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

Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Worldwide
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:42:00 -0500
Toyota says it is recalling the Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems - the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world's largest automaker.
Toyota Squandered Its Reputation For Quality
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:30:00 -0500
The Japanese automaker has stumbled badly in managing its current recall crisis. It's been accused of withholding information, changing its story and being less than aggressive in dealing with the various problems. Assuming the company can solve the technology and safety problems, how does Toyota regain public trust?
Super Bowl Beer Ad Benefits Chicago Business
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:00:00 -0500
Miller High Life used its Super Bowl ad-buy this past Sunday to shine a light on some small businesses across the U.S. Tim's Baseball Card Shop on Chicago's North Side was one of them. The response has been overwhelming.

Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com

Oil edges higher on weaker dollar
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:29:59 -0500
Oil prices extended gains Tuesday as the dollar weakened against the euro after concerns over Europe's debt crisis eased.
Stock rebound in the works
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:57:28 -0500
U.S. stocks were set to open higher Tuesday, as investors eyed buying opportunities after the previous session's selloff, although worries about debt problems in Greece remained in focus.
Protect yourself from a double-dip recession
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:32:55 -0500
Question: We're in our late 60s, retired and have a comfortable amount of money in retirement accounts, mostly mutual funds. My husband wants to liquidate most of our holdings and put the proceeds in money market funds, laddered CDs, maybe an annuity, as he fears the political situation will lead to another recession. Is he right? --Sharon, Kennewick, Washington

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: The perils of economic populism.
James Surowiecki Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 -0000
It’s been the political equivalent of an intervention: in recent weeks, Democrats have been bombarded with advice about how they should reinvent their economic agenda. The electorate, we hear, wants Barack Obama to be more of an economic populist but less of an ambitious reformer. He has to . . .
James Surowiecki: Why cable companies bundle their channels.
James Surowiecki Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:00:00 -0000
It seems like an annual rite: to usher in the new year, cable providers and networks squabble over programming fees. This time around, the tussles involved Time Warner Cable and Fox, and Cablevision and Scripps, which owns the Food Network and HGTV. These fights, unlike most corporate standoffs, are waged . . .
James Surowiecki: Why the health care bill is worth passing.
James Surowiecki Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:00:00 -0000
Reforming America’s health-insurance system was never going to be an easy task, given people’s natural aversion to change (not to mention Republicans’ aversion to doing anything that might help Barack Obama). But what’s made the task even more difficult is that American . . .

Reuters: Business News

Wall Street set to rise on industrials, Greece talk
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:12:53 -0500
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street eyed a higher open on Tuesday as speculation that debt-burdened Greece would get help from the European Union bolstered sentiment, and positive broker comments looked set to boost industrial companies.
Toyota adds new Prius to global recall list
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:09:17 -0500
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp said it would recall nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars for braking problems as it battled criticism of its response to the spiraling safety crisis.
Coca-Cola profit up, volume improves
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:21:23 -0500
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co reported a quarterly profit in line with analysts' estimates as strong volume in China, India and Brazil offset a decline in North America.

ABC News: Money

New Toyota Recall Tests Customer Loyalty
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:58:28 -0500
Loyal Toyota customers are passionate about their defense of the auto brand despite the recalls of millions of Toyota cars. Toyota - Automobile - Autos - Recreation - Makes and Models
Dow Closes Below 10,000 for First Time in 3 Months
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:12:52 -0500
Dow slides 104 as investors remain wary of rising debt problems in Europe. Business - Financial Services - Financial Planning - Debt Consolidation - Government
Saints and Stocks? The Super Bowl Effect
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:31:22 -0500
What does the Super Bowl win mean for the stock market? Super Bowl - sport - Investing - Business - Stocks and Bonds

BBC News | Business | UK Edition

Toyota in global recall of Prius
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:25:32 -0000
Toyota recalls thousands of Prius cars worldwide because of braking problems, in a new blow to the world's largest carmaker.
City regulator to step down
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:38:36 -0000
Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, announces he is to step down as head of the City regulator.
January chill for housing market
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:51:36 -0000
Activity in the UK housing market was frozen by the icy weather in January, surveyors say, but prices continued to rise.

