http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/index.html en-us Copyright 2009 The Seattle Times Company Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:00:21 PDT Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:00:21 PDT MattBase 1 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/ui/stlogo_231.gif http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009421303_apuspartnerreacquisition.html?syndication=rss Reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd. said Sunday it will acquire Swiss rival Paris Re in a cash and stock deal worth roughly $2 billion. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009421303_apuspartnerreacquisition.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:57:06 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420410_apusdisneymonorailcrash.html?syndication=rss Two monorail trains crashed early Sunday morning in the Magic Kingdom section of Walt Disney World, killing one train's operator, emergency officials said. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420410_apusdisneymonorailcrash.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:09:06 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009421093_apusfdaenergydrinks.html?syndication=rss The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy two types of energy drinks packaged in test-tube like vials, saying that utility knife blades were found in two vials in an apparent case of tampering. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009421093_apusfdaenergydrinks.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:31:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008979204_apafnigeriaoilunrest.html?syndication=rss Nigeria's main militant group says it has attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil facility in southern Nigeria. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008979204_apafnigeriaoilunrest.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:46:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009325454_apuschryslerboard.html?syndication=rss Chrysler Group LLC on Sunday announced the remaining members of its new board of directors, a group that includes a former CEO of Northwest Airlines, investment bankers and top officials of the Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009325454_apuschryslerboard.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:46:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420962_apusspacenutscience.html?syndication=rss Space is preparing to go a little nuts. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420962_apusspacenutscience.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:46:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420714_apusstressmapbankruptcy.html?syndication=rss States that allow debt collectors to seize consumers' wages have sharply higher bankruptcy rates than neighboring states that prohibit or strictly limit the practice, an Associated Press analysis has found. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420714_apusstressmapbankruptcy.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:46:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009125865_apuswallstreetweekahead.html?syndication=rss Investors, whose optimism was recently shaken by surprisingly weak economic data, are now hoping companies can provide some clues about a recovery. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009125865_apuswallstreetweekahead.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:16:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008944466_apusboxoffice.html?syndication=rss Prehistoric creatures and robots were in a photo finish for the Fourth of July box-office crown Sunday, with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" tied with $42.5 million each. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008944466_apusboxoffice.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:01:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420695_apuswaterwatchers.html?syndication=rss About a quarter mile into dense woods, geologists watch as a drilling rig twists a shaft deep into the granite bedrock of southeastern New Hampshire. They are searching for water - not to drink - but to watch. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420695_apuswaterwatchers.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:31:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420755_apusgrowingghostboxes.html?syndication=rss Hundreds of anxious shoppers watched as city officials used power saws to cut 2-by-4s during Home Depot Inc.'s ribbon-cutting ceremony for its 102,700-square-foot building center in Bismarck. Less than three years later, the home improvement retailer shuttered the underperforming store, leaving a big orange empty eyesore on the outskirts of town. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009420755_apusgrowingghostboxes.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:31:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009418204_apusdownturndating.html?syndication=rss Credit the recession for "staycations" and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009418204_apusdownturndating.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:31:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420210_apasaustraliababyelephant.html?syndication=rss A 265-pound (120-kilogram), big-eared and long-nosed bundle of joy was welcomed in Australia as an important step in helping to save the endangered Asian elephant. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420210_apasaustraliababyelephant.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:31:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420329_apuswashingtonpostconferences.html?syndication=rss The Washington Post's publisher apologized to readers Sunday for a plan to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner discussions with government officials and the newspaper's journalists. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009420329_apuswashingtonpostconferences.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:01:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009409927_apaschinag8.html?syndication=rss China has no plans to raise its proposal for a new global currency to replace the dollar at the G8 meeting this week but is willing to discuss it, a top Chinese diplomat said, as President Hu Jintao left Sunday for Italy. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009409927_apaschinag8.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:01:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419341_sundaybuzz05.html?syndication=rss Seattle's landmark Smith Tower is now at least 70 percent vacant; also, some former InfoSpace executives are off the hook in lawsuit alleging tens of millions in improper payments to option holders. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419341_sundaybuzz05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:40:00 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419335_toyota05.html?syndication=rss Toyota Motor's honorary chairman, Shoichiro Toyoda, scolded the company's president for being so anxious to boost sales and profits that he'd let Toyota emulate now bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler. Toyota, he said, had become addicted to big, expensive cars and trucks and had forgotten customers' need to save money. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419335_toyota05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:25:51 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419347_pfmakeover050.html?syndication=rss Nina Davis has met plenty of challenges in her life. "I'm a go-getter," Davis says. "And a really hard worker." Now she is working at spending less, cutting her debt and building for the future of her and her daughter. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419347_pfmakeover050.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:18:47 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419355_brokeredcds05.html?syndication=rss Even relatively safe, federally insured certificates of deposit issued by banks and credit unions can pose hazards for investors seeking to squeeze the biggest returns from their portfolios amid a slumping stock market and historically low interest rates. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419355_brokeredcds05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:12:15 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419352_moneyfundassets05.html?syndication=rss U.S. mutual funds added $3.75 billion in net deposits two weeks ago, the lowest inflows since a stock-market rally began in March. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419352_moneyfundassets05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:17:47 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419343_pulse05.html?syndication=rss We often hear about how consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy, but one strategist says that unfairly paints Americans as binging consumers. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419343_pulse05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:20:47 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419340_terms05.html?syndication=rss Typically, borrowers who get or are offered settlements have missed at least a few payments. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419340_terms05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:26:53 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419351_moneytip05.html?syndication=rss Credit-reporting agencies have agreed to voluntarily remove completed Chapter 13 filings — where someone pays off part or all of their debt under a court-supervised plan — seven years from the date of filing. The idea is to give consumers some credit for having paid back as much of their debt as they could afford to pay back. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419351_moneytip05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:16:35 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419350_motley05.html?syndication=rss Q: Is it a good time to invest in airlines? Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419350_motley05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:14:45 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419354_burns05.html?syndication=rss Syndicated columnist Scott Burns says that dramatic predictions of a dire economic future are as common as their inaccuracy. We don't know the future. All we can do is cultivate flexibility, diversify our savings, and share as little of our return as possible with those who claim to know the future. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419354_burns05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:07:10 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419353_jaffe05.html?syndication=rss Syndicated columnist Chuck Jaffe says that somewhere between the minimalist one-fund-is-your-portfolio approach and the hobbyist's massive collection is the right number for the average investor. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009419353_jaffe05.html?syndication=rss Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:05:07 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009418284_apussignatureskyscrapersefficiency.html?syndication=rss When owners of the Empire State Building decided to blanket its towering facade this year with thousands of insulating windows, they were only partly interested in saving energy. They also needed tenants. Business & Technology http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009418284_apussignatureskyscrapersefficiency.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:01:02 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009418563_apussharktours.html?syndication=rss Three women donned scuba masks and jumped into the waters off Oahu's North Shore, floating inside a submerged cage as about a dozen sharks glided toward bloody fish scraps tossed into the water by a tour company. Nation & World http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009418563_apussharktours.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:31:03 PDT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008811139_apapnewsalert.html?syndication=rss OAS suspends Honduras participation in the organization because of last week's military coup. Politics http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008811139_apapnewsalert.html?syndication=rss Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:16:03 PDT