Ford: Aftermarket bumpers used in repairs often inferior
By Sharon Silke Carty, USA TODAYDETROIT — A comparison of aftermarket replacement parts for critical safety components such as bumpers and vehicle supports found they often are inferior to parts made by automakers, Ford Motor reported Wednesday.
Ford says consumers are often pressured by insurance companies to use cheaper aftermarket parts for insured repairs. The company said it will push for some sort of review and standardization of aftermarket › Continue reading
More small businesses use Twitter, Facebook to promote
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAYSAN FRANCISCO — A surge in social-media use by small businesses reflects a shift in how they operate and their comfort with increasingly easy-to-use technology.
In growing numbers, small-business owners are adopting social-networking services, location-based services, Twitter and online video to promote products and services, according to a new study by MerchantCircle, a social network for small businesses. It polled › Continue reading
Investors demand strong revenue growth
By Matt Krantz, USA TODAYIt’s not just about the bottom line during the ongoing earnings season, as investors are looking for companies that can do more than just cut costs.
With 100 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reporting their financial results so far, investors are paying keen attention to companies’ revenue growth and punishing many companies that disappoint, even if their profit comes in strong.
Shares of Yahoo › Continue reading
2010 Volkswagen CC has plenty of style, but a balky drivetrain
By James R. Healey, USA TODAYPay more, get less. What a deal. In the case of the Volkswagen CC, a stylish sedan based on the midsize Passat, headroom is tighter than Passat’s, there are seats for just four instead of five and the trunk is smaller — and the CC sells for about $2,000 more.
Oddly, however, it works.
CC has been the second-best-selling VW, behind the Jetta compact, but ahead of Passat, almost since its launch as › Continue reading
Fed chief Bernanke urges spending to help recovery
By Paul Davidson, USA TODAYFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, wading into a bitterly partisan debate, said Wednesday that Congress should increase spending now to jump-start a sputtering economy and take steps to reduce the ballooning federal deficit in a couple of years.
“At the current moment, some fiscal support for the economy is an appropriate and constructive thing,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee in his semiannual report › Continue reading
Dell Streak tablet, smaller than an iPad, doubles as a phone
By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAYThe iPad has energized the market for tablet computers, paving the way for an expected onslaught of slate-type devices.
The Dell Streak that I’ve been testing for a few days is a tablet, too. And that’s pretty much where comparisons with the iPad cease.
Oh, sure, folks will ask the same basic question of the Streak that they asked before the iPad appeared: Is there room for a slate that’s larger than a smartphone › Continue reading
Calculating The Damage
Regular readers know that I am a devout “deadbeat”.   That is credit card industry slang for someone who avoids paying interest and fees by ALWAYS paying his credit card bill in full and on time.  Not usually, not most of the time, but EVERY SINGLE MONTH for my entire life.  In the rare case when a technical glitch prevents my payment from being received on time, I have successfully asked for all interest › Continue reading
SEC votes to scrap mutual fund ‘12b-1′ fees
By Mark Jewell, Associated PressBOSTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday voted to revamp fees that most mutual funds charge to cover sales and distribution costs, and that have become a source of confusion for investors and industry insiders alike.
Revenue from so-called “12b-1″ fees can be used for a wide range of fund services beyond upfront sales costs, and an investor can pay the fees for years after they’ve gotten › Continue reading
Now might be time to check back into tech stocks
By John Waggoner, USA TODAYBack in 1999, money managers trumpeted technology stocks, arguing that soon there would be microchips in everything from credit cards to Toyota accelerators, and they were right. Unfortunately, they were also about 10 years too early. But today, tech companies are booming, despite a lousy economy and falling prices. It’s not a bad time to take another look at the tech sector, provided you have an exit plan in place.
Firedog Discount
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