Category Archives: Bidness

I would have had respect for Loren Steffy’s dissenting opinion on wind energy had he acknowledged any of the following: The externalities imposed by coal- and gas-powered plants cost us a boatload of money, too; factoring in those externalities makes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s a great job waiting for you here in Houston, if you can afford the move. As houses linger on the market and prices continue to fall in many U.S. cities, some recruiters in Houston are wringing their hands. [Carole] … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yet another story in the Chron about the effect of the bad economy and higher prices on ordinary Americans. Amid a tottering economy, rising inflation, increasing unemployment and a housing market meltdown, waiters, beauticians and pet groomers report that customers … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I missed this story from last week about the new nurses’ union in town, but having been reminded of it, I thought it was worth pointing out. It’s only been a few days since the California Nurses Association won its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m fascinated by this. Fourteen years ago, Chris Clark shelled out 20 bucks to register the domain name “pizza.com.” This afternoon, he sold it for $2.6 million. “It’s crazy, it’s just crazy,” he said somewhat giddily yesterday morning from his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good for Whole Foods. Natural and organic grocer Whole Foods Market announced [Tuesday] it will stop using disposable plastic grocery bags at supermarket checkouts and encourage reusable bags instead. The decision affects all of the company’s 270 stores in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Are you in the market for an armoire? If so, you’re in luck, as there’s apparently quite a glut of the out there, thus allowing for some real deals. Swamplot has the scoop. Continue reading →

The Wall Street Journal had a story on Friday about a lawsuit by Ticketmaster against a ticket scalper. IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Ticketmaster earlier this year filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against RMG Technologies Inc., a small … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Houston Press had a great story last year about the business of haunted houses in Houston. Now that the season is in full swing, the Chron has a similar piece. If there’s one thing that spooks Jim Fetterly, it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ll spare you all the tedious “Back to the Future” jokes and simply note that the DeLorean will be back in 2008, and what’s more they’ll be manufactured locally. We sat down with James Espey, veep of the DeLorean Motor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This ought to be interesting. Costco will open a new store in the Greenway Plaza area next year in a 24-acre retail and apartment development planned on Richmond at Weslayan. Trammell Crow Co. said Thursday that the warehouse club operator … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It almost makes me feel sorry for John Mackey to see people use his name to describe other CEOs acting as sock puppets. Not quite, but almost. Thanks to Tom for the link. Continue reading →

In the “It was bound to happen sooner or later” department, renegade CEO blogger/sock puppet John Mackey has apologized for his actions. Sort of. John Mackey, chief executive and co-founder of Whole Foods Market, apologised on Tuesday for anonymously posting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I just can’t get enough of this, can I? The NY Times writes about Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and his sock puppet tendencies. There’s not a whole lot new, but I found this segment to be amusing: In November, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Apparently, a CEO posting information on message boards under a pseudonym that may affect the stock price of his company or that of a rival company that his firm hopes to acquire is something that regulators frown on. Who knew? … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember John Mackey of Whole Foods, the renegade CEO blogger? Turns out he’s been a presence on the Internet for awhile, and some of it is coming back to bite him. Whole Foods Market Chief Executive Officer John Mackey criticized … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is interesting. The rest of the world got a glimpse into the personality of John Mackey, Whole Foods Market Inc.’s chief executive, last week and learned what Austin has known for a long time: He is anything but subtle. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

My first reaction upon reading this article about jerks in the workplace is how fortunate I’ve been in my professional life. I’ve never had a bad boss, going all the way back to my student days. There’s not a one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Fascinating article about the decision by Wal-Mart in Seguin to close its fabric department, and the outraged reaction that has drawn from the local sewing and knitting aficionados who have no other place nearby to go to get their supplies. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s the deal. The proposed $32 billion buyout of Dallas power giant TXU will halt construction of all but three planned Texas coal plants, cut power prices for North Texas customers by 10 percent and put the company on a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Have you ever had your door knocked by a kid selling magazine subscriptions as part of a contest? I have, and I’d never given it much thought beyond the vague guilt I felt for sending them away empty-handed. After reading … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Last month, the developer that’s building a controversial WalMart in Austin said it would suspend activity on the site for 60 days so it could gather more input from the neighborhood, presumably including the vocal opponents of their project. On … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Happy New Year, everybody! The arrival of 2007 brings with it the 100th anniversary of the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham. It started out making butter, but has been known for its ice cream for decades. And their marketing of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Recently, Kos wrote about what a bad deal extended warranties are for just about all products. I confess, when I was young and stupid, I bought a few extended warranties. Never used them, of course – I doubt I could … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Late last week, the Austin City Council approved new rules for big-box store development, but did not apply them to the Northcross Mall site. The rules will require the city to notify more neighbors of proposed large stores and have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Shortly after I posted this about the proposed Wal-Mart at the Northcross Mall in Austin, I received this link in my email. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is suspending action on a proposed store at Northcross Mall for 60 days. Embroiled in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I usually limit my neighborhood stuff to Houston, but my buddy (and occasional guest blogger) Matt asked me to post something about this story concerning a Wal-Mart planned for Northcross Mall, so here it is. And it’s a pretty interesting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

When I was growing up in New York, the guy who owned the Syms men’s clothing franchise was their main advertising pitchman. His catch phrase (which is still the company’s motto, apparently) was that “An educated consumer is our best … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Everybody knows about the Google/YouTube merger. Did you know about the unintended consequences that had on YouTube’s homophonic predecessor UTube? [L]ike a lot of folks — millions of them, in fact — you might have accidentally gone to UTube.com, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via John comes this story of new frontiers in employer-employee relations. Keeping employees on electronic leashes such as laptops, BlackBerries and other devices that keep them constantly connected to the office could soon lead to lawsuits by those who grow … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Dwight points to a story about the latest spam craze and asks the obvious question: “Who are the idiots that buy stocks touted to them in spammed email?” Spam messages that tout stocks and shares can have real effects on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So. Anybody else at work today? With the July Fourth holiday falling on Tuesday this year, Monday will be an orphan workday for many people who can’t take the day off. Although other national holidays are usually moved to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

UPDATE: As this post is no longer accurate, and is apparently causing Ryan some harm, I have removed it. Continue reading →

Once again, the concept of a la carte pricing for cable television is in the news (see here and here for background). Pretty much everything you need to know about the debate is in the following paragraphs. In a preemptive … Continue reading → Continue reading →