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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NPR Topics: Business

Life Insurance Firms Profit From Death Benefits
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:03:00 -0400
Life insurance companies boost their bottom lines by holding on to death benefits owed to families of service members and millions of other Americans, an investigation by Bloomberg Markets magazine found. Cindy Lohman, whose son was killed in Afghanistan, says she feels betrayed by his life insurance company, Prudential.
BP Says Spill End Is In Sight, Critics Doubt It
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:00:00 -0400
BP capped the well, and the oil on the surface appears to be dissipating faster than many scientists expected. Now, BP predicts it's only weeks or even days away from sealing the well for good. But while new oil may stop flowing, nobody knows the extent of the damage the spill may have caused.
Durable Goods Orders Down 1 Percent In June
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:35:00 -0400
Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell broadly in June as the fragile recovery continued to slow. The Commerce Department said demand for durable goods dropped 1 percent -- the second straight monthly decline and the largest drop since August 2009.

Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com

Oil prices drift lower
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:00:19 -0400
Oil drifted lower Wednesday, continuing a slide from an 11-week high above $79 a barrel reached last week, as a drop in consumer sentiment and an unexpected build in inventories weighed on prices.
Fed report: Recovery steady, but modest
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:47:36 -0400
The economy showed continued signs of modest improvement in recent months, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its latest snapshot of regional economic conditions.
RIM stock rises 4% on new phone speculation
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:23:47 -0400
Research in Motion shares jumped 4% in midday trading Wednesday on speculation that the BlackBerry maker will unveil a new smartphone next week.

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: Wall Street, the White House, and the weak economy.
James Surowiecki Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0000
The U.S. economy is limping along. The job market is in rotten shape, and business investment is hitting historic lows. And, if you’re looking for a culprit for this dismal state of affairs, many businesspeople would be happy to point you to the White House. Companies aren’ . . .
James Surowiecki: Why the financial-reform bill should have taken on auto dealerships.
James Surowiecki Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0000
The financial-reform bill that Congress appears ready to pass is not the panacea for financial crises that some wanted. But, given the influential Wall Street lobbies that were trying to emasculate the law, it’s surprising that it turned out to be as tough as it is. The . . .
James Surowiecki: The dangers of financial illiteracy.
James Surowiecki Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0000
Halfway through his Presidency, George W. Bush called on the country to build “an ownership society.” He trumpeted the soaring rate of U.S. homeownership, and extolled the virtues of giving individuals more control over their own financial lives. It was a comforting vision, but, as we now know . . .

Reuters: Business News

Wall Street down, S&P hovers near key technical level
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:02:40 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were lower and the S&P 500 remained below a key technical level on Wednesday as conflicting reports showed improved corporate earnings and falling durable goods orders.
Fed says some districts report slowing economy
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:47:34 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy kept growing overall in recent weeks, but unevenly and it actually slowed in a few regions as housing markets softened after the end of a popular tax break, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
Two Goldman lawsuits on Abacus placed on hold
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:29:52 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York judge put two shareholder lawsuits against executives and directors of Goldman Sachs Group Inc on hold until progress is made on 16 other lawsuits related to a controversial debt transaction involving the Wall Street bank.

ABC News: Money

Cuckoo for Cocoa, Magnet for Controversy
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:20:26 -0400
Anthony Ward, a London cocoa trader, is said to be cornering the market, but fears of rising chocolate prices are overblown. London - Chocolate - Cocoa bean - Cornering the market - Hedge fund
PHOTOS: Top 10 Paid CEOs of the Last Decade
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:05:06 -0400
The 10 Highest Paid CEOs of the Last Decade Arts - Apple - Wall Street Journal - Steve Jobs - Larry Ellison
Target's Contribution a Bullseye for Gay Boycott
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:53:00 -0400
Target and Best Buy are both being criticized by loyal customers and gay rights activists for contributed campaign money to MN Forward, a group that is supporting Tom Emmer for the Minnesota gubernatorial race this November. Emmer is a staunch opposer of gay marriage. Minnesota - Tom Emmer - BestBuy - Same-sex marriage - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual

BBC News - Business

Profits rise 98% at British Gas
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:29:54 -0000
British Gas profits almost double as the energy supplier benefits from rising customer numbers and last winter's cold weather.
House prices 'now at 2006 levels'
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:33:43 -0000
House prices in England and Wales are now at similar levels as seen in the summer of 2006, says the Land Registry.
Bank head hints rates to stay low
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:57:57 -0000
The governor of the Bank of England says he is more worried about slow growth than inflation, suggesting rates will stay low.

