To Black Friday or not to Black Friday? Perhaps you haven’t made up your mind yet. Dueling polls seem to suggest Americans are torn on the issue. The National Retail Federation says 140 million Americans will go shopping this weekend, and 23.5 percent of them will start as soon as [Keep reading]
Doing some research for a story about the psychology of Black Friday, I found this nugget on the National Retail Federation’s website. “NRF offices will be closed Friday, November 29.” It goes on to say that reporters can still get in touch with media relations folks, but only between 9 [Keep reading]
You can’t buy happiness, but you can save for it, according to a new survey. I think it’s obvious that people enjoy getting free things. People always take part in online surveys and giveaways in a way to win gift cards and free things. But a new survey has suggested [Keep reading]
It’s stunning that just as Microsoft is emerging from a decades-long mistake in how it manages employees, Yahoo is voluntarily diving into the same rat hole. When, oh when, will U.S. corporations stop using 18th Century techniques for managing workers? And when with HR departments stop getting fooled into paying [Keep reading]
Spanish bank Banco Sabadell announced last month that it was the first financial institution in the world to release a banking app for Google Glass. Months earlier, a Ukrainian bank demoed its Glass app. Analysts are predicting that here in the States, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Fidelity are [Keep reading]
Can a hip Chicago 20-something spend only $100 a week? That’s $50 for food and $50 for fun on the weekends? We’re about to find out. Nicole DiVito is imposing the strict budget limits voluntarily as part of “No-spend November.” She’s slamming her purse shut, limiting herself to $400 for [Keep reading]
The young math teacher’s online footprint is an incredible celebration of life, of wit, of enthusiasm. Math geek jokes are particularly near and dear to my heart, and a week ago, she tweeted a doozy: “Parallel lines have got so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet.” Now, [Keep reading]
What will happen this week if the U.S. government has maxed out its credit cards, as is expected to occur on Thursday? Here’s the truth: No one really knows. It’s quite likely Oct. 17 will come and go and no one will notice. Markets may yawn that day, and Americans [Keep reading]
In most states, it’s illegal to over-serve patrons in bars. A law proposed in Michigan would make it illegal to under-serve them, too. The legislation would ban bars and restaurants from delivering anything less than 16 ounces when a customer orders a “pint” of beer. There’s no research to suggest [Keep reading]
When Mariano pitched his first game for the New York Yankees, in May 1995, I arrived in Seattle to start my internship at MSNBC.com. I ‘retired’ in August, my career there almost precisely parallel to his – at least in time. That’s why we love sports so much. Baseball seasons [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan