Davos: What you need to know
It’s safe: The organizers don’t release specific information, but it is estimated that around 5,000 Swiss troops, police and security personnel guard the town. It’s pricey: The ticket is around…
Category: Business
Gaza’s only accelerator gets support from Silicon Valley
There are 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, a strip of land bordered by Israel, the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt. Since 2007, it has been governed by militant organization Hamas,…
7 biggest losers from Swiss currency blowout
UBS predicts the Swiss economy will expand by just 0.5% in 2015, down from an earlier projection of 1.8%. Expectations for 2016 have also been lowered, down to 1.1% from…
Self-service beer taps coming your way
He invested $20,000 of his own funds and partnered with a U.S. manufacturer to make beer tables with two to four self-service taps. In February 2009, Goodman landed his first…
Google, Apple and other tech giants settle antipoaching case for $415 million
The settlement said that the tech workers entitled to a share of the settlement will get just under $6,500 each under the deal, which is only a small fraction of…
Wet Seal sinks into Chapter 11 bankruptcy
In addition to a $20 million loan from B. Riley Financial, Wet Seal has about $31 million of cash on its balance sheet to fund its business. – Chicago Mercantile…
Goldman Sachs posts strong profit, but stock still falls
Rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) all reported earnings this week that were viewed as duds by investors. The main source of weakness was a…
Falling oil’s next victim: banks
“If you’re a small bank in Texas or North Dakota, the risk goes well beyond drilling for oil or gas. You funded the mobile homes that workers live in, the…
EU slams Luxembourg for helping Amazon with taxes
Amazon has a hub in Luxemburgmeaning that everything it sells across the European Union is sold from there. Yes, it does have hundreds of warehouses and logistic centers across Europe,…
New exec taking over NBC’s ‘Today’
Related: Ann Curry exiting NBC news What’s next? With Horowitz — an outsider — in charge of the morning show, there were rampant rumors about shakeups to the cast. Objections…
Opinion: EU must end austerity and restructure debt
The current strategy is clearly not working. The lower and middle classes are carrying the burden. We’ve regained competitiveness only by depressing domestic demand and increasing unemployment. Austerity has exacerbated…
Meet the vigilante who hacks jihadists
“You are hosting fajer.info… which provides material support (inc mobile apps) to #ISIS terrorists,” he warned, identifying a specific computer server. At 9:19 p.m., Jester followed up with his signature…
President’s committee says software alone can’t replace spying on everyone
However, the committee concluded, for the government to know everything, it has to collect everything. The committee suggested putting automatic controls that limit who can access the data collected by…
Swiss companies and currency brokers bleed after franc bombshell
The franc soared by as much as 30% at one point, before settling later in the day at around parity to the euro, still up 20%. It slipped back a…
Charlie Hebdo co-founder: Prophet cartoons went too far
The magazine’s so-called “survivors’ issue,” published Wednesday, expressed appreciation for the outpouring of public support after the January 7 attack. The support continues, with sellouts at newsstands across Paris on…
Hugo Barra: New Xiaomi phone shows we’re not copycats
Related: Xiaomi’s new phone wants to be an iPhone killer But Barra, a former Google executive, said critics should take note of Xiaomi’s new designs, including the use of curved…
In year of ‘Selma,’ critics blast Oscars for all-white Best Actor field
Backlash from fans and critics was fervent. “It’s a movie about blacks being shut out of society. … And now we’re shut out of Hollywood,” Al Sharpton told the New…
Hacked news companies tweet Chinese fired on U.S. warship
The stock markets were unmoved by the fake news reports. – Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights…
Oil tycoon lost $9.3 billion in six months
According to a regulatory filing registered this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hamm pledged about $2.4 billion worth of shares in Continental. – Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain…
Papa John’s gun-carrying worker keeps her job
Papa John’s called the shooting “a tragic event,” and said that the safety of its employees is a top priority. However, the company said its policy “prohibits employees from utilizing…
India cuts key interest rate in surprise move
Related: Why India has the cheapest flights on Earth India’s economy has sputtered in recent quarters, despite efforts by the new government to build a consensus around economic reforms. –…
Mortgages are cheap. Time to refinance
Rates are dropping because of low inflation, a strong U.S. dollar and lackluster housing demand over the holidays, Swonk says. Related: FHA to lower cost of mortgage insurance – Chicago…
19,000 French websites under attack
For perspective, major websites all over the world are constantly under attack by hackers seeking to take them down or break in to steal sensitive information, such as credit card…
Most Americans feel they are falling behind
Even though the unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since mid-2008, Americans are still finding it challenging to land a job. That’s particularly true among those age 50…
China growth expected to miss government target
China continues to face a number of long-standing risks, such as ballooning government and corporate debt and a weak property sector. – Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the…
Holiday hangover: Best Buy dives 15%
Related: Target shuts down in Canada Fleeting holiday cheer: Some investors are hopping off that treadmill. Best Buy’s shares plummeted 15% Thursday morning, knocking them into the red for the…
Will Bitcoin ever rebound?
But is it fair to focus on Bitcoin’s price as a measure of failure or success? This is a currency after all. Related: Bitcoin was one of the tech failures…
Marriott: You win, we won’t block Wi-Fi
Still, the firestorm never let up, and Marriott retracted its request on Wednesday. Marriott said it “will continue to look to the FCC to clarify appropriate security measures network operators…
Notre Dame pays record low interest rate for $400 million bond
Notre Dame’s football team had a disappointing seasonafter a 6-0 start, it stumbled to lose five of its last six regular season games. Related: Wildly popular college football about to…
Tom Hanks: ‘Community college made me what I am’
“I’m guessing the new Congress will squawk at the $60 billion price tag, but I hope the idea sticks, because more veterans, from Iraq and Afghanistan this time, as well…