From frugal fashion to small business management, here are a few posts that have recently caught my eye:
"Nearly 60% of U.S. homes are inadequately covered. But it's not all about adding costs; sometimes life changes can save you money." --MSN
"[M]edical costs rose 0.8 percent, the steepest increase since a matching 0.8 percent gain in August 1991. The rise in medical costs was responsible for 60 percent of the gain in core prices, the Labor Department said.-- Reuters"
"Dwyane Wade flew home from Houston early Thursday, his season in limbo after he dislocated his left shoulder in Miami's game against the Rockets. The prospect of Wade's extended absence left in jeopardy the Heat's bid to repeat as NBA champions."--AP at Forbes.com
"Coverage of former Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's death has gone overboard according to U.S. consumers, but media experts warn there is more to come." --Reuters
"What keeps women from achieving the financial security they -- and their families -- deserve? I believe the root of the problem lies in the dysfunctional relationship women have with money."-- The 8 Qualities of a Wealthy Woman by Suze Orman
"U.S. spending on prescription drugs, hospital care and other health services is expected to double to $4.1 trillion over the next decade, up from $2.1 trillion in 2006, a government report released on Wednesday found."-- Reuters
"Viacom, the parent of networks like MTV and Comedy Central, which produce the types of programs that are ideal for watching on the Web, said today that it had reached a deal with the Silicon Valley start-up Joost to distribute video online.
The agreement came a little more than two weeks after Viacom demanded that YouTube remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming." --NYT
"Myth No. 1: You can float a check longer if you write in red ink. The theory is that a bank's equipment can't scan red ink, so it takes longer to process the check." Source: Bankrate.com/MSN
"Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, fell 0.7 percent to $41.15 on the New York Stock Exchange and was the third biggest decliner on the Dow. The company posted a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit as the weak U.S. housing market depressed sales at its stores." Source: Reuters
"[T]he Food and Drug Administration is urging families to throw out all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter bought since May." Source: ABC News
The American Heart Association has updated and sharpened its guidelines for preventing heart disease in women.
The focus now is on a woman's lifetime risk for heart disease, not just her short-term risk, as was the case in the 2004 guidelines. Source: Washington Post
"Cuteness and puppy playfulness are two of the benefits of adopting a puppy. But, as Dr. Becker points out, raising a dog from puppyhood is a challenge. Puppy playfulness can mean high-energy hi-jinx, so be prepared to lose some shoes."
--source: MSN
"A survey last year by FindLaw.com found that 61% of Americans surveyed either don't have or don't stick to their budget.
Slackers? Hardly. Have you ever tried to stick to a budget?
If you have or haven't (hey, no one's judging here), read on for a streamlined cash flow control plan that even couch potatoes like me can follow.
Our Couch Potato Budget concentrates on everyday spending. We're leaving out housing, insurance, and the all-important savings categories for now. Source: Motley Fool"
"Entrepreneurs have been taking advantage of a five-day grace period to sample millions of domain names, keeping the relative few that might generate advertising revenues and dropping the rest before paying. It's akin to buying new clothes on a charge card only to return them for a full refund after wearing them to a big party." --AP
"A wave of interest in such small dwellings — some to serve, like the Shepherds’ home, as temporary housing, others to become space-saving dwellings of a more permanent nature — has prompted designers and manufacturers to offer building plans, kits and factory-built houses to the growing number of small-thinking second-home shoppers. Seldom measuring much more than 500 square feet, the buildings offer sharp contrasts to the rambling houses that are commonplace as second homes." -- New York Times
"A tearful Britney Spears defiantly shaved her head at a Los Angeles hair salon after the owner refused to take part in the embattled pop star’s latest extreme makeover, news reports said on Saturday." -- Source: Reuters
"Most of the talk about financial cushions centers on the importance of an emergency fund, that stash of cash that's supposed to equal three to six months' worth of expenses.
A $500 pad, by contrast, is something that just about everyone can scrape together with enough determination. And it can make a real difference." --By Liz Pulliam Weston
"Across the nation, seniors are becoming the face of the indebted.
