Ah, Black Friday. Half the nation is in bed, nursing the year’s biggest tryptophan hangover — and the other half is beating down the doors of their local retailers, baying for bargains with a glint in their eyes and wallets in their hands. If you’re going to tackle the crowds, you’re going to need a […]
Russians Spend Big for a Piece of Facebook
A Russian investment firm, Digital Sky Technologies, has invested $200 million in the social networking company Facebook in return for a 1.96 percent stake, the two companies said Tuesday. The investment values Facebook’s preferred stock at $10 billion, a $5 billion drop from October 2007 when Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake. […]
Gregory Itzin Back on ’24’ as Disgraced US President
During its breathless, ticktock eight-season run, “24” has given viewers numerous delights, apart from Jack Bauer’s crazy knack for staying alive. The audience for this rambunctious Fox thriller fondly recalls President David Palmer, a black man in the White House who may have helped normalize that concept for white voters in 2008. Meanwhile, everyone adores […]
Icahn resigns from Yahoo
Icahn resigns from Yahoo’s board on friendly terms SAN FRANCISCO – Activist investor Carl Icahn has decided his work is done at Yahoo Inc. after muscling his way on to the slumping Internet company’s board nearly 15 months ago. In a resignation letter Friday, Icahn said he felt like it was time to leave Yahoo […]
The Coolest Toys
Judging by the toys featured at the American International Toy Fair, the industry isn’t ready just yet to place huge bets on an economic recovery. Toymakers are sticking with many of the trends that worked last year and are keeping prices low. One big theme is toys that take advantage of the falling prices of […]
Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs
The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration. It’s time to start cashing them in. For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it […]
Sectors That Are Creating Jobs
The US Employment Situation report (better known as the jobs report) released on Friday paints a somewhat mixed picture of the labor market. The economy lost only 36,000 jobs in February, well below the consensus forecast of a 68,000 decline in jobs and continuing the trend of moderate job losses in recent months. Contrast that […]
‘Idol’ loses another finalist
Not enough “American Idol” viewers were inspired to vote for Tim Urban. The 20-year-old college student from Duncanville, Texas, was eliminated from the ninth season of the Fox singing competition Wednesday at the end of the “Idol Gives Back” charity event. Urban, who wasn’t at his best with his version of the Goo Goo Dolls’ […]