Real Estate

Banks pay back bailout and taxpayers STILL get screwed
Here's what happened: Old National Bancorp of Indiana, along with hundreds of other banks, essentially gave stock options to the government as part of the bailout. The government now has options to buy stock in 579 banks. But many banks want to buy those warrants back. Problem is, no one knows exactly how much those warrants are worth.

National Harbor Sells Land to Disney
The Peterson Companies announced today the sale of land at its National Harbor development near Washington, DC to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney is considering using the 15-acre site overlooking the Potomac River in National Harbor, MD as the location for a resort hotel for families and others visiting the National Capital Region.

The High Cost of Poverty: Why The Poor Pay More
You have to be rich to be poor.That's what some people who have never lived below the poverty line don't understand. The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain.

The Pros and Cons of Unemployment in a Recession
If you ask 10 people, all 10 will probably tell you that they would much rather stay employed, especially during a recession. However, to keep the unemployed or struggling in good spirits, here's a look at the pros of unemployment as well.

Daily Show ? Be a F@#king Person
Too often hard-line capitalists see compulsive greed as a positive attribute and lay-off announcements from corporations are merely another ?number?.

Having Fun at 'The Office' (PICS)
Since 'The Office' premiered in 2005, NBC has invited its viewers to submit photos of their own workplaces to the show's website. NBC has received upwards of 3,000 submissions, of which it has posted 1,700 so far. Here are some of the best.

2 Firms Accused of Deceiving Consumers Seeking Debt Relief
The New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, sued two large debt settlement firms Tuesday, saying they engaged in fraudulent and deceptive business practices and false advertising.

Breaking, GM to be bought by the US Government
General Motors Corp's (GM.N) plan for a bankruptcy filing involves a quick sale of the company's healthy assets to a new company initially owned by the U.S. government, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

A Book Grab by Google
A court could give the search-engine giant a frightening monopoly.

Twitter sees tools, not ads, as revenue
Twitter is working on various ways to make money from its fast-growing microblogging service, but advertising is an option that is not currently being considered.

Blue collar males lose more ground in Great Recession
One statistic that stands out in America's recession-stung economy is the unemployment rate for adult men: in April for the second month in a row it surged ahead of the national average to 9.4 percent versus 8.9 percent for all workers. The jobless rate for adult women was 7.1 percent.

Why Credit Card Debt Forgiveness is a WIN! for Everyone
Banks are proposing that consumers who qualify for partial debt forgiveness be given 5 years to pay off remaining balances, rather than the current 3-6 months. Yes, some people mishandled the plastic. But we all benefit when consumers get back on their feet as quickly as possible. So, what's the catch? It's also an act of banking self-preservation.

TED: Ray Anderson on The Business Logic of Sustainability
At his carpet company, Ray Anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while turning the traditional "take / make / waste" industrial system on its head. In a gentle, understated way, he shares a powerful vision for sustainable commerce.

Costco Hit w/$50M False Imprisonment Suit for Closing Duties
A lawsuit filed in California accuses Costco Wholesale Corp. of falsely imprisoning its employees, by keeping workers after hours while bosses inventory jewelry and check cash registers in the warehouse stores.

The Future of the New York Times
FTA: But regardless of my ardor, shared by many, the question remains: Can The New York Times?s ownership and business be sustained into the teeth of historic changes in the media?

Top Law Firms Paying New Lawyers "Not" To Show Up To Work
Some big law firms are responding to the recession by paying newly hired lawyers big bucks to stay away from the office -- in the hope that more legal work will materialize so these recent grads can be put to work down the road.

Gas jumps 25 cents in three weeks
Gas prices jumped nearly a quarter in the past three weeks, but the trend is unlikely to continue, according to a survey published on Sunday.

From Moore's Law to Barrett's Rules
Intel's chairman on antitrust silliness and the secrets of high-tech success.Craig Barrett is spending the last days of his tenure as Intel chairman the same way he spent his previous 35 years at the corporation: moving at a superhuman pace that leaves exhausted subordinates in his wake.

10 Essential Twitter Tools for Business
Most people struggle when it comes to using Twitter effectively. This may be especially true for businesses, which tend to feel pressure to join Twitter, but don?t quite know where to begin. If you want to use Twitter, but aren?t sure how to use it well, these process by using these 10 essential Twitter tools for business.

Hip Cities Attract Young, Educated & Will Continue to Thrive
Cities like Seattle, Austin, Portland continue to draw the people all cities want to attract -- young, educated, ambitious -- to survive the current recession & thrive when things turn around. What makes these cities attractive, hip & what are current demo & relocation trends?

Amish face crisis of faith
A part-time construction job strengthened Orva Fry's financial foundation after he was laid off from a recreational vehicle factory. It also kept the 41-year-old Amish father of two on steady spiritual ground.

