Aug 14 Soaring hazelnut prices drive sweets-lovers nuts By Anna Christiansen A spring frost in Turkey destroyed hundreds of thousands of hazelnut flower buds and is responsible for an expected global deficit of the nut. Prices of hazelnuts are expected to increase 60 percent. Turkey produces around three-quarters of… Continue reading
Aug 14 What parents need to know about college faculty By Joseph Fruscione Students and faculty, former adjunct professor Joe Fruscione says, need parents on their side, which means they need to start asking the tough questions about who's teaching their kids and how much they're getting paid. Continue reading
Aug 13 With jobs on the line, why are Market Basket employees so loyal to Artie T? By Simone Pathe Despite an ultimatum from the Market Basket board that striking employees will lose their jobs if they don't return to work by Friday, many of the New England grocer's workers refuse to come back without the return of former CEO… Continue reading
Aug 12 Consumer protection agency urges Americans to beware of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies By Charles Pulliam-Moore The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a primer on Monday meant to warn consumers about the potential dangers related to popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin… Continue reading
Aug 11 Social Security and Viagra: A case of accidental death and widows benefits By Laurence Kotlikoff There are countless rules governing Social Security benefits, and just as many exceptions to those rules, including one for "accidental death," which allows widow(er)s to receive survivor benefits even after having been married less than the requisite nine months. Larry… Continue reading
Aug 08 Watch Bare shelves for Market Basket as employees and shoppers unite in profit-sharing fight By PBS News Hour The owners of a successful New England grocery store chain are in a family feud over whether company profits should go to shareholders or to employees, some of whom have abandoned their shifts and hit the streets. Economics correspondent Paul… Continue watching
Aug 08 Getting lucky: Why the economy has grown faster under Democratic presidents By Simone Pathe Over the past 64 years, from Harry Truman's first elected term through Barack Obama's first term, the economy has grown faster when Democrats are in the White House. How much of that is good policy versus good luck?… Continue reading
Aug 07 The $2 trillion economic risk you haven't heard about By Donald Goldsmith Beyond Earth's atmosphere lurks a threat that could knock out our electrical grid and cause catastrophic structural, not to mention economic, damage. The risk within the next decade is about as great as that of another earthquake shaking California. So… Continue reading
Aug 06 How 'Lehman Siblings' might have stemmed the financial crisis By Sallie Krawcheck Former Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck calls diversification "the one free appetizer in investing." That applies not only to the stock composition of a portfolio, but to the gender makeup of a company. Bringing more women into the room, she says,… Continue reading