business

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>

LiLo Launches Branding Company

Lohan's 6126 will sell leggings, tanners

(Newser) - In yet another attempt at reinvention, 22-year-old Lindsay Lohan has launched a brand development company that will hawk her merchandising ideas, Women’s Wear Daily reports. Expensive leggings are en route to boutiques this fall, but the company, called 6126, also plans to develop a cheaper spandex line, natural self-tanners,...

Oil's Slide as Chaotic as Its Rise

Plunging crude prices can be almost as disruptive as their rise

(Newser) - Crude oil prices have fallen 38% from their July high of $147.27 a barrel, and the decline is causing nearly as much consternation around the world as its meteoric rise in the first half of the year, reports the Washington Post. Oil-dependent governments are worried about revenues and forecasters...

Politics, Stars Align for Thai Fortunetellers

Mr. Luck's upbeat, automated predictions on love, life big business in tumultuous times

(Newser) - Fortunetelling, always a big part of Thai culture, is bigger business than ever now, the Wall Street Journal reports. As political unrest buffets the country, an automated telephone astrology service run by a seer known as Mr. Luck is flourishing. "Every time there's a crisis in Thailand, it's a...

As Cremations Increase, So Do Options

Lower cost, greater personalization appeal to families

(Newser) - The cremation industry is booming, a reflection of tighter economic times and a push from consumers for more creative funeral options, reports the Washington Post. Cremations, cheaper than traditional burial, rose 7% nationwide in the past 5 years and made up 35% of the funeral market last year. Funeral homes...

Denim Detective Unzips Fake Jeans Biz

Designers hire PI's to protect their bottom lines

(Newser) - Chris Johnson likes collecting women's jeans, but he doesn't wear them—he's one of hundreds of fashion detectives hired by designers to spot knockoffs, the Los Angeles Times reports. Johnson trolls stores and Internet sites for clients like True Religion who want to put counterfeiters out of business. The fakes...

Protests Close Plant Making World's Cheapest Car

Company to move factory building 'People's Car,' billed as world's cheapest at $2,500

(Newser) - Tata Motors has halted work at the Indian factory where it was producing its Nano model, billed as the world’s cheapest car. A 2-year-long land dispute escalated when West Bengal farmers trapped workers inside, the AP reports, and the company instructed employees to stay home this week. "A...

Both Arctic Passages Navigable for First Time

Using Northeast, Northwest shortcuts will be boon to shipping firms

(Newser) - In what scientists say is an historic moment, both Northeast and Northwest Passages are navigable as of this week, and shipping firms are salivating over the  possibilities, Der Spiegel reports. With an increasing number of largely ice-free days every summer, the radical shortcuts offered by the once-treacherous routes will eventually...

SEC Wants US Firms to Switch to International Accounting

Multinationals would change first under plan

(Newser) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to require US companies to switch to international accounting rules, the Wall Street Journal reports. The body voted today to seek public comment on a plan for the transition, which would stagger requirements. Large multinational firms would be expected to voluntarily switch in...

Obama, McCain Woo CEOs to Shore Up Economic Cred

Candidates try to make up for their lacking economic records

(Newser) - John McCain and Barack Obama are doggedly courting CEOs of leading businesses in an effort to win voters' economic confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports. Each candidate has already lined up a corps of "poster CEOs," including the FedEx chairman, who is supporting McCain, and Warren Buffet, who...

Big Bucks Flock to Beijing
 Big Bucks Flock to Beijing 
Aug 9, 2008 9:16 AM CDT

Big Bucks Flock to Beijing

(Newser) - The Beijing Olympics are a celebration of sport, for sure, but they are happening in China, which makes them a business opportunity unlike earlier Games. Folks with deep pockets are converging on the capital to wheel and deal, with an eye to the emerging middle-class market of some 300 million...

