What Went Wrong at Borders

JCPenney Ranks Tops in Customer Service for Third Consecutive Year
PLANO, Texas, Jan. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third consecutive year, J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP) was recognized for its industry-leading Customer Service by ranking No. 1 among Department Store Retailers in the Customers' Choice survey released by the NRF Foundation and American Express. The positive results signify the impact JCPenney associates have made with customers as a result of the Company's CustomerFIRST initiative.  Launched in 2008, CustomerFIRST is a comprehens...

Margaret M. De Jourdan
Margaret Mae (Adderley) De Jourdan, 84, beloved sister of Fred Adderley of Watertown, passed Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at the Samaritan Medical Center. Margaret was predeceased by her loving husband Donald F. De Jourdan, parents William F. and Bertha M. Adderley, and sisters Elizabeth "Bette" Fox and Sally K. Daigneau. She is survived by her brother, Frederick F. Adderley; three daughters and their husbands, Christine M. and John McMakin of Liverpool, Denise A. and Terry Wagner of Naples, FL, ...

Reality check
It's frigid outside, windy, with a half foot of virgin snow on the sidewalks of Philadelphia. A perfect day to discuss this: 2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year of the global Surface Temperature record, according to data released Wednesday by the National Climatic Data Center. Records began in 1880. The Earth's temperature was 1.12 degrees F above the 20th-century average, which was the same as 2005. It was the 34th-consecutive year that the Global Temperature was above average, according ...

Fed's Beige Book: "Economic activity continued to expand moderately"
by CalculatedRisk on 1/12/2011 02:00:00 PM Fed's Beige Book: Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest that economic activity continued to expand moderately from November through December. ... Contacts in the Manufacturing sector in all Districts reported that activity continued to recover, with the Richmond and Chicago Districts citing especially solid gains in orders. However, the Boston, Atlanta, and Dallas Districts noted that business remained weak for manufacturers selli...

MySpace, focusing on music, slashes nearly half its staff
MySpace Inc. said Tuesday that the company has fired 47 percent of its Workforce - about 500 employees - as the deposed social-networking king continues trying to mount a comeback as an online entertainment hub. "Today's tough but necessary changes were taken in order to provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability," Chief Executive Officer Mike Jones said in a statement that followed weeks of rumors that the Beverly Hills firm was planning its second major work...

Phone chats plus web program help smokers quit: study
About one in five adults in the U.S. smokes, and about half of those who don't quit will die from the habit, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventing, which also estimates that smoking costs The Economy $183 billion each year. Smokers who got phone calls from experienced counselors and took part in a Web-based cessation program had nearly double the quit rates after 18 months of smokers who just used the web program, according to a study led by Amanda Graham, director fo...

Ten years on, Wikipedia eyes a better world
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia. Ten... Ten years after its debut as a geeky online encyclopedia, Wikipedia today wants to use its huge, growing popularity and spirit to spread knowledge across the world. In the decade since it was born, the free, non-profit encyclopedia that anyone can edit has profoundly changed the way people access information, becoming almost the default source for quick online references. After a failed attempt to launch a conventio...

Why Barnes & Noble Is Thumping Borders
Some corporate battles go on for years, with titans vying for dominance in endurance races where the lead can routinely change hands: Apple v. Microsoft. Dell v. HP. Boeing v. Airbus. [See 20 companies that cratered in 2010.] But other battles are more like a war of attrition, an all-or-nothing fight with the spoils going to the last man standing. That may be the kind of struggle that Borders Group and its main rival, Barnes & Noble, are locked into. The book business, of course, is rapidl...

Craftsman Debuts Revolutionary QuickBoost Charger at 2011 International Builders' Show
When does a three minute charge matter? It comes down to Productivity. When a battery charge runs out, the Craftsman NEXTEC QuickBoost™ Charger supplies the power needed to get back to work quickly. In the time it takes to get a cup of coffee, the user will have enough power to hang that last curtain rod or drive in those remaining screws. "The new Craftsman NEXTEC QuickBoost™ Charger is the first product of its kind and was developed in response to our customers' desire for innovat...

Sears expects 4Q, full-year earnings to top Street
Sears Holdings Corp. expects its fourth-quarter and full-year adjusted earnings to top Wall Street's expectations. The results would be welcomed at the struggling retailer, which saw its third-quarter loss nearly double in part because of weak appliance and clothing sales at its namesake stores. Its shares rose $3.40, or 4.8 percent, to $74 in pre-market trading. The Edward Lampert-led company, which runs Sears and Kmart stores, predicted on Tuesday that earnings for the year ending Jan. 29 will...

Bidder Qualification Deadline Approaches for Coveted i.CO Domain Name Auction
Only qualified bidders can participate in the private online auction, which will open Thursday, February 3, 2011 and conclude at 3:15 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on Thursday, February 10.  The i.CO name will not be part of the lot at the live public auction at DOMAINfest® Global in Santa Monica, Calif.   The i.CO auction is one of the first in a series of exclusive single-letter auctions sponsored by the .CO Registry, and follows a very successful launch, where more than 600,000 .CO do...

When flash mobs go bad
A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual act for a brief time and then disperse. Flash mobs are usually organized via Social Media or e-mails. Flash mob folklore says the first successful flash mob occurred in June 2003 in Manhattan and was staged by Bill Wasik, then senior editor of Harper's Magazine. At Wasik's behest, more than 100 people converged upon the ninth-floor rug department of Macy's Department Store, gathering around an expensiv...

