Last month, Slashdot readers contributed their own inquiries to the pool of questions for the Walden University Presidential Youth Debate. Two of those questions made the cut, and you can watch either the individual video responses to each of the questions presented to John McCain and Barack Obama (by scrolling down the just-linked debate home page), or the whole debate straight through. For something meatier, if you’re weary of predictably slippery campaign-style answers, Ethan Rowe of End Point has a very interesting blog post about the technology background of the debate.

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Va. Democrats’ Union Cash Raises Questions of Timing - Washington Post
The Virginia Democratic Party is collecting record amounts of money from organized labor during the final weeks leading up to Election Day, although federal law prohibits most of those donations from being used to influence this year’s races

Iraq plans to cut 2009 budget by $13 billion - International Herald Tribune
BAGHDAD : Iraq plans to cut its 2009 draft budget to $67 billion in light of falling world oil prices, finance ministry officials stated. Iraqi authorities set the original draft budget last month at around $80 billion, based on expectations that the

Bernanke explores housing financing - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated Friday that the housing finance system being constructed following the collapse of the current system will need superior safeguards to allow it to function during times of stress. Whatever shape

Deflation lurks as global demand declines - International Herald Tribune
As dozens of countries slip deeper into financial distress in alarming unison, a new threat might be gathering force: the prospect that goods will pile up without buyers and prices will steadily fall, suffocating fresh investment and worsening

Speaking finance with Trinidad and Tobago - Jamaica Gleaner
Your editorial on September 30, regarding Jamaica’s plans to transform the island into an international financial services centre (IFSC) was most welcome. I agree that this area demands debate - robust debate, across party lines, with views sought

Wall Street’s jobless flocking to bartending jobs - Boston Globe
NEW YORK - Bryan Gunderson tried to master the intricacies of structured-equity investments until he lost his job at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Now he’s learning the subtleties of Purple Hooters. After collecting his last severance check in August and

McCain pokes fun at campaign on ‘SNL’ - CNBC
NEW YORK - Republican John McCain poked fun at his presidential campaign’s financial shortcomings and his reputation as a political maverick in an appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” The presidential hopeful made a cameo appearance at the

Iraq earmarks $15 billion for reconstruction, ML - Guardian Unlimited
Associated Press Writer= BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq has earmarked some $15 billion — almost 25 percent of its 2009 draft budget — to help rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure, energy and oil facilities, the finance minister said Saturday

More from ka-Ching! - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Paydirt: A chance for a lesson Paydirt: Patience, not panic Stock answers for portfolio questions Paydirt: Calm amid the crisis Is your financial plan on track? Is your life? Squeeze the most out of your budget Tackling finance with fun More stories

Votes Are as Important as Investments - Wall Street Journal
On Tuesday, the presidential campaign will come to an end. For many, the culmination of this long, loud and sometimes bitter campaign will be welcome relief, no matter the result. The personal-finance angles concerning the two candidates have been

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Filed under: Products and services, Marketing and advertising, Walt Disney (DIS), Recession

As a tiny girl growing up in the 70s, Tinkerbell seemed a heroine of another time altogether: the original story of Peter Pan was written at the turn of the 20th century (and did you know that the first version of Peter Pan lived in Kensington Gardens?). Tinkerbell, as Disney conceived her, was too precious; her true heritage was rather dusty. J.M. Barrie described her as a fairy who mended pots and kettles (i.e., a tinker).

Is it appropriate or terrible that The Walt Disney Corporation’s (NYSE: DIS) fortunes should be placed on the shoulders of a tiny, too-precious fairy who repairs pots? Disney has iconized Tinkerbell for decades and three years ago founded a new “franchise” of characters by providing Tinkerbell a “back story” and rolling out fairy friends for her. Management states the sales for fairy merchandise, aimed at four-to-eight-year-olds, is selling three times High School Musical 3 tie-ins; vast praise to be sure.

