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.

More on [ Business ]

Business

FDA Detains OJ Imports After Finding Fungicide
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:57:00 -0500
The Food and Drug Administration has detained several shipments of imported orange juice after finding traces of carbendazim, an illegal fungicide. The government says the juice is safe to drink. But carbendazim is not U.S.-approved and any juice that contains small amounts must be detained.
Credit Ratings Cut For Italy, 4 Other EU Nations
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:37:00 -0500
U.S. ratings agency Fitch also downgraded Belgium, Cyprus, Slovenia and Spain. It blamed the revisions on "the marked deterioration in the economic outlook" in Europe.
A Mobile Wallet: Cash, Credit, Or... Cell Phone?
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:00:00 -0500
Google already offers a way to pay for lunch or groceries using its "Google Wallet" on an Android phone--cell providers and banks aren't far behind with payment systems of their own. Analyst Gilles Ubaghs talks about how coupons and convenience might persuade customers to make the switch.

Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com

Obama administration expands foreclosure prevention program
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:56:58 -0500
The Obama administration is taking another swing at improving its main foreclosure prevention program.
Retirement saving: Don't shortchange the later years
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:52:36 -0500
Many people think they can plan on spending less later in retirement since they'll become less active as they age. But if their health declines, they may actually shift spending rather than reduce it. Do you think it's risky to plan as if one's expenses will go down later in retirement? --Tim, U.K.
Mortgage probe unveiled as foreclosure talks loom
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:34:07 -0500
President Obama's latest probe into the mortgage meltdown will have more power than past efforts, and federal officials say it won't derail a possible $20 billion settlement for underwater and foreclosed homeowners.

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

Wall Street cuts losses on late buying
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:39:59 -0500
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks trimmed losses to end little changed on Friday, as investors saw dips in the market as an opportunity to buy into what has been a strong first month of 2012.
Exclusive: Germany wants Greece to give up budget control
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:59:50 -0500
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday.
In Facebook IPO, bankers seek prestige over fees
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:15:35 -0500
(Reuters) - Facebook's initial public offering is likely to set a new standard for how low investment banks are willing to go on advisory fees to win big business.

ABC News: Money

Barefoot Bandit Gets Maximum Sentence
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:57:01 -0500
The "Barefoot Bandit" got a six and a half year federal sentence in a U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday.
Minnesota Dad Abandoned Son in Foreclosed Home
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:35:24 -0500
A  Lakeville, Minn., dad was convicted of child neglect after abandoning his 11-year old son in a foreclosed home with a note to go to his neighbor. Steven Cross, 60, was in tears after a six-person jury convicted him of gross misdemeanor child neglect on...
Best, Worst States for Business, Tax-wise
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:27:49 -0500
A just-released ranking of states by their “tax-friendliness” to business finds Wyoming the most-friendly and New Jersey the least. The annual ranking is produced by The Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan, pro-business research group that has been following and reporting on U.S. federal and state tax policy since 1937....

BBC News - Business

Outrage at RBS boss's bonus deal
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:50:27 -0000
A £963,000 bonus in shares awarded to Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester is strongly criticised by politicians and unions.
US economic growth rate picks up
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:22:08 -0000
The pace of US economic growth quickened to a 2.8% annualised rate in the three months to December, the Commerce Department says.
Greece debt talks 'close to deal'
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:11 -0000
Greece could reach a deal with its creditors over the weekend, according to the EU's Economic Commissioner, Olli Rehn.

The Economist: Business

Grameen’s business empire: Grabbing Grameen
Some day, all this will belong to the state HE IS probably Bangladesh’s most celebrated citizen. Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel peace prize, founded Grameen Bank in 1983 to provide tiny loans to poor rural women. Grameen became a global model for microfinance. It also spawned 48 other firms in sectors that stretch from textiles to mobile phones. Yet the Bangladeshi government seems determined to take Mr Yunus down a peg.In May 2011 the government pushed him out of his job as boss of Grameen Bank, saying that he was past the retirement age for someone running a government bank. (Grameen Bank mostly belongs to its borrowers but the state owns a slice.) Mr Yunus says this is just a pretext for a power grab. The government now wants to assert more control over other firms in the Grameen network, which includes assets worth an estimated $1.6 billion.This is controversial, to put it mildly, not least because some Grameen firms have big foreign partners. Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest telecoms provider, was created with Norway’s Telenor and generates sales of nearly $1...
The internet and file-sharing: Dotcom bust
This year’s beach sumo contest was surprisingly one-sided MOST people running a business that could end up on the wrong end of a lawsuit would keep a low profile. Not Kim Dotcom (pictured). The boss of Megaupload, a popular website that let users store and share music, films and other content, Mr Dotcom went out of his way to attract attention—and not just by changing his surname from Schmitz. He surrounded himself with glamorous women and fast cars bearing number plates such as “GUILTY”. He likened himself to Dr Evil, a movie villain, though he looks more like Dr Evil’s henchman, Fat Bastard.American investigators examining Megaupload’s business concluded that it was encouraging its users to share pirated content. They persuaded authorities in Britain, Hong Kong and other countries to seize the firm’s assets and to arrest its owners, including Mr Dotcom, who was nabbed by police in New Zealand on January 20th after being found with a shotgun in a “safe room” at his mega-mansion. The raid occurred just as Hollywood was howling after Congress gave up on a bill to crack down on piracy....
Canada’s high-tech woes: Research in commotion
FOR months Research In Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of BlackBerry smartphones, has seemed incapable of getting anything right. Its PlayBook tablet went on sale without e-mail (unless attached to a BlackBerry). Its network was blacked out for days with scarcely a word from the company. It has been slow to upgrade BlackBerry’s operating system. Investors squealed as the share price fell by 70% in ten months. Canadians are now worried they might lose a second technology champion within a few years.Ever louder calls for a change in leadership were answered on January 22nd, when RIM’s joint chief executives and chairmen, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, stepped down. Investors doubt the new chief executive, Thorsten Heins, a former chief operating officer, will stop the rot. On January 23rd the share price fell by 9%.Perhaps that is because RIM sees little rot to stop. Mr Heins was anointed by Messrs Balsillie and Laziridis, who are still on the board. “I don’t think there is some drastic change needed,” he told analysts this week—certainly not a break-up of RIM, an idea some disgruntled shareholders want to consider. His boldest step will be to find a new chief marketing officer.But rot there is. Fewer and fewer companies insist that their staff use BlackBerrys. ComScore, a research firm, says that last autumn only a sixth of American smartphone-users brandished RIM’s...

Business News - UPI.com

Crude oil prices steady, near $100
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:29:23 -0500
NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed close to $100 per barrel after the Commerce Department said the U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter.
Grains mixed Friday in Chicago
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:04:46 -0500
CHICAGO, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Grain futures were mixed Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade as the dollar index fell 0.71 percent.
Gold up, dollar down
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:29:43 -0500
NEW YORK, Subscribe to Business RSS feed