Category Archives: America

‘Oh, I shouldn’t have’: Retailers make pitch for self-gifting

By doris | Published: November 24, 2011

Full Story at BottomLine.msn.com Last year Hyundai entertained — or annoyed — television viewers with advertisements featuring carol-singing hipsters. This year, the automaker is taking a different tack in early radio ads, urging listeners to “give yourself a gift” of a new Hyundai this holiday season. Retailers, struggling with sluggish consumer spending are pulling out [...]

Also posted in Business, Economy, Financial, Jobs, merchandising, Money, Retail | Leave a comment

A not-so-jolly forecast for holiday shopping

By doris | Published: November 7, 2011

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com It looks like we’re headed into another not-so-jolly holiday shopping season. According to the latest Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll out today, only a third of those surveyed expect to be happier this holiday season than last. “People remain fixated on finances: their own and that of the nation,” says Tod [...]

Also posted in Business, Financial, Money, Profit, Retail | Leave a comment

Being too polite to your waitress may cost you money

By doris | Published: November 4, 2011

Full Story at LifeInc.today.msnbc.msn.com Telling your waitress that the lukewarm coffee she just brought is OK might cost you more than aggravation — it might cost you money, too. Consumers who lie to avoid confrontation are more likely to reward the people who have irritated them, scientists now say. So in the case of the [...]

Also posted in Business, Financial, Limits, Money, Savings | Leave a comment

Americans spent more in Sept., but saved less

By doris | Published: October 29, 2011

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com WASHINGTON — Americans spent in September at three times the pace of the previous month, even though their incomes barely budged. They financed their spending binges by saving at the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. [...]

Also posted in Budget, Economy, Family, Financial, Home, Money, Savings | Leave a comment

Lawmakers open to changes in military benefits

By doris | Published: October 23, 2011

Full Story at Life Inc.today.msnbc.msn.com The last few years have been tough on many Americans who work in the manufacturing industry, but they haven’t been nearly as tough on the manufacturers’ profits. U.S. manufacturers have seen a steady uptick in profits since bottoming out in late 2008, according to the most recent data from the [...]

Also posted in Economy, Manufacturing, Profit, Tax | Leave a comment

Older Americans’ challenge: No time to recover from recession

By doris | Published: October 18, 2011

Full Story at LifeInc.today.msnbc.msn.com The recession and weak recovery have been difficult for all Americans, but a new government report suggests that older people may be particularly vulnerable to the downturn’s worrisome effects on long-term economic security. That’s partly because Americans 55 and older have less time to catch up on retirement savings and recover [...]

Also posted in Government, Reccession | Leave a comment

Family feud over ‘M*A*S*H’ hot dog stand over

By doris | Published: October 16, 2011

Full Story at  msnbc.com TOLEDO, Ohio — A restaurant whose hot dogs were made famous by cross-dressing Cpl. Max Klinger on the TV series “M*A*S*H” has new owners, but it will stay within the family after a judge settled a feud on Thursday over the ownership of Tony Packo’s. A private restaurant group backed by [...]

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Stocks post gains for the week

By doris | Published: October 9, 2011

Full Story at Money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks ended a strong week on a low note Friday as ongoing concerns about the European debt crisis overshadowed a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 20 points, or 0.2%, to close at 11,103. The S&P 500 (SPX) [...]

Also posted in Gains, Jobs, Market, Stocks | Leave a comment

Bill Clinton: How to fix the economy

By doris | Published: October 7, 2011

Full Story atFortune’s cnn.com First, Congress and President Obama can adopt strategies designed to unleash the massive amount of capital that is accumulated but not being invested. There’s some $2.2 trillion in cash in American banks that is not committed to loans. A couple hundred billion has to be held back for bad mortgages, but [...]

Also posted in Banking, Bill, Budget, Computer, Economy, Financial, Government, Home, Market, Money, President | Leave a comment

Gold prices: Biggest plunge since ’80

By doris | Published: September 24, 2011

Full Story at money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Gold prices continued to plunge Friday, despite the market turmoil that often drives investors to the traditional safe haven. Gold tumbled $101.90, or 5.9%, in regular trading to $1,639.80 an ounce. It’s the second straight day of steep declines for the precious metal. According to the Chicago [...]

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Obama to propose new tax rate for millionaires

By doris | Published: September 18, 2011

Full Story at money.cnn.com WASHINGTON (CNN) — The White House will propose a new tax rate for people earning more than $1 million a year to ensure that they pay at least the same percentage of their earnings in taxes as middle-income Americans, administration and White House officials told CNN on Sunday. Called the Buffett [...]

Also posted in Debt, Economy, Government, President, Tax, White House | Leave a comment

7 states join effort to block AT&T merger

By doris | Published: September 16, 2011

Full Story at BottomLine.msnbc.msn.com Seven states have joined a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit seeking to block AT&T Inc.’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of rival T-Mobile USA, officials said Friday. The move strengthens the federal case against the proposed merger, setting up another hurdle to completion of the deal. “We are pleased that these states have [...]

Also posted in Financial, Investors, Lawsuit, Market, Merge | Leave a comment

Elvis’ first guitar and Beatles photos on the block

By doris | Published: September 14, 2011

Full Story at Money.cnn.com Guernsey’s auction house in New York City is putting a vintage trove of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia on the block on Sept. 24 and 25. The center piece is Elvis Presley’s first guitar, a battered, taped-up acoustic with only four strings. Other items include numerous photos of the Beatles on the [...]

Also posted in Auction, Auto, Financial, memorabilia, Sale | Leave a comment

Lawmakers face limits in fight to fix economy

By doris | Published: September 11, 2011

Full Story at msnbc.com With unemployment stuck above 9 percent, Americans are looking to the White House, Republican presidential candidates and the Federal Reserve for credible plans to boost job growth. None of the proposals now being floated hold much promise. Falling home prices continue to wipe out equity for millions of households. Manufacturing has [...]

Also posted in Congress, Economy, Government, Jobs, Unemployment, White House | Leave a comment