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Last Week
Wild Ride for Market Watchers
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Rising oil prices, mixed earnings reports and a troubling uptick in inflation caused stock prices to whipsaw after the previous week's dramatic sell-off.
Hot Hand, Cold Hand
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Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which was on the winning side of a Supreme Court decision that will make it harder for shareholders to successfully sue corporate management if the price of a company's stock falls.
The Week Ahead
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April 25-29, 2005 25 Monday
Senate Judiciary panel holds hearing on patent system.
Revolving Door
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IN
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as chief executive of the Roman Catholic Church.
Readings
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In his first book, "The Rise of the Creative Class," Richard Florida, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, changed the conversation in the economic development world from chasing companies to chasing people. The people Florida focuses on are young, well-educated, hip and culturally diverse, with the spark of creativity that ignites fast-growing companies and booming regional economies. Since then, Florida has moved to the District and joined the faculty of George Mason University. In his newest book, The Flight of the Creative Class (HarperBusiness), Florida takes on critics who accuse him of elitism, anti-corporatism and moral depravity (his finding that high concentrations of gay residents correlates with creativity did not sit well with the Christian right). And he extends his thesis globally, pointing out that the competition for top talent isn't just between Boston and Austin but includes Paris, Sydney and Bangalore, India. Florida makes an effort to wrestle with some of the downsides of the new economic competition he celebrates -- rising income inequality, the loss of blue-collar employment and the dead-end quality of so many service-sector jobs. Some of his solutions border on the utopian, while others -- open immigration, greater tolerance for alternative lifestyles and stepped-up public investments in R&D, urban revitalization, the arts and education -- are as logical as they are out of sync with the agenda of Republican Washington.
Primer
Over-consolidation
Over-consolidation
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In defense policy, what happens to the industrial base when government purchases drop so low that only one supplier is needed to produce a category of weapons systems efficiently.
Mutual Funds
Targeting Value in Eastern Europe
Right Stocks in Region Grow Quickly, Accolade Manager Says
By Danielle Kost,
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Julian Mayo, whose Eastern European stock holdings have helped his mutual fund outperform all of his U.S. peers since 2000, bought shares of Turkish companies for the first time on optimism the country will join the European Union.
Many Fund Managers Saw Market Decline Coming
By Chet Currier,
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You can't say they didn't warn us.
One striking aspect of the recent decline in stock prices is how many top-performing fund managers saw trouble coming.
Life at Work
The Office Tattletale: A Waste of Everyone's Time
Obsessing About Your Colleague's Work Ethic Might Say Something About Your Own
By Amy Joyce,
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You noticed it one day coming into the office: The receptionist was on a personal call. The next day, you watched for it. And before you knew it, you were so worked up that she spent her time talking to friends, you wanted to tell your boss.
Fast Forward
5 Ways to Unleash the Music
By Rob Pegoraro,
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Two years ago this coming Thursday, the online music business stopped being a joke. When Apple Computer Inc. opened its iTunes Music Store for business on April 28, 2003, people finally had a song-downloads destination that didn't treat them like crooks but did provide a fair value for the money.
Web Watch
Google Accommodates Search History Buffs
By Leslie Walker,
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Don't take this personally, but Google wants your Web search history.
A Closer Look
DVDs Came Late to the High-Def TV Party
By Daniel Greenberg,
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You can now watch high-definition television on sets as cheap as $500, with plenty of programming from a variety of channels. But HDTV is missing from one crucial corner of the home-entertainment business -- the DVD. Companies are still developing and promoting two different, incompatible high-definition versions of the DVD, neither of which will have any consumer relevance (read: tolerable prices) until next year at the soonest.
HELP FILE
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Q To save electricity, should I start up my computer and monitor fresh each day? I've heard that a PC uses a lot more power as it starts up.
REVIEWS
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JADE EMPIRE, Microsoft/BioWare
Jade Empire has the same basic story line as any good martial-arts adventure -- you take on the role of a gifted student who must pursue a series of quests to restore peace and harmony to the land -- but its action has little in...
Bonds
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Bonds
Treasury yields rose last week after the government reported that inflation accelerated last month, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates for a while.
Uncertainty Blooms in Volatile Market
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Stocks
The stock market hit a new low for the year Wednesday and scored its biggest gain in two years Thursday -- leaving investors confused.
