Business Views and Opinions, Business Blogs and Columns

Finance

Market Movers

by Felix Salmon

Lehman CDS Datapoint of the Day

The DTCC is a reliable source, and it says the Lehman CDS settlement flows on October 21 are going to be small: In November 2006, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) established its automated Trade Information ... Read Blog

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Media

Mixed Media

by Jeff Bercovici

Yes, Gail Collins, We Watch 'The Daily Show' Too

New York Times columnist Gail Collins says John McCain reminds her of Gollum: "[McCain]'s beginning to act like one of those movie characters who steals the wrong ring and turns into a troll. During that last debate, ... Read Blog

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News

Daily Brief

End Comes Early for a Law Firm

Heller Ehrman has officially sunk. When last we wrote about the law firm, management had sent emails warning employees that everyone needed to show up for work as it moved toward a planned November 28 winding down ... Read Blog

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Business Travel

Seat 2B

by Joe Brancatelli

Shuttle Scuttlebutt

The upcoming changes to Delta's East Coast shuttle sound like a good thing for business travelers, but this is just the latest sign that the service is in decline. Read Column

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Economics

Odd Numbers

by Zubin Jelveh

Harvard's Frankel Likes Taxing Trades

Apologies but, just catching up to this one. I criticized Jesse Eisinger's proposal for taxing trades and the notion that such a levy would improve markets by reducing short-termism. But now (or rather, as of Sep 30) ... Read Blog

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Fashion

Fashion Inc.

Morning Hemlines: Takashimaya, Ann Taylor, Diesel, Retail Stocks

Japanese department store companies Takashimaya and H2O Retailing will merge, creating the second biggest department store group in the country. (WWD) Retail stocks saw a huge one-day drop on Thursday. (WWD) Ann Taylor Loft and Procter & ... Read Blog

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Executives

World According to...

by Lloyd Grove

Billy Mays

The TV pitchman gives his spiel on the economics of the infomercial, his new reality show, John McCain, and the beard. But wait! There's more! Read Column

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Entertainment

Hollywood Deal

by Fred Schruers

Paul Newman's Tasty Legacy

With his inevitable self-deprecation, Paul Newman once said that the downside of his successes with his Newman's Own line of foods was that "my salad dressing is out-grossing my films." In reality, his box-office draw showed an ... Read Blog

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Technology

Tech Observer

Yahoo on Google Attack with Analytics Tool

Ars Technica reports: Yahoo must have adopted a strange new policy of putting acquisitions to good use, exhibited in its latest form by the announcement of Yahoo Web Analytics. Marketed as "an enterprise site analytics tool," the ... Read Blog

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Politics

Capital

by Matt Cooper

McCain's Insane Mortgage Proposal

What it shows is that McCain isn't too old to be president; he's offering a lot of evidence that he's too adolescent. He's impetuous, imprudent. This latest proposal is as wild as the debate-canceling threat from a ... Read Blog

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Spin

Business Spin

by Jack Flack

Lobbyist Wars: May the DOJ Be With You

Google and Microsoft battle for the Galaxy Read Blog

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Beer

First Draft

by Lew Bryson

The Buzz About the Buzz

Energy drink plus beer equals strong sales (and bad publicity). Read Column

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Science

Natural Selection

by David Ewing Duncan

Investing In Our Future

While we're spending hundreds of billions to bail out financial institutions, why not also bail in the future by investing more in science and technology? Read Column

Sports

The Windup

by Franz Lidz

Yankees at a Crossroads

With seven possible free agents freeing up $75 million, what should the team do for 2009? Read Column

Economics

by John Cassidy

Black Hole

Oil prices aren't soaring because of speculators. They're gyrating because the fundamentals of the market have disappeared. Read Column

Washington

by Matthew Cooper

The Audacity of Hype

An inside look at how Obama's much-touted ban on campaign contributions from lobbyists has really worked. Read Column

Wall Street

by Jesse Eisinger

Reining in the Speculators

Rapid-fire traders are being wrongly blamed for the downturn. That doesn't mean the status quo should hold. The case for a trading tax. Read Column

Media

by Howell Raines

Health-Care Nation

The coverage of the national health-care debate oversimplifies the feud. Now two authors are trying to set the media straight. Read Column

Personalities

Playas

Google's Cash Cow: You

Google doesn't sell software or hardware or content. It sells you -- or, slightly more precisely, its ability to understand your habits and deliver your attention to particular advertisers. And because of this, I am just a ... Read Blog