Features

What Is Labor Day Really About Anyway?

Tom Stern — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:45:07 -0400

Made to Stick: The Myth of Mutual Funds

Dan Heath & Chip Heath — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:15:07 -0400

Let's pull off the Band-Aid quickly. You've come to believe that mutual funds are a smart place to put your money. They're not.

That's the assessment of the smartest minds in finance, supported by a mountain of historical data. If you own actively managed mutual funds, you will almost certainly retire with less money -- a lot less money -- than if you'd simply dumped your money into boring index funds. So two questions: How can this possibly be true? And why, in gleeful defiance of the data, do more people keep buying mutual funds every year?

Saving the World at Work

Kermit Pattison — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:15:07 -0400

Working for the man is becoming obsolete. Employees and customers want to work for and support companies that share their ethical values, says Sanders. He believes we are in the midst of a "responsibility revolution" in which sustainable business practices and social responsibility will become something no company can afford to ignore. Ultimately, it's all about doing good at work -- why sustainability and corporate responsibility are becoming easier -- and necessary for survival.

What do you mean by is saving the world at work?

What's New at MySpace

Ellen McGirt — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:39 -0400

Chris Dewolfe, the lanky, shaggily hip CEO of Myspace, is holding his last meeting of the day from a prone position, a collection of long limbs stacked on a tiny red love seat. The early evening powwow, taking place in the cramped office of his senior communications director, is interrupted when I come crashing in to say good-bye.

What Do You Want, An Olympics Medal?

Tom Stern — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:15:07 -0400

Meet the Law Firm That Acts Like a Startup

Mark Lacter — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:52 -0400

"I suspect we're hated," says John Quinn, flashing a small but satisfied smile. Quinn is exaggerating, but not by much. He's the lead partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, an offbeat Los Angeles -- based law firm that has been stepping on a lot of white-shod toes in its ascent to -- some might say assault on -- the highest stratum of the elite corporate legal community. "It's sort of a mix of disdain and jealousy," says partner Patrick Shields.

Summer Reading: Why More People Are Listening to Books

Kermit Pattison — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:15:06 -0400

So what did you read this summer? Chances are, more and more of you listened instead. According to the American Association of Publishers, audio book sales grew by 20 percent last year. The largest online seller of audiobooks is Audible, which was acquired by Amazon earlier this year for $300 million. Audible offers more than 80,000 downloadable programs from current best sellers to daily newspapers.

What is popular summer listening this year?

Microsoft Worldwide Telescope vs. Google Sky

Robert Scoble — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:31:01 -0400

Fixing Washington D.C.'s School System

Jeff Chu — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:33 -0400

Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School in Washington, D.C., is one of the worst schools in one of the worst school districts in America.

"The mentality of excellence? We wish we could have that," said principal Harriett Kargbo, as we toured the school one morning in May. "But this," she said, pointing at the metal detector guarding the entrance, "is the reality."

Taking Back the Internet: Creating a Passive-Aggressive Income Stream

Tom Stern — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:45:09 -0400