Sears launched SearsVacations.com last week, a full-service travel web site that allows customers to put everything from cruises to the Bahamas to golf trips in Hawaii on layaway.
Diapers to Furniture | CoolBusinessIdeas.com
Each year over 160 million diapers (or nappies as they are known in the UK) are sent to Scotland’s landfills. However a new recycling scheme is aiming to take those used diapers and turn them into park benches, garden furniture, decking, bollards, railway sleepers, fencing, roof tiles and cardboard. Other bathroom wastewill also be recycled, including incontinence products, wet wipes, nappy sacks and cotton wool.
RIM’s BlackBerry 10 delayed again | money.cnn.com
Is this the end of the road for Research in Motion and the once-loved “CrackBerry”?
RIM (RIMM) reported three pieces of awful news Thursday: 5,000 layoffs, a giant quarterly loss and — worst of all — another delay to its next BlackBerry system. Shares plunged 18% Friday on the news.
Untapped Potential for Expanding Women’s Entrepreneurship Holds Promise to Grow the U.S. Economy, According to Kauffman Report
Women who are capable of starting growth companies that serve global markets may be the nation’s secret weapon for achieving sustained economic growth.
Research shows that startup companies – particularly high-growth startups – are the most fruitful source of new U.S. jobs and offer the economy’s best hope for recovery. However, despite the fact that about 46 percent of the workforce and more than 50 percent of college students are female, and that women have risen to top positions in corporate and university hierarchies, they represent only about 35 percent of startup business owners. Their firms also tend to experience less growth and prosperity than do firms started by men.
Brian’s Briefs | Brian Weide
Brian’s Briefs, written and compiled Monday through Friday by Brian Weide, SunStar Mortgage Services
Friday, June 29, 2012
As I mentioned yesterday, bonds and Mortgage-backed Securities have been flip-flopping around like water on a hot skillet the last 10 days or so, and today was no exception. While closing off their lows, both securities closed lower today after having rallied yesterday. Data was mildly bond-friendly overall. Personal Income rose by .2%, which was twice the rate expected (see Moving the Market). Personal Spending was unchanged for May against expectations of +.1%. Core PCE Prices, which is a favorite gauge of the Fed in measuring inflation, as it works with consumer’s actual spending habits instead of a fixed “basket of goods” as does the CPI, was up by .1% vs. consensus estimates of .2%.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index landed at 52.9 for June- real close to estimates of 53.0 but not quite there. Finally, the final read for June for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey reported at 73.2; again, below estimates of 74.1. So with the exception of Personal Income, all the stats were below estimates, but yet very close; hence my insinuation that bonds were mildly supported by these numbers. However, data was not the main driver for bonds today. First off, stocks were strongly into rally mode (Dow +277.83 at 12880.09, Nasdaq +85.56 at 2935.05, S&P +33.12 at 1362.16), being buoyed by news that Eurozone officials have opened the door for Spain’s banks to be directly recapitalized with bailout funds once Europe sets up a single banking supervisor. Moreover, Spain will not have to take on additional sovereign debt.
Ikea dresser turned register | ikeahackers.net
Materials: HEMNES 8-drawer dresser, black-brown
Description: 1. We spray painted the back of the dresser to a grey metallic finish
2. Made a frame for the back of the dresser out of 2 x 4 (spray painted to match) to support the shelves
3. Mounted bracket rails to the frame
Weekly Economic Update | LADEC
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES:
- May Home Sales and Prices Up in Southern California
- U.S. Travel & Tourism Spending Up in First Quarter 2012
- Events of Interest
- July 25: 2012 LAEDC Mid-Year Economic Forecast
Gender Balance on Social Networking Sites | informationisbeautiful.net
Back in 2010 we calculated there were 74 million more women on social networks than men. We’ve had a fresh look at the data. In the age of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, do chicks still rule?
Want to Live Longer? Move to NYC | LifesLittleMysteries.com
While life expectancy in many parts of the United States is dropping, it has increased by 10 years in Manhattan since 1987. Researchers largely attribute that rise — the fastest in the nation — to a crackdown by the New York City health department on unhealthy behaviors.
Manhattanites can now expect to live to the ripe old age of 82, and the average life expectancy across all five New York City boroughs is 80.6 years. That’s three years beyond the national average, and a striking turnaround since the city’s low point in 1990, when life expectancy there trailed the U.S. average by three years.
115 Marketing Strategies For Small Business | Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.com
The most common question entrepreneurs ask is “How can I improve my marketing with no or little money?” Here is the first of 115 ideas thanks to ‘The Toliet Paper Entrepreneur”. You are sure to find something that works for you.
1. Focus On One Contact
Marketing Strategy For Small Business: Target one decision maker you’d like to meet and invite him to share his expertise. Ask for a (very) short article for your newsletter or a quick phone interview for your podcast. Follow up by sending…
