There are no regulations whatsoever for how much pay phones can charge for collect calls. The result? A conversation that lasts a few minutes can cost the person accepting a collect call nearly $50.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … a Retail Analyst
“Every weekend is going to be Black Friday weekend.”
Are finance professors to blame for the financial crisis (part 3)?
Philip Coggan, a.k.a. The Economist‘s Buttonwood columnist, steers me to
a strange piece in the Financial Times today which attacks (without naming) Justin Fox’s book The Myth of the Rational Market.
The column is basically a rehash of a blog post by Gene Fama, which I addressed here a couple of weeks ago. And it doesn’t exactly attack my book:
Zhu Zhu Pets of Yesteryear: Must-Have Toys We’ve Overpaid for from Holiday Seasons Past
Cabbage Patch Kids, Tickle Me Elmos, and Furbys, oh my.
Are Redbox DVD Prices Increasing to $2 a Night?
The ubiquitous DVD kiosk company, which made its name by offering movie rentals for just $1 a night, has been testing higher prices in about two dozen markets around the country.
New column: All that glitters (it’s about gold, get it?)
My new column is online and in the issue of TIME with the crying baby on the cover.
While we’re on the topic of the cover, I should mention that Andy Serwer’s cover story on The Decade From Hell is not purely an exercise in looking through the rearview mirror. Well, actually, it is mostly an exercise in looking through the rearview …
Is Walking Away from Your Mortgage the Smartest Thing You Can Do?
Forget about shame and guilt. Don’t worry about your credit score. If you owe way more than your home is worth, simply stop paying the mortgage and don’t feel bad about it, suggests a University of Arizona professor.
It’s a Deal: JetBlue Flights for $39 to $99
JetBlue is having a one-day sale for last-minute travel: Flights booked today, November 30, are available for $39 on routes such as San Jose to Long Beach, California, $69 on routes like Boston to Nassau, in the Bahamas, and $99 on cross-country routes such as San Francisco to New York.
Marketing without advertising the Ikea way
This is the story, via Chris Matyszczyk, of how Ikea used Facebook to promote a new store in Malmö, Sweden:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE2LSp-hjbQ]
This year’s (gingerbread) model
Zhu Zhu Mania: Robotic Hamster Package for $7,000 on eBay
The most searched items on eBay this week are iPods and Zhu Zhu Pets—the latter solidifying its status as the season’s must-have, can’t-find toy. The robot Zhu Zhu hamsters are sold out at toy stores around the country, allowing sellers on eBay to demand a premium from parents who don’t want to hear their kids crying on Christmas morning.
Holiday Season Multi-tasking: Shopping Online—and in the Store—Simultaneously
Welcome to Black Friday 3.0: With smartphone in hand, you can stroll through a store’s aisles while browsing the deals and comparing prices at dozens of other stores.