The word "business" leads here; for other meaning see The Business.

In economics, business is the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals, usually to generate revenue.

The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy, in the context of the individual as well as the community or society. In other words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work.

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Business

Fed More Open To Helping The Economy If Needed
Wed, 16 May 2012 14:53:00 -0400
Minutes of the Federal Reserve's April 24-25 meeting released Wednesday stated that "several members" thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentum or if the risks to the economy became great enough.
Buyers Of Hyped Skechers 'Toning Shoes' Can Get Refunds
Wed, 16 May 2012 12:33:00 -0400
Skechers has agreed to pay $40 million to settle claims that it deceived its customers by saying its Shape-ups shoes would help people who wore them shed pounds and tone their abs, buttocks and legs, the Federal Trade Commission said.
Autos Help Speedup In Factory Production
Wed, 16 May 2012 10:20:00 -0400
Manufacturing rose 0.6 percent in April, erasing a 0.5 percent decline in March. Half of the April increase reflected a 3.9 percent jump in the production of motor vehicles and parts, the Federal Reserve said.

Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com

Verizon to end unlimited data for upgraders
Wed, 16 May 2012 17:13:15 -0400
Verizon Wireless is planning this summer to begin forcing smartphone customers with unlimited data plans to switch to tiered plans when they upgrade, the company's chief financial officer told Wall Street analysts on Wednesday.
Outgoing World Bank chief: Fix eurozone
Wed, 16 May 2012 14:51:18 -0400
Outgoing World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he's concerned about the "ripple effects" on the rest of the eurozone if Greece leaves.
Federal Reserve concerned about fiscal cliff
Wed, 16 May 2012 15:04:57 -0400
The Federal Reserve is worried about indecision in Congress.

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: Why the Chinese don’t spend.
James Surowiecki Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0000
8220;China makes, the world takes.” For decades, that has been the motto of the Chinese economy, which is built on providing an endless supply of goods for the rest of the world to buy. But these days there’s a palpable sense that this needs to change . . .
James Surowiecki: Exit Through Lobby
James Surowiecki Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0000
Resigning in protest is not in the American grain. Robert McNamara stuck around as Secretary of Defense even after he decided that the Vietnam War was a disaster; Colin Powell did the same during the Bush Administration’s push for war with Iraq; and in the lead-up to . . .
James Surowiecki: Will consumer spending really stay down?
James Surowiecki Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0000
For all the uncertainty about the current state of the economy, everyone is sure of one thing: this recession has permanently remade American consumers, turning them from spendthrifts into tightwads. From cover stories on “The New Frugality” to stories about cheapness as a new status symbol and pundits . . .

Reuters: Business News

Europe drags down Wall Street a fourth day
Wed, 16 May 2012 16:42:03 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed lower in a choppy session on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 logging its fourth straight decline as investors worried about Greece's future as a member of the euro zone.
Shareholders sue JPMorgan Chase over trading loss
Wed, 16 May 2012 14:02:13 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co was the target of two separate lawsuits by shareholders on Wednesday, accusing the bank and its management of excessive risk that led to trading losses of at least $2 billion.
FBI's Mueller confirms JPMorgan preliminary probe
Wed, 16 May 2012 12:03:11 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday confirmed that the agency has opened a "preliminary investigation" into JPMorgan Chase & Co , the nation's largest bank.

ABC News: Money

JPMorgan Hit With Suits Over Losses
Wed, 16 May 2012 13:18:38 -0400
JPMorgan Chase now faces two new lawsuits from shareholders angry over the bank’s $2 billion trading loss.  The suits, filed in federal court in New York, allege JPMorgan misled investors about the bets that went bad.   Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has said the bank...
Facebook's IPO, From an Adman's Perspective
Wed, 16 May 2012 15:40:55 -0400
It is just days before Facebook's scheduled May 18th IPO. By many accounts the IPO will be a $100+ billion dollar success, minting a sub-way car full of new millionaires and an elevator full of new billionaires.
Facebook Stock: What Price is Too High?
Wed, 16 May 2012 13:38:19 -0400
At the same time the price and public clamor for Facebook's blockbuster IPO is rising, experts' expectations for the company's performance are in decline.

