Business & Economy

By SUE STOCK
Friday, November 03, 2006
Don't dally if you want a job in retail this holiday season. Although just about every store from Wal-Mart on down is hiring, retailers are interviewing now and will pick most of their temporary workers by Thanksgiving.

By JACKIE CROSBY
Thursday, November 02, 2006
That grocery cart you're putting your food, handbag and toddler into? It's teeming with germs.

Consider the handle. It's been touched by untold numbers of hands that have changed diapers, mopped up runny noses, picked up packages of raw chicken and meat, and been coughed on, sneezed in and drooled on.

Bacteria and viruses such as E.coli, staphylococcus, salmonella and influenza can live on grocery carts, scientists say.

By JOE GAROFOLI
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
New media is no longer just the province of the pubescent. A growing share of its audience is old. Ancient. Like, even over 40.

According to a September study of YouTube users by Nielsen NetRatings, a leading online analyst, one-third of the video sharing site's audience is over 45 years old.

By JACKIE CROSBY
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
That grocery cart you're putting your food, handbag and toddler into? It's teeming with germs.

Consider the handle. It's been touched by untold numbers of hands that have changed diapers, mopped up runny noses, picked up packages of raw chicken and meat, and been coughed on, sneezed in and drooled on.

Bacteria and viruses such as E.coli, staphylococcus, salmonella and influenza can live on grocery carts, scientists say.

By GARGI CHAKRABARTY
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The energy boom in the Rocky Mountains is showing the first signs of a cool-down.

With natural gas prices hitting a low of $2 per thousand cubic feet in some parts this summer, three major drilling companies temporarily shuttered wells in October, and a fourth announced plans to scale back investments.

By PAUL GRIMALDI
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Two men, longtime business partners and friends, are bucking conventional wisdom.

Independent retailers just can't compete against national chains.

By JONATHAN B. COX
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Companies are moving more engineering, design and other advanced jobs overseas because they can't find enough talent here, a new Duke University study found.

The report, "The Globalization of White-Collar Work," challenges assumptions about offshoring, that companies move jobs only to cut costs.

By LEN BOSELOVIC
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Softening demand and rising imports used to give the U.S. steel industry a bad case of the flu. But as the industry enters its second down cycle since undergoing dramatic restructuring earlier this decade, analysts don't expect the weakening market to give steelmakers much more than a mild cold.

The reason: Mergers and acquisitions consolidated the fragmented industry, spawning fewer, more powerful players.

In the past, weaker producers exacerbated market declines by deeply discounting their steel.

By DAVID ARMSTRONG
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
With Vietnam set to become a member of the World Trade Organization in the coming weeks, an already rapidly growing trade between the United States and its former wartime adversary is set to grow even faster, according to trade experts.

By BRUCE FREEMAN
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Dear Professor Bruce:

I have a professionally designed Web site for my business. The information is solid, it looks great, and I get plenty of traffic.