But analysts aren’t hopeful; Merrill Lynch’s Jessica Reif Cohen downgraded Disney earlier this month, worrying about the economic woes affecting the little winged ladies along with the rest of Disney’s magical creatures (and under this umbrella I most definitely include Hannah Montana and her “teenaged” friends in the High School Musical franchise). Disney CEO Robert A. Iger says that “fairies are forever” and maybe he’s right; but I’ve reservations like Cohen.

Continue reading Mama on the Street: Disney investors wonder, is Tinkerbell recession-proof?

Mama on the Street: Disney investors wonder, is Tinkerbell recession-proof? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ian Lamont writes “The Personal Genome Project has released the data sets and descriptions of traits, ethnic background and other information of the first ten volunteers, which include the project director and nine other people with backgrounds in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology. While the human genome was first sequenced at the beginning of this decade, what’s special about this project is these 10 participants are having their names, genome, and other personal data gleaned from questionnaires shared openly on the Web, where interested researchers can freely access them. One of the ultimate aims of the project is to create a public database of 100,000 volunteers that researchers and other celebrations can use to determine what traits, diseases or other characteristics are associated with specific genetic markers. When asked why volunteers are requested to attach their names to the Web records, the project director said the data could be used by researchers in other fields outside of genetics, including forensic science and historical research. While this project opens the door for some interesting and potentially life-saving research, there may also be difficulties or problems for people whose records are posted on the Web. Would you participate? Would you share your name, along with your genome, disease history, and traits? Why or why not?”

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Matt_dk writes “NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has observed a new category of minerals spread across big regions of Mars. This discovery advocates that liquid water remained on the planet’s surface a billion years later than scientists believed, and it played an important role in shaping the planet’s surface and possibly hosting life.”

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I’m not sure how many electoral votes Azeroth has, but it could be a key battleground say.

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Filed under: Products and services, Apple Inc (AAPL)

One of the holy grails for consumer electronics manufacturers has always been to produce a single device that’s good at so many things that customers don’t need a whole collection of gadgets — just one. The perfect example of this has been Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. It makes calls, grants web browsing and email, can play music, Television and movies, and do about a jillion other things.

It’s not the first device to try and be a jack-of-all-trades, but it’s arguable the first to be the simplest and coolest at everything it does. Customers are apparently noticing, as they are dumping other gadgets in favor of carrying and using just one - the iPhone. And we’re not talking middle-income families and consumers either, but those with incomes below the median.

This is music to Apple’s ears — its device is being used by all demographics for everything from telecommunications to video and music to web browsing (possibly being the first “portable” personal for many). ComScore said that iPhone ownership spiked 48% from June 1 to the end of August among households earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year. Need Apple state more? Not really.

Some consumers getting rid of all gadgets - and replacing them with iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zarath writes “The fictional town of Eureka (from the TV series by the same name) is going to potentially become a real life town as the University of Queensland, in Australia, plans to build a multibillion-dollar ‘brain city’ dedicated to science and research. The city, hoping to hold at least 10,000 people, is looking to attract 4,500 of the brightest scientists from around the world to live and work there. The city is planned to be built west of the city of Brisbane, in Queensland. While not funded by the Department of Defense (like the [city of the] Television series), the potential for such a community is very interesting and exciting.”

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Filed under: Law, Scandals, Housing

If you’re in the market for some new digs on Nantucket — and you’ve $16.45 million — former Tyco CEO and current inmate number 05A4820 Dennis Kozlowski has got a deal for you.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that he has cut the price on the estate from $23 million, but that’s still a pretty good return on the $5 million he paid for it in 1997. You can take a look at the listing for the property here and it’s pretty spectacular: 16 rooms, 7,000 square feet and plenty of fireplaces, limestone and marble. Rent out the guest cottage to help pay the mortgage!

The home is being sold unfurnished which is a shame given that Kozlowski once spent $6,000 on a shower curtain and $15,000 on a “dog umbrella stand.” Then there was the birthday party for his wife that included togas, vodka-spouting statues of David, Jimmy Buffett, and a cake with exploding breasts. The party cost $2 million, and Tyco paid for half of it.

To see a behind bars interview with Kozlowski, check out this fascinating clip from 60 Minutes.

Former Tyco CEO slashes price on Nantucket estate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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