BBC News - Business

Bank warns of euro crisis 'storm'
Wed, 16 May 2012 16:09:44 -0000
The Bank of England warns that the eurozone is "tearing itself apart" with the "storm" threatening the UK recovery, as it cuts its forecast for growth this year.
Clinton Cards to close 350 stores
Wed, 16 May 2012 16:57:59 -0000
Retailer Clinton Cards, which is in administration, is to close almost half its stores across the UK, leading to the loss of almost 2,800 jobs.
UK unemployment falls by 45,000
Wed, 16 May 2012 14:29:22 -0000
UK unemployment fell by 45,000 to 2.63 million in the three months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Economist: Business

Schumpeter: Pretty profitable parrots
Thu, 10 May 2012 15:06:15 -0000
EVERY year Les Wexner, the owner of Victoria’s Secret, a lingerie retailer, takes a month off to travel the world looking for other companies’ ideas to adopt. Limited Brands, his clothing group, seeks lawful inspiration from firms ranging from airlines to consumer-goods manufacturers. Mr Wexner’s philosophy is that business should celebrate imitation.That is almost a heresy. Politicians and countless awards ceremonies extol innovation’s role in economic growth. Businesses are told to innovate or die. Imitators are cast as the bad guys: “The corporation that is first…has an opportunity to manufacture with the highest frequency and in the most desirable markets,” proclaims the boss of Burkett & Randle in “Duplicity”, a 2009 corporate thriller starring Julia Roberts. The firm duly triumphs over the evil rival which tries to copy its supposed cure for baldness.In the real world, companies copy and succeed. The iPod was not the first digital-music player; nor was the iPhone the first smartphone or the iPad the first tablet. Apple imitated others’ products but made them far more appealing. The pharmaceutical...
Valuing Facebook: Zuckerberg’s rocket, ready for lift-off
Thu, 10 May 2012 15:06:15 -0000
OUTSIDE Facebook’s vast new headquarters in Silicon Valley is a huge sign with an image of a hand on it giving a thumbs-up sign. A tiny digital version of the same hand sits on millions of websites and invites Facebook’s 900m or so users to click on it to share content they have found with their pals. Now Facebook is hoping to get another big thumbs-up when it stages its eagerly awaited initial public offering (IPO) of 12% of its equity on America’s NASDAQ stockmarket on May 18th. Assuming all goes according to plan, the flotation will be the largest yet undertaken by an internet company.On a roadshow across America to promote the listing this week, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s 27-year-old boss, and other executives were treated like rock stars. Long queues snaked out of hotels where they were holding meetings, as investors lined up to hang on their every word. Hordes of photographers rushed to take pictures of Mr Zuckerberg, in his trademark hoodie, as he and his colleagues were whisked off to waiting limousines.This frenzy is further proof, if any were needed, that Facebook has become a global internet idol....
Mobile gaming in Japan: Gacha? Gotcha!
Thu, 10 May 2012 15:06:15 -0000
NOT again. Just when another tousle-haired Japanese entrepreneur hoped it was safe to make a billion or two, along come the forces of law and order threatening to throw the rule book at him: in this case, the Act Against Unjustified Premiums and Misleading Representations. That, at least, is how some people viewed news this week that the Consumer Affairs Agency was investigating a feature, popular on Japan’s ubiquitous mobile-phone games, called a “complete gacha”, in which players collect sets of randomly generated tokens to swap for in-game rewards. Such games have made fortunes for several internet start-ups.Agency officials, however, have expressed worries that complete gacha may be a form of gambling (it sometimes involves real money), which can cause children and adults to splurge beyond their means. They questioned its legality.The retribution was swift. In three days the value of GREE, whose 35-year-old owner, Yoshikazu Tanaka, has been called the youngest self-made billionaire after Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, plunged by a third. DeNA, another social-games site, lost 22%.To Yoshito Hori, a venture capitalist and former GREE backer, the news recalled a pattern of crackdowns on alleged abuses by start-ups in recent years that have discouraged the Japanese from setting up new businesses. He urged the government to seek a...

Business News - UPI.com

JPMorgan's 'London Whale' trader is leaving
Wed, 16 May 2012 15:13:00 -0400
NEW YORK, May 16 (UPI) -- The JPMorgan Chase trader based in London who is at the center of the bank's recently announced $2 billion losses is leaving the bank, colleagues said.
Delinquent mortgage loans drop
Wed, 16 May 2012 15:08:29 -0400
WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The delinquency rate for U.S. mortgage contracts dropped to 7.4 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2012, a national trade group said.
Smiles and frowns over defense deals
Wed, 16 May 2012 15:01:40 -0400
MADRID, May 16 (UPI) -- There are smiles and frowns this week over contracts gained and contracts lost by Europe's defense equipment manufacturers.
Early stock gains fading Wednesday
Wed, 16 May 2012 13:46:18 -0400
NEW YORK, May 16 (UPI) -- U.S. stock market gains were fading Wednesday as worries over the Greek economy continue to shake investor confidence.
EU presses Kiev on Tymoshenko case
Wed, 16 May 2012 13:18:26 -0400
BRUSSELS, May 16 (UPI) -- Kiev is expected to take seriously calls to step back from its selective use of justice and politically motivated trials, a European leader said.
General Dynamics to provide communications support
Wed, 16 May 2012 12:59:21 -0400
FAIRFAX, Va., May 16 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems has been contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for communications support.

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