Flexible Scheduling Makes Dollars and Sense
Flexible Scheduling Makes Dollars and Sense Tuesday, 01/11/2011 - 11:34 am by Joan Williams | Post a Comment Offering scheduling that fits employees’ needs will help companies be more competitive. Sunday’s New York Times reported that Accounting firms lead Corporate America in offering workplace flexibility. Employees can reduce their hours, take the summer off, take off a few years and then return to their prior jobs… whatever they need. And the firms are committed to ensur...

New Department Store Oedipus
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Retired Navy man collects scores of tiny timepieces
NORFOLK Time figures large in Roland Campbell's life. He spent 30 years in the Navy in some interesting places. He's been retired about as long. He lives in a house with an address that he gives as if it were a clock - on such and such street at "half past noon." So, it's a small surprise that time is a tiny thing to him, too. Little enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "This was the first one," Campbell said, reaching into a corner curio in his living room and taking out a...

Wealthy treated themselves during the holidays
NEW YORK (AP) — The rich treated themselves like royalty this Holiday Season. That spun the holidays into gold for Tiffany & Co. and other high-end Retailers. Wealthier shoppers traded up to more expensive gold and diamond jewelry from silver charms at Tiffany. At Saks and Neiman Marcus designer clothing and handbags were the hot holiday items. The strong reports are a big improvement from six months ago, when wealthy Americans got spooked by a Stock Market slide and cut back spending....

Wealthy Treated Themselves During The Holidays
NEW YORK — The rich treated themselves like royalty this Holiday Season. That spun the holidays into gold for Tiffany & Co. and other high-end Retailers. Wealthier shoppers traded up to more expensive gold and diamond jewelry from silver charms at Tiffany. At Saks and Neiman Marcus, designer clothing and handbags were the hot holiday items. The strong reports are a big improvement from six months ago, when wealthy Americans got spooked by a Stock Market slide and cut back spending. It shows ...

Michigan picks Hoke as new football coach
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has picked Brady Hoke as its new Football Coach. Athletic Director Dave Brandon announced the decision Tuesday, hours after LSU said Les Miles would be staying with the Tigers. Hoke coached San Diego State in 2009-10 and was the Ball State coach from 2003-08. He will be introduced at a news conference in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. He replaces Rich Rodriguez, who was fired last week after three disappointing seasons. Cam Do! Auburn wins BCS title 22-19 over OU ...

COL BKB: Kansas 67, Michigan 60 (OT)
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Marcus Morris sparked an 8-0 run during overtime Sunday that boosted third-ranked Kansas to a 67-60 victory over Michigan. Morris accounted for five of the eight crucial points, including a 3-pointer in the extra frame as Kansas (15-0) remained unbeaten with the hard-fought victory. Morris ended with 22 points, twin brother Markieff Morris also hit an overtime 3-pointer en route to 13 points and Tyshawn Taylor added 12 for Kansas. Michigan (11-5) forced overtime...

Michigan gets its man, hiring Brady Hoke
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon is learning that Brady Hoke is a pretty popular coach. Hoke might not have been the fans’ first choice to take over College Football’s winningest program, but Brandon became convinced he should have been after calling his former players and hearing the same thing time after time. “He is clearly a players’ coach,” Brandon said Wednesday in his opening remarks at a news conference to introduce Hoke....

Hong Kong 1st, U.S. 9th in new economic freedom rankings
The United States dropped slightly in a ranking of world economic freedom released Wednesday, but still remains ninth overall.  The 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, a project of the Wall Street Journal and the conservative Heritage Foundation, also ranked Hong Kong the world’s freest economy, giving the “Asian tiger” that title for 17 years in a row. The report generally covered the the last half of 2009 and the first half of 2010. As for the United States, the index did not have a v

2010 ties 2005 for warmest year on record
Last year tied with 2005 as the warmest year on record for global Surface Temperature, US government scientists say in a report that offers the latest data on Climate Change. The Earth in 2010 experienced temperatures higher than the 20th century average for the 34th year in a row, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Wednesday. Overall, 2010 and 2005 were 0.62 Celsius above the 20th century average when taking a combination of land and water surface temperatures across th...

2010 ties 2005 for warmest year on record: US
Last year tied with 2005 as the warmest year on record for global Surface Temperature, US government scientists said in a report on Wednesday that offered the latest data on Climate Change. The Earth in 2010 experienced temperatures higher than the 20th century average for the 34th year in a row, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Overall, 2010 and 2005 were 1.12 degrees Fahrenheit (0.62 Celsius) above the 20th century average when taking a combination of land and water ...

Philadelphia airport to expand
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) sits in the busiest Airspace in the United States - the Washington DC - New York corridor.  Last week the FAA approved an expansion of PHL that will accommodate the airport’s expected growth 50 years from now.  However, the expansion does not have the support of the nearby township, businesses, or residents. As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, in 2009 PHL handled over 472,668 takeoffs and landings and about 30 million pas...

NOAA says 2010 tied with 2005 for warmest year in the surface temperature record
According to NOAA scientists, 2010 tied with 2005 as the warmest year of the global Surface Temperature record, beginning in 1880. This was the 34th consecutive year with Global Temperatures above the 20th century average. For the contiguous United States alone, the 2010 average annual temperature was above normal, resulting in the 23rd warmest year on record. This preliminary analysis is prepared by scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., and is part of the ...