This article is about a tool used as a piece of equipment. For other uses see Tool (disambiguation).

A tool is a piece of equipment that (most commonly) provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task. The most basic tools are simple machines. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more force is transmitted along the lever.

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NPR Topics: Business

New Orleans Residents Raise Houses High
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0400
Friday is the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New Orleans. Some New Orleans residents have decided to "raise" their houses onto a higher foundation to avoid flooding. The problem: neighbors say the high houses change the appearance of the community and at least one has collapsed.
'Marketplace' Report: Affordable Manhattan?
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:00:00 -0400
It might get a little easier to move on up to the East Side. New York City recently released records that show condos and co-ops in prime Manhattan neighborhoods are selling for less than their purchase prices.
Phelps Cashes In On Olympic Gold
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:18:00 -0400
Record-setting Olympian Michael Phelps made an appearance Thursday in New York to promote a swimming program for inner-city kids. The event was sponsored by Visa, one of seven companies that has commercial ties to the swimmer. Phelps' agent says he could end up earning $100 million in endorsements.

Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com

FDIC announces 10th bank failure of the year
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:58:43 -0400
State regulators shuttered a Georgia bank late Friday, marking the tenth bank failure this year.
New Orleans businesses batten the hatches
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:36:53 -0400
Three years after Hurricane Katrina exploded through floodwalls and inundated New Orleans, local businesses again find themselves threatened as a storm named Gustav heads their way.
Stimulus cash still going out
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:41:51 -0400
The government sent out an additional 2.4 million stimulus payments, totaling $1.5 billion, since July 11, according to a statement from the Treasury department.

The Financial Page

James Surowiecki: What drives market volatility?
James Surowiecki Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
American investors are frazzled. True, oil prices have fallen from their most vertiginous highs, the dollar is a bit stronger, and the stock market has actually risen over the past month. But none of those things have happened in a smooth and steady fashion. The stock market’s “ascent,” in particular . . .
James Surowiecki: Too many stakeholders can be a deal-breaker.
James Surowiecki Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In the second decade of the twentieth century, it was almost impossible to build an airplane in the United States. That was the result of a chaotic legal battle among the dozens of companies--including one owned by Orville Wright--that held patents on the various components that made a . . .
Rebecca Mead: Queen Claude's prayer book, at the Morgan Library.
Rebecca Mead Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In May, a tiny, exquisite volume went on display at the Morgan Library & Museum: a prayer book made for Queen Claude of France, who was born in the penultimate year of the fifteenth century. Claude, a near-contemporary of Anne Boleyn, who served her at the French court as a . . .

Reuters: Business News

Consumer spending flags, but confidence rises
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:49:52 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Personal income tumbled unexpectedly in July and inflation-adjusted spending shrank as government economic stimulus waned, but consumer spirits rose this month, a hint the economy may muddle through its woes.
Stocks tumble as Dell warns on tech spending
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:23:19 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, led lower by tech shares after computer maker Dell warned that companies worldwide are cutting back on technology spending.
More volatility seen with hurricane, payrolls
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:55:22 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street is set for another volatile week after the Labor Day holiday, as investors track the price of oil, key economic data and continued fallout from the credit crisis.

ABC News: Money

Incomes Drop by Largest Amount in 3 Years
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:30:25 -0400
he Commerce Department says personal incomes fell by 0.7 percent in July.
Olympics Hangover: When Stars Go Home
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:59:42 -0400
Past Olympians share their struggle with life after the spotlight turns off.
Hiyo! Ed McMahon's Home for Sale ...Again
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:24:55 -0400
Former sidekick's deal with buyer fell through. Will Trump swoop in to help?

BBC News | Business | UK Edition

Darling warns of economic crisis
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:20:53 -0000
Chancellor Alistair Darling says the UK is facing the worst economic crisis in 60 years and warns of a "profound" downturn.
More firms increase energy bills
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:06:22 -0000
Two more energy firms, Scottish Power and Npower, say they will raise prices, blaming more expensive wholesale costs.
Bank insider urges UK rate cuts
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:00:34 -0000
Two million people will be out of work by Christmas if interest rates are not cut, a Bank of England policymaker warns.