In Austin, Ronald and Carol Godwin, 65 and 63, depleted their savings years ago and have since turned to credit cards and home equity to pay medical bills. They're struggling in retirement to pay off loans they took out years ago for a grandchild's college education." -- USA Today
Small businesses are big customers at Costco, but the company also has managed to make discount shopping fashionable for affluent Americans by offering fine wines, books and big-screen televisions at low prices, and staples such as paper towels and razor blades in bulk.
Many economists are worried that the housing bust, which followed a five-year boom, could be a prolonged one as sellers struggle to reduce record levels of unsold homes.
The biggest price declines were concentrated primarily in two kinds of cities: the formerly booming markets along the coasts and in the Southwest, and in Midwest and Northeast cities hurting from the loss of manufacturing jobs. The biggest declines, for instance, were in Florida — Sarasota-Bradenton (down 18 percent), Palm Bay-Melbourne (17 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers (11.7 percent). The declines in prices were especially steep for condominiums.
An emerging body of research shows that a surprising array of mental functions hold up well into old age, while others actually get better. Vocabulary improves, as do other verbal abilities such as facility with synonyms and antonyms. Older brains are packed with more so-called expert knowledge -- information relevant to your occupation or hobby. (Older bridge enthusiasts have at their mental beck-and-call many more bids and responses.) They also store more "cognitive templates," or mental outlines of generic problems and solutions that can be tapped when confronting new problems.
Wall Street created $7 billion in bonds for housing and schools. The tax-exempt deals were a ruse; banks and advisers collected millions in fees and investment gains. The public got nothing.
With so many beautiful, new gowns available, why would actresses continually opt for something, well, old? “It’s a surefire way of protecting your individuality, and it lends mystery and allure to an actress," says Cosgrave. “You can’t just look at her and say, ‘Oh, that’s an Armani, that’s a Valentino.’”
"Your office desk harbors far more bacteria than your workplace restroom, and if you're a woman, chances are your workspace has more germs than your male co-workers', a new research report shows."
The Boston Celtics finally ended the longest losing streak in franchise history, beating a Milwaukee Bucks team that was struggling almost as badly as they were. From: Associated Press
Conventional approaches to flexibility, such as flextime, don't help these time-zone warriors very much, because "an ocean of transoceanic calls" has pretty much wiped out workday boundaries, says Paul Rupert of Rupert & Co., Chevy Chase, Md., flexibility consultants. Instead, they need ways to regain control over their time.
[T]he Mint has taken a new approach to designing the coins as well as promoted them with the retailers, banks and transit systems that will play the biggest role in making the coins circulate effectively.
The number of Americans filing first- time claims for state unemployment benefits rose last week by the most since September 2005...
Wal-Mart is already known for offering some of the biggest discounts around. Now it also wants to be known for showcasing those low-cost goods in a prettier setting.
Here on the outskirts of Jakarta, an Indonesian developer is taking a very American idea in real estate -- the exclusive, upscale cemetery -- and adding a twist: a country club, complete with swimming pools, a boating lake and a big restaurant.**my comment: What's next? Disney & Death: An interactive playground for the living and dead?
--source: Wall Street Journal
Across from Lord & Taylor at 39th Street, the Payless store sports a new sleek design and shoes such as a $22 platform pump with a bow tie.
Payless’s makeover is under way at many of its more than 4,500 stores. It’s offering trendier products such as Lucite platform wedges and patent-leather zippered boots by fashion designer Laura Poretzky. Most of its shoes are still inexpensive, but it is also testing pairs that cost $40 or even $60. Source: Wall Street Journal
"January retail sales were unexpectedly flat as motor vehicle, gasoline and electronics sales dipped sharply in the post-holiday season after a December that was stronger than originally indicated, a Commerce Department report showed Wednesday."
--source: Washington Post/Reuters.
"The deal is the latest collaboration between newspaper companies and Web sites to form partnerships to battle other rivals. For newspapers, it means cutting deals with companies once seen as enemies who were undercutting print classified advertising revenue. For online companies, it offers a way to tap local job markets as well as linking with highly visible brand names." source: New York Times
True, life with an alpha cook can mean sitting back and watching while someone else prepares restaurant-quality wild mushroom risotto on a quiet Tuesday night.
But it can also mean putting up with small culinary humiliations and an unending patter of condescending remarks.
When Robin Henry, an interior designer, helps make dinner with her fiancé, Andrew Goldman, a writer, she endures his constant, conspicuous scrutiny. --source: New York Times
