All Economy
Win for Indiana: Honda to produce 2013 Civic Hybrid in the USIn a move that should benefit US manufacturing, Honda has announced it will move production of the 2013 Civic Hybrid to Indiana. The move will mark the first time the Civic Hybrid sedan has been made outside of Japan since it launched in 2001.
The ExplainerLibor scandal: What is it and why you should careOne bank caught trying to rig an interest rate may be tip of an iceberg. With an estimated $300 trillion in loans or derivative contracts around the world pegged to the interest rate, the scandal is again shaking faith in major international banking centers like Wall Street and London City.
Stay fresh: Avoid frozen and prepackaged mealsPrepackaged meals are certainly attractive due to convenience. But there are hidden costs as well. For starters, most frozen or prepackaged meals you buy are more expensive than their raw ingredients. Plus, there are important health issues.- Private student loan report: Is subprime mortgage crisis comparison fair?A new government report says the private student loan market suffers from risky terms and lax underwriting, paralleling the subprime mortgage debacle. 聽Private lenders say the criticism is out of date.
My Nissan Leaf life: A good (and affordable) plug-in is hard to findLatest installment of Monitor writer Mark Clayton's quest to buy a plug-in car: There are more than a dozen plug-in vehicles, but high costs and the lack of availability quickly narrow down the choices. 聽
5 ways to get cheap (or even free) roadside assistanceWhen your car breaks down, getting it fixed is expensive enough 鈥� but so is just getting it towed to the mechanic. Here's how to cheaply get off the hook the next time your car is on the hook.
Jon Stewart and Spongebob return as DirecTV, Viacom reach dealViacom聽Inc. and the satellite TV service provider said Friday that they have settled a dispute that had cut off access to 17聽Viacom聽channels for DirectTV subscribers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
How the government hinders the American Dream of upward mobilityWith a budget that encourages consumption rather than savings, the gap between the American Dream and reality will only widen, some at the Tax Policy Center fear. One solution: Rethink those tax subsidies that too often hinder mobility in the name of enhancing it.
Fiat 500L in-car espresso machine: tempest in a demitasse?Fiat 500L draws lots of attention for its espresso machine. Critics grumble about another distraction, but there's more to the Fiat 500L story.
Breakaway brokers find a surprisingly bullish marketBreakaway brokers are gaining a lot of momentum, according to the Reformed Broker. One driver of the movement is the beating the bigger Wall Street houses took in the financial crisis, which has made investors wary of the large corporate firms.
GOP conservatives scramble to take government shutdown off the tableIn a shift from last summer's debt-ceiling standoff, tea party conservatives now aim to be seen as avoiding a government shutdown, even if it means accepting a higher level of FY 2013 spending.
Better in bulk: Buy staples in large quantities to save moneyAnything that doesn鈥檛 have a quick expiration date, can be stored, and is something used on a regular basis is good in bulk. Items bought in bulk are less expensive per pound, and can also help squeeze out a few more meals before the next grocery trip.
US stocks creep up; IBM, other tech stocks riseDespite strong gains from IBM and other tech stocks, gains on The Street were weak, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 34 points to close at 12,943. Although modest, Thursday's close marked the third straight day of gains.
Sharing is caring: Onstar to let GM owners rent out their carsSharing is caring. Onstar will soon allow GM car owners to rent their cars out via a new startup called Relay Rides, a company that connects private parties who want to rent out their cars for a few hours at a time to short-term drivers in need of wheels.
Housing is suddenly a bright spot for economyIn the midst of the economy's slowdown, housing is gradually picking up. Home prices and new construction are up. Existing home sales, while down, are expected to rebound.
Want to get rich? Creating a financial cushion is the first stepA recent survey shows a large number of people do not have an emergency fund. When you have no cushion and a big, unexpected bill comes up, most have to borrow to meet the expense. Creating a cushion is the first step toward wealth and financial freedom.
The Paradox of Choice: A theory loses favorA famous experiment, published in 2000, points to something called the Paradox of Choice: more choices lead to lower overall sales. That makes no sense in the narrow rationality often used in economic models, and some evidence suggests it might not actually be true.
The problem: Big business doesn't care about American well-beingAmerica isn鈥檛 educating enough of our people well enough to get American-based global companies to do more of their high-value added work here.聽But big American-based companies aren鈥檛 pushing this agenda, they don鈥檛 care. And that's the real problem.聽
US drought: how it could impact food, water needs around the worldThe effects of the widespread US drought could range from聽higher聽utility prices and industry costs in the developed world to population displacements and political unrest in less developed regions.
HSBC money laundering: Bank vows fixes. Senators doubtful.HSBC money laundering comes under the microscope in a Senate hearing. Bank officials promise to shut down operations in the Cayman Islands, tied to HSBC money laundering.聽