May 2009

Monthly Archives

  • Accrual Accounting for Non Accountants

    At the risk of losing half of you at the mere mention of accounting, I’m going to do it anyway. Accounting can be confusing, but wrapping your mind around a few key concepts can put you far ahead of your competition. What is Accrual Accounting? A lot of the confusion in formal accounting comes from […]

  • The World’s 10 Weirdest Vending Machines

    Vending machines have been around since the first century AD. By today’s accounts, even the first vending machine, which dispensed holy water to temple visitors, was weird. The tradition continues. This month alone, Germans released a 24K gold bar vending machine, and an Italian entrepreneur exhibited a machine that makes pizza from scratch. These machines […]

  • Visteon Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Endangers Ford

    Michigan-based auto parts supplier Visteon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. The Wall Street Journal reports: Visteon is by far Ford’s largest parts supplier, and the auto maker accounts for one-third of Visteon’s $9 billion of annual sales. Korean-based auto maker Hyundai Motor Co. is the next biggest customer, with 30% of Visteon’s sales. Whether […]

  • Toys “R” Us Buys FAO Schwarz

    Toys “R” Us purchased FAO Schwarz today for an undisclosed amount. Bloomberg has more: Toys “R” Us plans to continue operating FAO Schwarz’s two retail stores in New York and Las Vegas under the same name, along with the company’s Web site and catalog businesses, Toys “R” Us said late yesterday in a statement. The […]

  • 12 Must-Read Summer Business Books

    Escapist fluff should make a big comeback this summer. In a world of bad economic news, who wants to read about business? Odd as it may sound, however, now is an especially good time to pick up business books. A delicate economy and stiff competition beg you to hone your skills, not ignore them. The […]

  • Time Management: More Popular Than Weight Loss

    Like many freelancers, I find myself trying to pack more into a 24-hour day than is humanly possible. It’s not just us lone business people who do this. I know plenty of professional, executives, and full time parents who do the same thing. And what do we do when we simply run out of time? […]

  • Ferris Bueller House for Sale in Chicago

    The Highland Park, Chicago home featured in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986) is being listed by Sotheby’s for $2.3 million. The Chicago Sun-Times has more: The Ben Rose Home, set for Cameron Frye’s house and the infamous Ferrari scene in the movie staring Matthew Broderick, is comprised of two buildings of steel and glass construction, […]

  • Will Bacon Vodka, Minicows, and the Wearable Towel Succeed?

    As I scoured the Web for business news this morning, I found that this first informal week of summer is anything but hungover. News outlets are finally reporting interesting product trends beyond government bailouts and coupon-clipping websites. I’m talking miniature cows, bacon-flavored vodka, and (gulp) a wearable towel. I decided to assess the potential success […]

  • 7 Websites That Teach You Foreign Languages for Free

    This is a blog post by Drea Knufken. Scurrying to market yourself amidst stiff competition? Looking to gain new skills? Learning a new language will not only boost your resume, but will open you up to worlds of new contacts, prospects, and friends. Luckily, the days of dragging yourself to night classes may be over. […]

  • Will Microsoft Kumo Fall Flat, Like Other MS Search Engines?

    Source: Shore.com Microsoft may be getting ready to unveil Kumo, its new search engine, at next week’s All Things D conference in California. PC World reports: (Leaked Kumo screenshots)…show a three-column search results page featuring useful tools like related searches, a single-session search history for quick backtracking, and a set of search categories that relate […]