Obama’s Chrysler 300 on sale for $1 million

By doris | Published: January 27, 2012

Full Story atmoney.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A Chrysler 300C once leased by President Barack Obama is for sale on eBay with the eye-popping “opening bid” of $1 million.

The opening bid, which is dictated by the seller, means that bidding for the car must start at that price.

The woman who posted the car on eBay Motors, Lisa Czibor, said she has received some criticism for the high asking price but that the current owner of the car fully expects to get that amount.

Czibor said in a phone interview with CNNMoney that she is listing the car for someone else but looks forward to getting a commission on the sale. She describes herself as a “life-long Ronald Reagan old-school conservative.”

“It’s all about the money for me,” she said

Posted in Auto, President, Sale | Leave a comment

Can I give my 401(k) firm the boot?

By doris | Published: January 26, 2012

Full Story at moneu.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — My 401(k) is managed by a brokerage firm that was busted by the SEC for fraudulent practices (although those practices weren’t related to my 401(k) plan). Still, I don’t want to invest my money with, or pay fees to, to a firm I consider unethical. For now, I’ve switched all of my money into the bond account figuring it’s the safest place to invest until I can figure out what to do. But I’d really like to get into another 401(k) plan. Can I do that? — Michael S.

The short answer is probably not without considerable effort.

Posted in 401(k), Assets, Change, Financial | Leave a comment

Chevy Volt’s problems may not be over as GM’s CEO prepares to face Congress

By doris | Published: January 25, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnvc.msn.com

The Chevrolet Volt got a clean bill of health, last Friday, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closing its investigation into potential problems with the plug-in hybrid’s battery pack – but that doesn’t mean General Motors’ problems with the Volt are over, as a Congressional hearing is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The Volt controversy stems from a fire that occurred last spring, weeks after one of the battery cars went through a federal crash test. A second Volt battery pack caught fire after being tested in November. That triggered an investigation by the NHTSA – as well as hearings by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, California Republican and committee chairman Darryl Issa contending that the government agency initially tried to cover up the original fire.

Posted in Auto, Congress, GMC, Investigation | Leave a comment

Macy’s sues Martha Stewart Living for breach

By doris | Published: January 24, 2012

Full Story at msnbc.com

NEW YORK — Macy’s Inc is suing Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc, accusing the company of breach of contract for entering into an agreement to sell certain products to J.C. Penney Company Inc.

Macy’s says Martha Stewart Living granted it the exclusive right to make and sell certain products under a 2006 agreement, according to a New York state Supreme Court filing Monday.

Macy’s is seeking a preliminary injunction stopping Martha Stewart from violating the contract. It also is seeking an order sealing the lawsuit and motion, saying it is prohibited from disclosing certain information.

The court filing does not detail the products in question.

Posted in Business, Corporate, Market, Sue | Leave a comment

Oil falls to near $98 amid Greece debt deal talks

By doris | Published: January 23, 2012

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil fell to near $98 a barrel Monday in Asia as the crude market waited for the outcome of Greece’s negotiations with creditors on a deal to cut the face value of its debt by half.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 15 cents at $98.19 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.21 to end at $98.33 per barrel in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was down 35 cents at $109.51 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

Posted in Gas or Oil, Money | Leave a comment

GM creates digital windows on the world

By doris | Published: January 22, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com

Game Boys and backseat monitors are “so five years ago,” suggests Tom Seder, a manager at the General Motors R&D labs.

Working with the Future Lab, at Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, GM researchers are exploring ways to turn a car’s rear windows into interactive devices that could permit backseat passengers – children in particular – to have a more interesting experience while traveling.

Posted in Auto, Children, Computer, Family, Games, Technology | Leave a comment

Housing ends year on strong note, but prices still falling

By doris | Published: January 21, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com

The housing market ended the year on a positive note with strong sales in December, but a glut of unsold homes will likely push prices lower through much of this year, forecasters said Friday.

Sales of existing homes hit an 11-month high last month and the number of properties on the market fell to the lowest level in nearly seven years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Unseasonably warm weather may have helped boost sales, but analysts said a strengthening job market and record low mortgage rates should buoy housing in coming months. Still, they were troubled by the high level of “distressed homes” for sale, including short sales of underwater properties or sales of foreclosed properties. Nearly one-third of existing-home sales were distressed last month, according to the Realtors.

Posted in Economy, Financial, Home, Market, Money | Leave a comment

‘I work for one of the 10 Best Companies’

By doris | Published: January 20, 2012

Full Story at money.cnn.com

Google’s famous for its perks — free gourmet food in the cafeteria, an on-campus climbing wall — but some of the best offerings at the company depend on its employees’ creativity. Take its 20% time, for example. Google employees are encouraged to devote 20% of their work hours to a project within the company but outside of their core area.

