Category Archives: News
Airlines Raise Prices As Federal Tax Expires
The Associate Press is reporting that airlines have raised their fares just a day after a federal tax expired effectively cancelling out a price reduction. According to the AP, “That means instead of passing along the savings, the airlines are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before.”
Texas Man Gets $330K Home for $16
Because you just can’t make this stuff up…A Texas homeowner walked away from their home and mortgage. The mortgage company subsequently went out of business. In stepped this Texas man that some are calling a squatter who filed $16 worth of paperwork, walked into the house claiming adverse possession, and if he stays there three years uncontested, will own this house.
CEO Salaries Rise Faster Than Average Workers
The economy is back in full swing if you’re a CEO that is. According to a NY Times report, the average CEO pay rose in 2010, which was not surprising since companies are finally regaining financial footing. What surprised the Times was the amount by which executive compensation rose. According to their information, the “median pay for top executives at 200 big companies last year was $10.8 million. That works out to a 23 percent gain from 2009.” Yes, a 23% increase. How are you doing with your 1%?
Citigroup Citibank Credit Cards Hacked
Hackers are having a hell of a time these days. Last time Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo were the targets. This time it’s Citigroup which operates Citibank. You Citibank credit card holders clutch your wallets tighter and check your balances because hackers have accessed some 200,000 credit card account in North America.  According to Citigroup the hackers were not able to access to some sensitive information such as social security numbers, birth dates, card expiry dates or card security codes. If you were affected, expect to get an e-mail from Citigroup telling you to start praying. Seriously, they’ll e-mail you to let you know if your account was affected.
They’re supposedly plugging the hole through which the hackers got in, but didn’t we hear that from Sony only to hear that they were hacked a second time?
$2M Lottery Winner Uses Food Stamps
I’m not providing commentary on this one, just reporting the news. A Michigan man has been collecting and using food stamps for 11 months after winning $2M from his state’s lottery and there is apparently nothing that the state can do about it – yet. The man, Leroy Flick who drives a brand spanking new Audi, was seen using the food stamp card called the Bridge Card which is intended for use by low income families.
Pay What You Want Panera Racks Up
Proving that people are basically good, the pay what you want Panera opened a year ago is steadily posting profits. The concept is simple, provide a restaurant where 100% of proceeds will go to charity but instead of charging set prices, the company suggests the regular retail price of the item, but you are free to pay what you want.
100 Most Value Global Brands 2011
And the spending continues! Apple keeps cranking out enough updates to keep the buying public interested, helping it to rank #1 as the most valuable global brand in 2011. Apple actually displaced the Goliath Google by increasing their brand value by a whopping 84% in just one year. Ka-ching for Apple.
Chase, Capital One Bank Customer Email Addresses Hacked
I woke up this morning to an alert from Chase in my inbox. Thinking that I had somehow gone below my minimum balance alert (you know, $0) I opened the message, only to find out that Chase was warning me that someone hacked the database of the company that they use to send out e-mail messaged. Actually they didn’t say that it was hacked since they like to put things more succinctly than I do. What they said was, “an unauthorized person outside Epsilon accessed files that included e-mail addresses of some Chase customers.”
Are CEOs 300 Times More Valuable Than Their Lowest-paid Workers?
This opinion article is by David R. Francis and was originally posted in the Christian Science Monitor. I thought that it was an interesting viewpoint and deserved to be shared.
There’s something missing in the Washington political scene – a genuine populist, a prominent politician persistently pointing out a decades-long drift of income and wealth to a tiny fringe at the top.
Top 5 on Forbes rich list? Bill, Warren … and Carlos!
