Today’s electronics deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:
Entertainment
There’s nothing quite like that nervous feeling when you are about to meet the new boss.
Everyone involved – including the boss – is hoping to make a great first impression and get down to the real business of learning to work together.
Finally, the big moment comes. In walks the new chief, and one thing is immediately clear: You have been in the work force since this person wore diapers.
The younger boss/older worker trend is prevalent like never before, thanks to the recession. Many older, more experienced and more expensive managers are out of a job, replaced by younger talent willing to play the same role for considerably less money.
Although younger supervisors undeniably bring a fresh approach, a different set of skills and some tech savvy with them when they walk into their new corner office, many workers have found that in certain areas of the career world, there is no substitute for experience and perspective.
Leadership is one such area – especially when the employees in question are of varying ages.
Well-known TV pitchman Don Lapre, who bills himself as “the king of infomercials,” has been indicted in Phoenix, Ariz. Federal prosecutors have charged Lapre with 41 counts, including conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, promotional money laundering and transactional money laundering.
Lapre, 47, was often seen on television infomercials between 2004 and 2007, claiming he turned his hard-luck life around with get rich quick schemes and enticing viewers to follow in his footsteps. He famously pitched how he made $50,000 a week from his one bedroom apartment. The campaign is perhaps best remembered by some for being parodied by David Spade on Saturday Night Live.
The charges against Lapre were handed down last Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Phoenix. The
A survey recently found that laws allowing employers to automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans don’t work as well as was hoped. When workers automatically contribute to a retirement plan unless they opt out, they will often put in less than they would if they chose to start a plan.
A recent study of 401(k) contributions found that a 2006 law giving employers the right to automatically enroll workers in a 401(k) plan has not been very effective in getting people to put more money toward retirement, according to the . The law was passed during the George W. Bush administration, which emphasized privatizing Social Security and other retirement plans. The onus was that if people had a 401(k) to contribute to, they would put more money aside into a retirement account. H
Apple is the latest company to come under cyber attack – by the same hackers blamed for infiltrating Sony’s Playstation Network.
“Not being so serious, but well…Apple could be target, too,” the notorious hacker group Anonymous tweeted Sunday with a link to a list of 27 usernames and passwords supposedly lifted from an Apple server.
The server is used by Apple to store technical support surveys. Anonymous published the list on the text-sharing site Pastebin as a part of their Anti-Security, or “AntiSec” campaign, according to Reuters.
Lance Ulanoff, editor in chief of PCmag.com, said that though this particular attack on Apple was not very extensive, it is “indicative of an alarming trend” in hacking.
“Everyone’s vulnerable,” Ulanoff said.
Do you think Nike made the right decision by signing Michael Vick again?
Michael Vick is no longer in the doghouse with Nike.
The Eagles quarterback was re-signed to a contract with the sports apparel giant nearly four years after it ended his contract over his involvement in a dog-fighting ring.
“Michael acknowledges his past mistakes,” Nike spokesman Derek Kent told CNBC.
“We do not condone those actions, but we support the positive changes he has made to better himself off the field.”
The amount of the contract was not disclosed.
Nike dropped Vick in August of 2007 and halted the release of his signature shoe shortly after he admitted to participating in the ring.
While he has not been officially with the company in years, Nike began supplying Vick with complimentary gear in October 2009, sparking discussion that a new endorsement was on the horizon.
But it took what many consider the ultimate comeback season for Vick to score a new contract.
Here are the May 2011 total returns for the S&P 500, S&P Midcap 400, S&P Smallcap 600, Barclay’s Aggregate Bond Index, MSCI EAFE, MSCI All World ex-US, Oil, and Gold (click on the graphic to download the PDF).
May 2010 was also a negative month for the S&P 500. O