The tragic case of Terry Watanabe
on Nov 20, 2009 in Ethics Legal News addiction gambling harrah's entertainment harrah;s Las Vegas law suit resort terrence watanabe terry watanabe Vegas Wynn Below is an incredible story about a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth who refused to take responsibility for anything. In truth, this is very unfortunate as Mr. Terry Watanabe obviously has a problem with addiction for which major counseling...

Unemployment back on the rise
on Nov 20, 2009 in Economy government joblessnes labor department news percentage rates release unemployment According to a government report released Friday, thirteen states reported unemployment rates above the national average of 10.2% in October and a growing number reported rising jobless rates. In total, jobless rates rose in 29 states. On the contrar...

Skype finally sold by eBay — Online seller gets $1.9 billion
on Nov 20, 2009 in Economy Ethics Andreessen Horowitz canada pension plan investment board communication e eBay Skype In a deal that was not long ago presumed to be heading to the paper shredder, eBay has announced that they have succesfully completed their previously announced sale of Skype communications. I personally am happy to see this happen. It seems as thou...

Chegg.com rakes in $57 million for textbook rental site
on Nov 19, 2009 in Economy chegg.com insight venture partners redfin rockyou santa clara textbook rental vc venture capital venturesource Recession? Slouching economy? I bet Chegg.com would tell you differently. “Chegg.com, an online textbook-rental company, said it has raised $57 million in venture capital, in a sign that venture investing may be reviving. The amount of funding...

GE CEO and BofA execs predict second stimulus
on Nov 17, 2009 in Economy Ethics Human Resources bailout Bank of America congress congressmen Fed GE General Electric nuclear power plant Senator stimulus Washington Whether the end result proves to be positive or not, should this come to fruition, expect right wing radio hosts and Senators alike to have a field day. Oh, excuse me, and expect BofA execs to have a vacation. “General Electric Co. Chief Execu...

Troubled GMAC: Out goes Molina in comes Carpenter
on Nov 17, 2009 in Economy Ethics Alvaro de Molina Cerberus Capital Management Chrysler financial serviecs GM gmac Michael Carpenter TARP GMAC Financial Services, the struggling company that provides loans to GM customers and dealers, has named a current board member, Michael Carpenter, their new CEO. Carpenter stepped in for Alvaro de Molina, who was ousted after less than a year an...

Federal Reserve pushing for new stricter regulations on gift cards
on Nov 17, 2009 in Economy Ethics black friday CFPA christmas consumer financial protection agency Fed federal reserve gift cards laws regulations The Federal Reserve is taking more and more steps to protect consumers; it’s latest dealing with retail gift cards. Today the Federal Reserve put forward a plan to limit fees and extend the expiration date for many different gift cards across...

Retail sales increase for October
on Nov 16, 2009 in Economy census bureau report demand increase percentage retail sales From September to October, retail sales increased 1.4%. Excluding auto parts and sales, retail rose a mere 0.2%. Our economy saw a slight decline in September, so the rebound was definitley good news. Real retail sales declined by 1.7% on a YoY bas...

MGM loooking for a buyer
on Nov 16, 2009 in Economy Ethics buyer debt mgm time warner inc time wrner viacom viacom inc In a statement Friday, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. announced that it is “exploring strategic options”, including a possible sale. The debt riddled company said it is also interested in strategic partnerships and that its lenders have agre...

Dutch introduces driving tax
on Nov 16, 2009 in Economy Ethics Legal News defecit driving tax dutch emissions gas prices gas tax gasoline tax government pollution tax The Dutch are planning on introducing a new tax that will monitor tax-payers’ miles driven and tax accordingly. The U.S. has been toying with this idea for some time. Actually, Oregan ran a similar, small pilot program which was considered pret...