended last summer may not have ended after all.
Subway for Breakfast?
They’re not trying to sell you “five dollar foot looooongs,” at least not at 7 a.m. anyway. But Subway is jumping into the fast-food breakfast market, with combos like $2.50 for an egg muffin melt and 16-ounce coffee.
The recession isn’t over yet
This morning the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released its latest proclamation on the state of the U.S. economy: the recession isn’t over yet. That might sound gloomy, but keep in mind that NBER decision-making on recession end dates is perhaps the most lagging of all the lagging indicators.
Why You’ll See Tons of “New and Improved” Products Soon
Call it the recession lesson. The downturn caused many newly thrifty consumers to detour into the world of cheap toilet paper, store brand shampoos, and other generic necessities. And you know what these consumers discovered? The cheaper stuff isn’t half-bad. Often, the cheaper stuff clearly gives more bang for the buck. So why would …
It’s a Deal: JetBlue Flights from $39
To celebrate its tenth anniversary, along with the end of winter, JetBlue is having a Spring Sale, with all sorts of discounted routes: One-way flights are priced from $39 on routes like Boston to Baltimore and Las Vegas to Burbank, $68 between Washington, D.C., and Fort Lauderdale, and $129 between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX). …