The Economist: Business

Face value: Cultural revolutionary
Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:41:47 -0000
Qi Lu, the boss of Bing, hopes to get Microsoft back in the online gameTHE boss of Microsoft’s online-services arm, Qi Lu, tends to flourish in the face of adversity. When he was five, to protect him from the turmoil of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, his parents sent him to live in a village where he grew up in poverty. Still, he managed to enter Shanghai’s Fudan University where he graduated in computer science and became a lecturer. That might have been it. But he impressed a visiting professor and was offered a scholarship at Carnegie Mellon University. With a PhD in his pocket, he soon joined Yahoo!, then a rising star of the internet, and ended up leading the development of the firm’s search and advertising technology.Now Mr Lu faces a new challenge. His job at Microsoft, where he moved a year ago, is to take on Google in the online search and advertising business, where the Silicon Valley firm rules supreme. How well Mr Lu and his group do will have a big impact, not only on Microsoft, but on the entire online industry. ...
The nuclear industry: Unexpected reaction
Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:41:47 -0000
The handful of firms that build nuclear reactors face new competitionTHE nuclear industry got an unexpected boost from Barack Obama in his State of the Union address last month. The president pledged to build a “new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants”. On February 1st he followed that up in his proposed budget for 2011 by tripling to $54 billion the value of loans for new nuclear plants the government is offering to guarantee. Elsewhere, too, prospects for the business look good: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed a tender for four nuclear plants in December, Vietnam is planning a similar deal this year and many other countries, from Italy to Indonesia, are hoping to build new reactors soon.Yet the $40 billion contract in the UAE, won by a consortium led by Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), South Korea’s largely state-owned electricity monopoly, has caused consternation among the six big firms that have dominated the industry for decades: GE and Westinghouse of America, Areva of France, and Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan. Russian and Chinese firms hope to follow the Koreans’ lead. Suddenly the incumbents are confronted by emerging-market “national champions” with the full backing of their governments—an invaluable asset in a high-liability business like nuclear power. ...
Schumpeter: The silver tsunami
Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:41:47 -0000
Business will have to learn how to manage an ageing workforceMARTIN AMIS and Christopher Buckley are writers who are entering their silver years and are worried about the costs of an ageing population. Mr Amis, who has a new novel out (see article), recently compared the growing army of the elderly to “an invasion of terrible immigrants, stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops”. Mr Buckley devoted a novel, “Boomsday”, to the impending war of the generations. They have both touted the benefits of mass euthanasia, though Mr Amis favours giving volunteers “a martini and a medal” whereas Mr Buckley supports more sophisticated incentives such as tax breaks. Novelists will have their jokes. But Messrs Amis and Buckley are right to warn about the threat of the “silver tsunami”. Most people understand about the ageing of society in the abstract. But few have grasped either the size of the tsunami or the extent of its consequences. This is particularly true of the corporate world. ...

Business News - UPI.com

Economic Outlook: Sound the retreat
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:45:36 -0500
By ANTHONY HALLUnited Press International Markets in Europe bucked the trend and made slight gains Monday, but risk-taking has retreated on a global scale for three weeks after markets peaked Jan. 19.
Toyota recalls 430,000 hybrid models
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:11:32 -0500
TOKYO, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Japan's Toyota Motors, in another setback to its image, said Tuesday it will recall about 430,000 of its latest hybrid models to fix brake problems.
UPI NewsTrack Business
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:44:50 -0500
Dow closes under 10,000 Monday ... Ford faces class action lawsuit ... Awareness of Toyota recalls runs high ... $3,000 buys a share of Vt. ski resort ... News from United Press International.
Dealers at boat show cautiously optimistic
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:54:15 -0500
MIAMI, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Boat dealers at a scaled-down boat show in Miami said there were signs business could pick up in 2010 after a serious sales slump in 2009.
Crude oil price rise slightly
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:13:37 -0500
NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Prices for March delivery crude oil rose in New York Monday morning, holding above $71 per barrel despite continued stress in equity markets.
Russian ire over U.S. missiles in Romania
Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:10:00 -0500
MOSCOW, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Russia says it is concerned about Romania's decision to host American missile interceptors and other military infrastructure as part of a U.S. plan to protect Europe.

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