The Economist: Business

Media's analogue holdouts: Digitisation and its discontents
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:21:19 -0000
Why some media outfits still refuse to go onlineWHAT do the Beatles, Harry Potter, Bella magazine and the grizzled crew of the Northwestern, an Alaskan crab-fishing boat, have in common? They are scarcely available digitally. Whereas most media firms scramble to create iPad applications or fret about whether to chase online advertisers or build paywalls, a few digital resisters refuse to distribute over the internet at all. They have some good reasons. Online advertising is worth much less than television or print advertising. It is hard to persuade people to pay much (if anything) for digital content. Technology firms such as Amazon and Apple can often set retail prices. Digital products can be less beautiful than physical ones. ...
BP and the gulf: After the leak
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:21:19 -0000
The gusher in the gulf may soon be sealed. BP’s woes will be harder to capON JULY 15th a 75-tonne cap closed off the Macondo well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The flow of oil ceased, for the first time in the three months since a blowout in the well doomed the rig which had drilled it, Deepwater Horizon. The cap is not necessarily permanent. It sits there at the government’s pleasure, and the administration is giving BP, the well’s operator, permission to keep it in place only one day at a time. But the chances of BP going on to seal the well permanently by mid-August, with little or no oil seeping out in the meantime, look good. This may not mark a turning-point in BP’s fortunes: it still faces payouts of tens of billions of dollars, and reports and inquiries that could damage its reputation and finances yet further. But it will make it clearer that the company’s wounds are unlikely to be fatal. ...
Selling luxury goods online: The chic learn to click
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:21:19 -0000
Luxury firms are digital laggards, but some are catching upWHEN Oscar de la Renta, an American fashion house, launched a transactional website some years ago, it expected people to buy mostly smaller items such as belts and perfume. The firm was stunned when it received an online order last spring for an $80,000 sable coat from a new customer in New Hampshire. He couldn’t get to New York, apparently. Online customers have been snapping up the firm’s core product: $4,000 cocktail dresses. “We could not have been more wrong in our expectations of the internet,” says Alex Bolen, the firm’s chief executive. Online purchases are still a small proportion of total sales, but growing rapidly. Most luxury-goods firms are less open-minded. Many scorn the internet as a plaything for plebs. A product sold online, wrote Jean-Noel Kapferer, a French branding guru, in “The Luxury Strategy”, published last year, ceases to be a luxury item. In early 2008, of 178 luxury firms around the world surveyed by Forrester Research, only a third sold their products on the internet. That figure has risen, but still about half of firms don’t sell online at all, estimates Federico Marchetti, the founder of Yoox Group, owner of Yoox.com, a luxury-goods website. ...

Business News - UPI.com

Faith in U.S. recovery looks weak
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:26:33 -0400
NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- More U.S. consumers are concerned the economic recovery will sour further before it solidifies than consumers with an optimistic outlook, a recent poll found. United Press International - NEW YORK - United States - Windows - Business and Economy
Truck-borne laser weapon to be on way soon
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:44:52 -0400
WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- A powerful laser weapon fitted on a light truck is set to be the military's answer to the dilemma of overreacting to enemy attack and harming friendly forces in the process. Laser applications - Laser - Military - Business - Trucks
Firms gearing up for 4G future
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:21:26 -0400
DENVER, July 28 (UPI) -- Several communications firms say they are gearing up for 4G wireless networks, which will first be available in major metropolitan areas. Wireless network - Wireless - Data Communications - Business - Telecommunication
Durable goods data drags down Dow
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:12:58 -0400
NEW YORK, July 28 (UPI) -- U.S. investors took a cue from the Commerce Department Wednesday, as markets fell in the wake of disappointing durable goods data. United States Department of Commerce - Durable good - United States - NEW YORK - Commerce Department
Procter & Gamble sign on for more Olympics
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:16:20 -0400
CINCINNATI, July 28 (UPI) -- Procter & Gamble said Wednesday it has reached a sponsorship deal with the International Olympic Committee that starts with the 2012 Summer Games in London. International Olympic Committee - 2012 Summer Olympics - Procter & Gamble - sport - Olympic Games
Winn-Dixie to pare down, closing 30 stores
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:56:34 -0400
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 28 (UPI) -- Southern U.S. grocer Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. said it would close 30 of its under-performing stores this year to adjust to a weak economic environment. Winn-Dixie - United States - Florida - Winn-Dixie Stores - Retail

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