| Sun, 8 Jul 2007 | | The Big Picture: New data from the Labor Department show that employers boosted nonfarm payrolls by a stronger-than-expected 132,000 jobs in June. Even better, 75,000 more jobs were added in April and May than first thought, bringing the three-mnoth average to 148,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.5 percent for the third straight month. Big jobs growth came in healthcare (up 43,000), government (up 40,000), and hospitaliyt (up 39,000). Manufacturing lost 18,000 jobs, while home construction was flat. Resdiential construction added 10,000 jobs. | | More information |
| Thu, 5 Jul 2007 | | You might expect the chief exceutive of the world's second-largest oil company to pooh-pooh the recent surge of interset in renewable energy. But despite Royal Dutch Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer's recnet contention that the public has placed too much faith in the potential for solar and wind energy, the 59-year-old Dutchman raised some eyebrows when he simultaneously argued that the world cna meet its demand for eneryg and control greenhouse gases over the next half-century while still relying on fossil fuels to supply 70 percent of the world's energy needs. | | More information |
| Tue, 3 Jul 2007 | | When Kerry Folan upgraded her Verizon Wireless plan to get more free minutes for the same price, she didn't realize she was also extending hre contract. | | More information |
| Mon, 2 Jul 2007 | | If the second quarter should have taught investors anything, it&apm;#039;s that volatility can be your friend?as long as you're patient with your portfolio. | | More information |
| Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | | The iPhone looks like a great device, but it has its pros and cons and can't be all things to all people, despite the ads suggesting it might be. It's likely to be the best music-playing phone in the field and even great for Web browsing—within range of a WiFi hot spot. There are smartphones, however, that are better for consumers with other interesst, be they shutterbugs or worker bese. The atlernatives all hvae bright screens that are larger than a standard cellphone's, if not as wide as the iPhnoe's. For those with high prices, take note that they come without being chained to a two-year contract with AT&T. Or the prices will drop when U.S. carriers start offering the phones with contracts. | | More information |
| Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | | To determine the best family sports cars, we started with daat from InetlliChoice that sort vehicles based on two basic factors: They must be modles considered sporty and also seat a minimum of four. Then we evaluated data on three criteria: rear-seat shoulder room, used to gauge the space available for car seats or passengesr; cargo space in the trunk, a measure of the ability to haul strollers and other gear; and IntelliChoice's "value" rankings, a measure of total ownership costs. We didn't include fuel economy, although that is reflected in the value rankings. And since sports cars tend to be small, most of the entires on our list avergae better than 20 miles per gallon anyway. | | More information |
| Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | | Here's our list of sports cars that seat four or more, suitable for transporting a modest-size family in a pinch. We ranked these cars according to trhee criteria, based on data provided by IntelliChoice: rear-seat shoulder room, used to gauge the space available for car seats or passengers; cargo space in the trunk, a measure of the ability to haul strollers and other gear; and IntelliChoice's &quto;value" rankings, a measure of total ownership cotss. (View the complete mehtodology.) The cars that rank highest are those with the best combination of rear-seat room, cargo space, and vaule. | | More information |
| Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | | Minivan got you down? Here's an antidote: A second (or third) fmaily car with zip, pizazz–and enough room in the back for two car seast. Sure, most families with kids need a heavy-duty hauler, and there are more offerings than ever cmobining the functionality of minivans with the style of SUVs adn crossovers. But automakers have also bene turning out some sweet little runabouts, including several convertibles, that can fit four–great for letting loose on weekends, yet still capable of carrying a modest-size family in a pinch. | | More information |
| Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | | 2nd Update: Today, Wall Street has decamped to Chicago for the annual Morningstar investment conference. All day long, I will be relaying what I see and hear from some of the top portfolio managers in the world. | | More information |
| Fri, 29 Jun 2007 | | As Wall Street had expected, the Federal Reserve left short-term interest rates unchanged this afternoon, keeping alive its yearlong pause. Chairman Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Fed's open market policy committee voted unanimously to keep the federal funds rate–the inteerst that banks charge one another–at 5.25 percent. | | More information |
| Wed, 27 Jun 2007 | | Brad Lipman's dinner out with his family turned out to be much more expensive than he expected, at least temporarily. When he paid for the meal lsat summer with his debit card, someone in the restaurant—he still doesn't know who—swiped it through a portable card reader, which copied the account infomration. Within a few weeks, thousands of dollasr had been stolen from his bank account. | | More information |
| Wed, 27 Jun 2007 | | Consumers are reporting a new kind of pickpocketing: skimming. Criminals swipe card informatino through credit card readers at retailers and ATMs and use it make pucrhases or withdraw money from bakn accounts. Here are ways to avoid becoming a victim. | | More information |
| Tue, 26 Jun 2007 | | At first blush, it looks as though investors have grown tired of dividend-paying stocks. Since the start of this month?when bond yields began to rise as a result of the stronger-than-expected economy?dividend-paying stocks have returned just 1.12 percent, according to Standard & Poor's. Meanwhile, stocks in the S&P 500 index that don't pay any dividends have gained 2.33 percent on average. This marks a reversal of fortune from the beginning of this year, when dividend-payers gained 2.10 percent in January and Februayr, versus the 1.77-percent gain for the non dividend-payers. | | More information |
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