PREMIUM SEARCH Search by job title, geography and build a list of executive contacts
I'm reaching for a Father's Day metaphor, so here goes: Like all fathers, Jack Bogle, the father of the index mutual fund, thinks he's always right, and he has a knack for refuting evidence to the contrary. Read about Bogle's bet over what type of fund is better, in The Boston Globe.
Phone customers aren't created equal: Rural ones cost a lot more to serve. U S West, whose service area includes some of the nation's fastest-growing cities and slowest-growing deserts, chooses to serve the former and sell off the latter, writes The Denver Post. And the trend toward divesting rural territories is likely to intensify once Qwest Communications International takes over.
Another great read: The Baltimore Sun reports on a factory that turns chum -- the crab shells Marylanders throw away by the jillions -- into chitosan, an industrial component the Japanese have found several uses for.
Living in times of low inflation makes me feel better about the doubling of energy and housing prices in the past year. When it comes to gas prices, Chicagoans have it even worse than the rest of us. But The Chicago Tribune's digging failed to produce a clear explanation or any good advice other than: Stay home. Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times suggests that an economic slowdown is under way.
You may not have noticed a dire lack of competition in the credit-card industry, but the Justice Dept. has. The Cincinnati Enquirer explains why Justice is suing Visa and MasterCard on behalf of you ën me.
Suck in that startup capital requirement, maggot! The Dallas Morning News reports on entrepreneurship "boot camps," a sort of B-school on speed. Even Harvard Business School is adapting to California's get-rich-immediately climate, adds The New York Times (free registration required).
Rich folk sure have lots of money. That's pretty much the take-away from this strange Denver Rocky Mountain News piece on how Denver has a lot of rich people.
Some of them may get their comeuppance next time it rains really hard: Many newly built homes take on water, then rot, according to this special report in The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Hint: If you're growing mushrooms by accident, something's wrong.
Can those Coloradans compare to Silicon Valleyites? Every year, The San Jose Mercury News devotes a business section to how much local CEOs make. Here's the roundup. The news -- other than numbers that are, as usual, higher than ever -- is that a woman, Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina, has broken into the top tier. Most interesting, and laudable, is columnist Dan Gillmor's plea to stop confusing "wealth" with "worth."
Things are looking up for U.S. auto makers, says The Los Angeles Times. They're responding to changes in consumer taste faster than ever, keeping the SUV craze alive by changing models often enough that buyers don't get bored.
If you're shopping for a used car, you should learn this well-kept secret: Bank of America sells cars it obtains when its auto loans expire through its own haggle-free dealerships. The St. Petersburg Times reports on the unusual sideline.
Kentucky's tobacco farmers have grown addicted to reliable profits, but now they're discovering what all other farmers face, says The Philadelphia Inquirer --competition from abroad.
Gas stations are open 24 hours; why not health clubs? Seems to work out darn well for global health-club empire 24 Hour Fitness, says The San Francisco Examiner.
If you judge politicians by their moneymaking abilities, it may be time to take another (or a first) look at Ralph Nader. He's worth a good couple mil, The Washington Post reports. Also in The Post: "nutritional supplement" makers are venturing into dangerous territory with children's products.
The next big e-thing is e-ducation, says The Arizona Republic. The Web is creating a new breed of for-profit educational institution.
So now I know there is a Carl behind the Carl's Jr. burger chain. And I know why he was ousted from running the company. But there's only one thing about the company I really want to know, and the Salt Lake Tribune doesn't say: Why it's called that.
Finally this week, from The New York Times, a noteworthy postscript to the oft-told tale of dot-com wealth raining on the young: increased demand for prenuptial agreements.
Hübler reports for the The Denver Post
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.
Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.
To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.
Copyright 2000 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