Older Workers Hit Hardest By Unemployment Crisis
While millions of hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs this year, as the recession bites, an analysis of the official figures suggests that the over 60s have been hit harder than anyone else.The jump in the number of people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance in April totalled 46 per cent, compared with a year ago.

The 10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Last Decade
Several of the best-funded and most-publicized tech launches of the last ten years have ended in failure. Many large technology companies which had significant market share and product advantages in large industries lost those advantages.

The great Social Security and Medicare panic: Not so logical
The 2009 edition of the ?Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs? is a swamp of data that is only useful if it turns out to be correct. There is no evidence that most of the assumptions are accurate any more than there is proof that the new federal budget and its forecast deficits are accurate.

Senate refuses to cap credit card interest rates at 15%
Never mind that credit union interest rates are capped at 15 percent already. The effort by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, drew only 33 votes and needed 60. One-third of all credit card holders are paying interest above 20 percent and as high as 41 percent, but the banks own the Senate.

Golden Coffins: 10 of the Most Egregious CEO Perks
Running big public companies is hard work, so many execs get a little help to keep their noses to the grindstone. Here are some of the most egregious perks from the golden era of executive compensation, according to corporate governance experts.

The Wealth of World Leaders (MAP)
How much are the most powerful people in the world worth? This infographic shows the surprising billions of some of Earth?s most elite.

Only so much play in Playboy, even as it chases bunny money
The bunny is money, so look for the Playboy brand on even more products as the media company looks to expand its global licensing business. The reduction in frequency is part of a strategy to reverse declines at Playboy's nearly 56-year-old flagship publication.

GM Driving Toward Chinese-Made Cars For America
GM says it will be building more cars abroad after it completes its reorganization, inside or outside of Chapter 11.

Huge credit card company halts ALL new lending
Advanta Corp., the issuer of credit cards for small businesses, will halt new lending for its 1 million customers next month as the recession causes a surge in loan defaults. ... Advanta said ... charge-offs, or uncollectible debt, reached 20 percent on some cards as of March 31. "We'll be shutting down accounts for future transaction activities,

Intel Fined Record $1.45 Billion in Antitrust Case
The European Commission on Wednesday fined Intel a record ?1.06 billion ($1.44 billion) for abusing its dominance in the market for computer chips to exclude Advanced Micro Devices, which is Intel?s only serious rival.The E.U. competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said the penalty against Intel.

Why We Spend Coins Faster Than Bills
...it turns out that economists have researched the phenomenon, which they call the Denomination Effect. Priya Raghubir and Joydeep Srivastava did a series of experiments in the U.S. and China that showed people were much more willing to spend the same sum of money if they had smaller denominations instead of one large bill.

Are we all permanent penny pinchers now?
Americans have learned a hard lesson in this recession and are trying to save more money. And economists are watching closely to see if that behavior changes after the recession lifts. Will penny-pinching become a permanent mind-set?Some economists expect it will.

Obama?s Rich Donors Threaten over Closing Foreign Tax Havens
Offshore Banking Business: - A top Obama fundraiser and hedge fund manager said: "I'm appalled at the anti-Wall Street rhetoric. It was OK on the campaign but now it's the real world. I'm surprised that Obama is turning out to be so left-wing. He's a real class warrior."

Barack Obama and the carmakers - an offer you can't refuse
It may be too late for Chrysler?s secured creditors and if GM?s lenders cannot reach an agreement, they may face a similar fate. That would establish a terrible precedent. Bankruptcy exists to sort legal claims on assets. If it becomes a tool of social policy, who will then lend to struggling firms in which the government has a political interest?

Are multinationals not paying their fair share of taxes?
For most people, the multinational company is a troubling concept. Loyalty matters. We like to think that "our companies" serve the broad national interest rather than just scouring the world for the cheapest labor, the laxest regulations and the lowest taxes.

Home Improvements During Recession = Energy & Cost Efficient
Fewer homeowners may be starting complete kitchen remodels, but they're still replacing countertops and re-facing cabinets. They're also investing in improvements to make their homes more energy efficient, according to a recent home remodeling and repair report by ServiceMagic.com, a Web site that connects homeowners to contractors.

Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers Warn: Inflation Ahead
A parade of luminaries see huge budget deficits and loose monetary policy leading to higher prices. That group includes Warren Buffett, Marc Faber, and Jim Rogers. ?We are certainly doing things that could lead to a lot of inflation,? Buffett says. ?In economics there is no free lunch.?

GM says open to moving from Detroit headquarters
General Motors Corp is open to considering moving its headquarters from Detroit, selling off U.S. plants and even renegotiating parts of its restructuring plan with its major union, the new chief executive said on Monday.

Google's diversity causing it antitrust trouble
Google's goal is to index all the world's information, and it has created a broad array of products to draw that information in. Its huge success with search, however, is causing a legal authorities to consider whether its dominance has given it too much market power.