by AnnaMaria Andriotis
Tuesday, May 19, 2009provided by
With an average of five unemployed people now vying for each job opening, according to the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, employers who are hiring can afford to be picky — and tight-fisted. Many companies are reducing compensation for their existing employees, which means they’re more likely to offer lower salaries to new hires, says Fred Crandall, a senior consultant at human resources consulting firm Watson Wyatt. In April, 21% of employers had reduced employee compensation, according to a Watson Wyatt survey, up from 7% in February. continue reading »
There are plenty of people who enjoy playing and creating beautiful music. Unfortunately, not all of them are capable enough to do so, as some of them probably don’t be able to spend money on an expensive musical instrument such as a piano.
Don’t have your own piano yet? Try this one!!
You can now have some fun playing these fake instruments online. Although it’s not the same as a real keyboard piano, you can get delight from this and even learn to play few songs online with your PC’s keyboard and mouse. Before you play these pianos, just make sure you have Java or Flash player installed. Finally, have your computer’s sound system switched on! continue reading »
The green shoots story took a bit of hit this week between data on April retail sales, weekly jobless claims and foreclosures. But the whole concept of the economy finding its footing was “preposterous” to begin with, saysHoward Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates.
“We’re in a complete mess and the consumer is smart enough to know it,” says Davidowitz, whose firm does consulting for the retail industry. “If the consumer isn’t petrified, he or she is a damn fool.”
Davidowitz, who is nothing if not opinionated (and colorful), paints a very grim picture: “The worst is yet to come with consumers and banks,” he says. “This country is going into a 10-year decline. Living standards will never be the same.”
The “green shoots” theory was looking a little brown around the edges Wednesday as stocks fell sharply following weak April retail sales data and another spike in foreclosures.
Noted bear Gary Shilling, president of A. Gary Shilling & Co., says the recent improvement in economic activity was not a sign the worst has passed but a head fake that’s typical in most recessions. There have been positive quarters of GDP growth in 8 of 11 recessions since WW2, and the stock market rallied in sync, Shilling notes.
A day after Mother’s Day, Kenyon Martin lobbed a verbal salvo to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in defense of his own.
Martin, whose mother was verbally confronted by Cuban after Saturday night’s game, said he was going to “take care of it” as early as Monday night, as the Nuggets looked to sweep the Mavericks in their second-round playoff series.
“I don’t feel I need to call his name in the media and all that, but it’s a little personal,” Martin said after the Nuggets’ shootaround in Dallas, according to a report on The Denver Post’s Web site. “And I’m going to take care of it.”
The incident, during which Cuban referred to Martin as a “thug” or a “punk,” according to an earlier report in The Post, was part of a raucous postgame scene the NBA said it was reviewing.
by: Katie Adams
On Friday May 8, 2009, 6:47 pm EDT
Have you ever watched an infomercial or seen an item in a department store and thought “I could have thought of that!” Have you wished you had invested money early in a blockbuster invention? Learn the stories behind some (seemingly) ridiculous ideas that have made inventors and investors very wealthy, and find out what you, as a potential investor, should look for and consider before putting up capital for a potential funding opportunity.
The Koosh Ball
You’ve may have never heard of Scott Stillinger but somewhere in your home or office you probably have one of his inventions – the Koosh ball, which made millions of dollars. Stillinger came up with the idea for the Koosh ball when he tied rubber bands together to create a smaller, easier-to-catch ball for his young children in 1987. He founded OddzOn Products Inc. to distribute the small, simple toy, and within just 12 months it was flying off of store shelves as that year’s hottest Christmas gift. continue reading »
by Duncan Greenberg
Wednesday, April 1, 2009provided by
Want to become a billionaire? Up your chances by dropping out of college, working at Goldman Sachs or joining Skull & Bones.
Are billionaires born or made? What are the common attributes among the uber-wealthy? Are there any true secrets of the self-made?
We get these questions a lot, and decided it was time to go beyond the broad answers of smarts, ambition and luck by sorting through our database of wealthy individuals in search of bona fide trends. We analyzed everything from the billionaires’ parents’ professions to where they went to school, their track records in the early stages of their careers and other experiences that may have put them on the path to extreme wealth. continue reading »