Clog-Maker Crocs Falling Off
 Clog-Maker Crocs Falling Off
Aug 1, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Clog-Maker Crocs Falling Off

Firm has seen drastic decline in sales, share price

(Newser) - Crocs, Inc,. the firm that makes those ubiquitous rubber clogs, is having a bit of a fashion emergency. The stock has lost 90% of its value in less than a year, and the company predicts a 20% sales decline by the end of 2008, NPR reports. The firm’s execs...

Big Brother Boss Turns Eye on Home Workers

Employers take screenshots and photos

(Newser) - Think working out of a home office means wearing your jammies and watching YouTube? Not unless you want the boss to see what you watch in your Mickey Mouse PJs. As telecommuting rises, employers are tracking their workers by taking screen snapshots, recording keystrokes, and even taking pictures of workers...

Web Whizzes Renovate Rickety Sites to Flip for Profit

Real-estate 'turn-over' tactics move to Internet

(Newser) - Web entrepreneurs are taking a page from the real-estate book: they’re buying badly designed websites cheaply, fixing them up, and selling them at a profit. Website sales on eBay and similar sites have soared in the past few months, with many site-flippers happy to sell for just a few...

Green Cafe's Crowdsourcing Doesn't Spoil the Stew

DC eatery relies on the masses to define it

(Newser) - When Elements, a vegetarian and raw food restaurant, opens in DC next year, it will have one owner, but almost 400 people who conceived and developed the idea, the Washington Post reports. An online (and offline) community is helping with everything from designing a logo to greening the building. But...

New Stadium Strikes Fear in Mets Foes
 New Stadium Strikes Fear
 in Mets Foes
OPINION
Jul 24, 2008 2:37 PM CDT

New Stadium Strikes Fear in Mets Foes

New stadium, opening next year, will open financial 'chasm' for other NL teams

(Newser) - National League teams visiting Shea Stadium this summer can’t help looking past the outfield with fear at the New York Mets’ new home, Citi Field, which opens next year. “It is the ballpark that could make the Mets financially untouchable,” Rich Hofmann writes in the Philadelphia Daily ...

Yoga Turning B-Schoolers on Their Heads

Capitalists latch on to search for inner peace

(Newser) - Inner peace through capitalism? Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, and now, BusinessWeek reports, yoga clubs are cropping up in some of the country's most high-pressured institutions: top business schools. "Having a yoga practice helped sort through the white noise," one MIT...

CNBC Focuses on Fresh Face of Biz News

Erin Burnett's network tests new formula for creating a star

(Newser) - Since Jim Cramer and Maria Bartiromo became breakout stars for CNBC, the network has been trying to cultivate more of the sort of talent that draws a devoted viewership. Erin Burnett, 32, has enjoyed one of those carefully crafted career trajectories, moving from writer to co-anchor in just weeks. The...

'Media Titan' Moves in Small (Even Empty) Websites

Little-known Internet player hitting the big time with simple idea

(Newser) - Richard Rosenblatt doesn’t work in Silicon Valley and few people, even there, know his name. But in just 2 years his Demand Media has become a huge player, backed by $355 million in private investment, and pulling in nearly $200 million in revenue this year, the Los Angeles Times...

Corporate America Tries to Chip Away at Lawyer Bills

With first $1B legal charge on horizon, companies create new fee structure

(Newser) - With corporate legal fees skyrocketing to unprecedented heights—the median amount big companies forked over per outside lawyer in 2007 was more than $600,000—firms are moving to exert some measure of control, Portfolio reports. Some of America’s biggest businesses are taking dramatic steps, like trading long-term agreements...

High Prices Pound Gas Stations
 High Prices Pound Gas Stations 
Jul 7, 2008 6:22 PM CDT

High Prices Pound Gas Stations

Squeezed margins drive many out of business

(Newser) - Angry at gas stations for profiting on your financial misery? Think again, the Wall Street Journal reports: They're fast going out of business as oil prices rise. This year's 40% price hike has sent costs soaring, shuttering 3,000 US stations and causing Exxon Mobile to announce the sale of...

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