Eliana Murillo is using her 20% time reaching out to small business owners, helping them use Google’s tools to grow. Often businesses don’t know how to position their website to show up in Google search, or they aren’t aware of Google’s advertising opportunities and other tools.

Posted in Benefits, Business, employment, Google | Leave a comment

Drivers again faulted over Toyota acceleration

By doris | Published: January 19, 2012

Full Story at msnbc.com

A two-year study looking for possible causes behind Toyota’s rash of unintended acceleration issues has put primary blame on driver error — but the review by the National Academy of Sciences also cautioned that some problems may have been caused by inadvertent interactions involving vehicle electronics — an issue frequently cited by the automaker’s critics.

Though there was no hard evidence of specific electronic defects, the 139-page report cautioned that “the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.” Warning electronic faults may be “untraceable,” it calls for stricter government involvement in setting standards for the use of electronic control vehicle systems.

Posted in Auto, Business, Recall, Toyota | Leave a comment

McDonald’s U.S. December sales robust: survey

By doris | Published: January 18, 2012

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

But ask them how they got that way. The employees of one McDonald’s are not happy. They have to run labor at the percent that they did before min. wage began going up. I can see them making money, but not at the way they want to cut help and run with less help and more business.

(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp is poised to report robust December sales from U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months, according to a survey of U.S. franchisees.

Thirty McDonald’s franchisees — who together operate 212 of the more than 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants in the United States — reported an aggregate 9.1 percent rise in same-restaurant sales for December, Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski said in a client note.

The analyst, whose surveys are closely followed by investors, boosted his forecast for U.S. December same-restaurant sales growth to match results from the poll.

Posted in Business, Financial, Jobs, Minimum Wage, Money, Spending | Leave a comment

Samsung Group plans record $41 billion investment in 2012

By doris | Published: January 17, 2012

Full Story at news.Yahoo.com

SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Group, which includes Samsung Electronics Co, said on Tuesday it is raising its 2012 investment to a record $41.4 billion, underscoring the widening gulf between the dominant South Korean conglomerate and its faltering competitors.

Best known for making massive investments in new technologies ahead of rivals, Samsung is now banking on logic chips and OLED displays to repeat its roaring success in flash chips, computer memory chips and LCD flat-screens, even as a gloomy global economic and IT spending outlook forces its peers to be conservative in spending.

Posted in Business, Computer, Factory, Financial, Money | Leave a comment

States look to hike tax on millionaires

By doris | Published: January 16, 2012

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — As the “tax the rich” debate rages in Washington D.C., some states are turning to their wealthiest residents to bring in much-needed revenue.

The governors of the two largest Democratic states want rich folks to help close budget gaps. And Democratic lawmakers elsewhere are preparing to do battle with Republican leaders to blunt budget cuts by instituting a millionaire tax.

This marks a shift from last year, when state leaders largely shied away from raising taxes in general. Several cash-strapped states, including Maryland, New Jersey and Oregon, let their millionaire taxes lapse.

Posted in Rich, States, Tax | Leave a comment

Jobs gains may not help Obama’s re-election bid

By doris | Published: January 15, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com

The recent improvement in the job market comes as welcome news for President Obama as he struggles to answer GOP attacks on the campaign trail that he’s mismanaged the economic recovery. There are a lot of reasons, though, that it may be too early for the White House to start cheering about jobs.

There’s no shortage of issues vying for voter attention as the 2012 presidential campaign kicks into gear. But with unemployment stuck above 8.5 percent for the 34th month in a row, the job market likely will top the list until the November election.

The White House hammered on the issue again week, as the president rolled out yet another round of job-creation proposals at a meeting with business leaders in the White House. This one is aimed at “insourcing” jobs that have been lost to overseas companies.

Posted in America, employment, Jobs, President | Leave a comment

Housing more affordable than ever … for foreign buyers

By doris | Published: January 14, 2012

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com

When it comes to foreigners looking to plant roots in the United States, Florida is the hot spot, especially among Cubans, Haitians and Colombians.

The Sunshine State is the most popular among foreign home buyers with 31 percent of all home purchases made there coming from foreign residents, according to a study by Credit Sesame, an online credit and loan management firm, that used National Association of Realtors’ data.

Foreign buyers represented $82 billion of the U.S. real estate market in 2010, while in 2009 they represented only $66 billion.

Posted in America, Business, Investors, Money | Leave a comment