The Economist: Business

Face value:
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
The skills of Greg Brenneman, a corporate-turnaround specialist, are in demandA FEW years ago Greg Brenneman was asked to give some advice to MBA students thinking about the next step in their careers. “If you have a chance of working for a healthy company or a sick one,” he wrote, “choose the sick one. The sickest ones need the best doctors and it’s a lot easier to stand out in a company that needs help.” He should know. Throughout his career, Mr Brenneman has gone looking for trouble—first as head of the corporate-turnaround practice at Bain, a consulting firm, and then in a succession of senior roles, including stints at Continental Airlines, Burger King and Quiznos, two American fast-food chains. Each of these three businesses was going through a difficult time when Mr Brenneman came on board—he described Continental as “the world’s worst $6 billion company” before joining it—and at each he applied a similar approach to sorting out its problems. His tactics, which may provide inspiration for those managers whose firms are struggling in the economic downturn, have impressed private-equity partners. On August 19th Mr Brenneman stepped down as chief executive of Quiznos (though he has become its executive chairman) to take up a new role as chairman of CCMP Capital Advisors, a private-equity firm. ...
Technology, business and the law:
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
A deluge of electronic information may overwhelm American civil justiceDAWN BEYE’S teenage daughter suffers from anorexia nervosa and had to be treated in hospital at a cost of about $1,000 a day. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the Beyes’ insurance company, covered one month of the bills but then balked, demanding evidence that the affliction was “biologically based” rather than psychological. So Ms Beye got together with parents of other anorexic and bulimic teenagers and sued. Horizon immediately asked to see practically everything the teenagers had said on their Facebook and MySpace profiles, in instant-messaging threads, text messages, e-mails, blog posts and whatever else the girls might have done online.The Beyes’ lawyer, David Mazie at Mazie, Slater, Katz & Freeman, objected on the grounds that Horizon’s demands violated the girls’ privacy. He lost. So hard disks and web pages are being scoured in order for the case to proceed. Gathering and then sifting through all the electronic information that a few teenage girls have generated is excessive and daunting, says Mr Mazie. ...
Law firms:
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
Is time almost up for clockwatching lawyers?OF ALL the tedious tasks that lawyers have to do, time-recording is perhaps the most deadly. Private-practice lawyers account for their time in increments of 15 minutes, or even five or six minutes at some firms, and then send the bill to clients. This structure has been in place for decades. But cost-cutting has put a squeeze on companies’ legal budgets, and there is growing interest in doing away with the “billable hour” approach in favour of other pricing schemes.It is not hard to see why. The hourly rate for a newly qualified lawyer at a big firm can reach GBP235 ($425). Most big British and American firms set targets for all their lawyers, from 1,300 billable hours a year to 1,800 hours and beyond. Lawyers who exceed their targets often get a bonus. But clients complain that this practice values the quantity of hours billed over quality and encourages padding. ...

Business News - UPI.com

UPI NewsTrack Business
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:09:14 -0400
Stock indexes dip on storm concerns ... Oil prices pressured by storm fears ... Phelps gets new showcase ... Japan unveils $107.8 billion stimulus plan ... News from United Press International.
Oil prices pressured by storm fears
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:35:03 -0400
NEW YORK, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Storm fears pressured the crude oil market Friday as crude oil prices wound up almost even for the day in New York, losing .06 at $115.53 a barrel.
Stock indexes dip on storm concerns
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:04:58 -0400
NEW YORK, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes shuffled through a relatively slow, mostly negative session Friday heading into the Labor Day weekend.
Japan unveils $107.8 billion stimulus plan
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:07:09 -0400
TOKYO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Japanese government unveiled a $107.8 billion stimulus package Friday to boost the economy, officials said.
Sears problem weighs on K-Mart's future
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:57:49 -0400
CHICAGO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Kmart, the discount retailer caught in a deep business slump with troubled partner Sears, faces a questionable future, analysts are predicting.
China reports rapid, steady growth
Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:52:28 -0400
BEIJING, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Chinese economy had steady, rapid growth in the first half of the year but faces uncertainty the rest of the way, a senior official says.

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