Articles
GM Customers Give Back
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 6:23pmTheir cars, that is. General Motors is updating the world on how many buyers have returned their vehicles under the company’s “May the Best Car Win” 60-day satisfaction guarantee. And the number is [drumroll]...193. Out of 220,000 cars sold so far, in the month since the program debuted. Doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? Autoblog’s Chris Shunk takes a closer look:
Ron Paul Wins Lifelong Fight, Now May Be Forced To Vote Against Everything He Believes
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 5:12pm
Ron Paul has finally won. Buoyed by a crappy economy, a distrustful public, and a nervous legislature, he has convinced his colleagues to audit the Federal Reserve. His bill calling for more transparency at the Fed has, for all intents and purposes, cleared the financial services committee. And from here on it’s in good shape. The bill has massive support in the House—the majority of the chamber has signed on as co-sponsors—and 30 co-sponsors in the Senate.
TAP Tagline:Ron Paul wins lifelong fight, now may be forced to vote against everything he believes.
Photo of Ron Paul by Alex Wong/Getty Images.Wonk Watch 11.20.09
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 4:59pmPaul Krugman attacks the "deficit squeamishness" of the Obama administration again. The issue, as he understands it, is that government officials "don’t trust the demand for long-term government debt, because they see it as driven by a 'carry trade,' " which, as TBM explained this week, is when players borrow cheaply in the short-term and use that money to buy long-term bonds.
Word of the Week
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 4:29pm
A government report released this week said that the New York Fed mishandled last year’s bailout of American International Group (AIG). According to the report, the Fed “refused to use its considerable leverage” in negotiations over how to handle the beleaguered insurer’s obligations to various trading partners.
Why Restaurant Owners Are Exploding
By Dan MitchellPosted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 2:19pm
Restaurateurs are going through hard times. So hard that some of them are starting to lash out, either at their customers or at their own employees.
In Bethlehem, Pa., two college students received what they said was terrible service at the Lehigh Pub. That establishment, like many others, tacks on an 18 percent "gratuity" to every bill for large parties—in this case, six or more. The two students, who were with four friends, refused to pay the tip, and were arrested.
TAP Tagline:Why restaurant owners are losing it.
Google Chrome OS: The Prologue
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 1:03pm
Yesterday, the engineers at Google (GOOG) announced more details for the company's new operating system, dubbed Google Chrome OS. It's like Android, except it's for the personal computer and it's not out yet. But, as Googlers emphasized yesterday, it promises to be "blazingly fast."
Who Will Charge America?
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 11:50amWhen electric cars and plug-in hybrids begin hitting the U.S. market in bigger numbers next year, a significant barrier to entry for consumers who don’t live in places where people have garages with electrical outlets will be where to obtain juice. True, you could run an extension cord out of the apartment window—although if you live in a 40-story high rise, that will need to be a pretty long cord.
TAP Tagline:Who will charge America?
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Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 9:42am
Microsoft Office's Last Stand
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 9:40am
Microsoft Office is already pretty useful, as evidenced by the fact that almost everyone who works in an office uses it in some way. But its competition is growing. That put extra pressure on Microsoft (MSFT) to make the latest version of Office particularly good:
By TBM Staff
Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 - 9:32am
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sharply rejected a call to resign from his job and told a Republican congressman, "You gave this President an economy falling off the cliff."
