8 cool companies that are hiring now

8 cool companies that are hiring now

These rising stars from Fortune's 40 under 40 list have great jobs to fill. What are they looking for and how can you impress them?
Max Levchin, Slide Founder

Courtesy: Slide

40 under 40 rank: 25
What openings do you have at Slide now?
We are always short great product managers and designers. We are rarely limited by our demand, but rather by the available supply of awesome people in the job market.
What's great about the jobs?
You get to work at the very forefront of innovation in social software, so you learn an enormous amount very quickly.

More from CNNMoney.com: • 40 Under 40 • My Biggest Mistake • Best Jobs in America

What are you looking for?
My favorite type of hire is the budding entrepreneur; someone who in a few years will want to start their own thing. They know that with every effort at Slide they are ultimately investing in themselves the most and so tend to be very productive.
Any secrets to impressing you?
Bring not just your skills, but also your thoughts (about the industry, Slide, etc.) to the interview. If you're engaged and interested, it tends to stand out. --Jessi Hempel
Charles Best, DonorsChoose.org Founder and CEO

Photo: Patrick McMullen/Sipa

40 under 40 rank: 35
What openings do you have now at DonorsChoose?
One for an Associate Director in our San Francisco office; and we're permanently on the lookout for great engineers.
What's great about the jobs?
The opportunity to work alongside wicked-smart, passionate colleagues who are unleashing the creativity of our most dedicated teachers [and] to construct a whole new model for doing good.
What are you looking for?
Customer obsession. Humility and humor.
Any secrets to impressing you?
A plainspoken manner of communicating. Disdain for buzzwords like "leverage" and "synergy." --Jessica Shambora
Meredith Whitney, Financial analyst

Courtesy: Oppenheimer & Co.

40 under 40 rank: 17
What openings do you have now at Meredith Whitney Advisory Group?
We are looking for 10 more people in research, sales trading and back office.
What's great about the jobs?
Our firm has a very special culture. The standards are high both professionally as well as ethically.
What are you looking for?
Put simply, we are a hypercompetitive team of "nice people." We take that very seriously.
Any secrets to impressing you?
Do extensive research on the firm before the first interview. It is amazing how much that can differentiate a candidate. --Katie Benner
Rio Caraeff, VEVO President and CEO

Courtesy: Universal Music Group

40 under 40 rank: 32
What openings do you have now at VEVO?
We're looking to hire roughly 35 at the moment, with more jobs added once the launch happens. We're looking for people across just about every level and discipline. From ad sales, engineering and accounting to music programming, there are a number of positions that we're looking to fill in next six months or so.
What's great about the jobs?
VEVO is a young and brand new company with an ambitious plan.
Any secrets to impressing you?
What we look for in a candidate above just about everything else is passion and enthusiasm. If you are passionate about music and about creating great music experiences online, then you have the critical ingredient to make VEVO a success. --Chris Tkaczyk
4. Matthew Flannery and Premal Shah, Kiva

Courtesy: Kiva

40 under 40 rank: 31
What openings do you have now at Kiva?
Shah: Seven positions growing up to 13 in the next two months. [You can see details at www.kiva.org]
What's great about the jobs?
Shah: Where else can you blend what you love with what you do well with the momentum that is Kiva?
Flannery: It's easy to see how you're having an impact at Kiva. You can watch it happen every day.
What are you looking for?
Flannery: People who are entrepreneurial, who value teamwork and are incredibly intelligent.
Any secrets to impressing you?
Shah: Humility and raw smarts.
Flannery: I like it when people are genuinely intellectually fascinated by what they do and like to discuss the minutiae in an interview. --Jessica Shambora
Aaron Patzer, Mint.com Founder and CEO

Courtesy: Mint

40 under 40 rank: 29
What openings do you have now at Mint.com?
We have 4 open jobs at Mint, and expect about 17 openings after combining with Intuit. We'll be hiring quite a lot -- mostly in engineering, user-interface and -experience design and product management, but also a few in customer service and marketing.
What's great about the jobs?
You get to shape how literally tens of millions of people in the country make their financial decisions every single day.
What are you looking for?
I look for someone who has made conscious, rational, well-reasoned decisions from high school through college to internships to your first job to now. If you've floundered, if you fell into jobs, if you've changed your track ten times or even three, you're not for me. I like people who know what they want and who they are in life and always have.
Any secrets to impressing you?
Don't be that Harvard/Stanford/Yale B-school graduate who says they can do product, marketing, or business development. If you say that, I know you can't do a single one of those things, as each is a science unto itself. I don't care where you went to school, or how many decades of experience you have -- show me what you've done (and more importantly, why logically you made the decisions you did) -- and a job at Mint/Quicken/Intuit Personal Finance is yours. --Jessica Shambora
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder

Courtesy: Facebook

40 under 40 rank: 2
What openings do you have now at Facebook?
I can't offer the total number of positions, but we're hiring all across the company. Our main focus is hiring the best technical talent around, from machine learning to infrastructure to front end development. We have many opportunities in every facet of software engineering; artificial intelligence, distributed databases, operating systems, interaction design and much more. We also have openings in the sales, design, and online operations functions, along with other areas.
What's great about the jobs?
Personal impact. The site is built by a relatively small group of the smartest engineers where the ratio of Facebook users to Facebook engineers makes it so that every engineer here is responsible for more than one million users. It's hard to have an impact like that at any other tech company in the world. We also move as fast as we can to launch things quickly and then iterate to make them better. We would rather take risks and break a few things in the process than move slowly. It's not unusual for the code someone writes one day to be in use by hundreds of millions of users that same night.
What are you looking for?
We're a culture of entrepreneurs and builders who move fast to get things done and strive to make an impact on the world.
Any secrets to impressing you?
If you really want to catch our attention, see if you can solve our programming puzzles at facebook.com/puzzles. --Jessi Hempel
Raul Vazquez, Walmart.com CEO

Photo: Jim Wilson/New York Times/Redux

40 under 40 rank: 14
What openings do you have now at Walmart.com?
We have over 40 positions open in everything from product management to engineering to marketing. We've been able to grow the site at two to three times the rate of the e-commerce industry.
Any secrets to impressing you?
If you're interested in working here, you should be someone [who's] passionate about what you do. Have a good grasp of what you've done -- be able to talk intelligently about the results you've driven. And, especially if you're going to be managing others, I look for compassion. --Mina Kimes 

retire where the sun caresses your skin

Want to retire where the sun caresses your skin.Without burning it?

You can go out for long sunlit walks by emerald

seas.As you look longingly at what is left of your

work era pot belly?

Well CNNMoney.com does not know such places of magic.

But they the have a list of the next best places.

1. Anaheim, CA

Yoga, golf, Disneyland, sunshine anyone?

Population: 333,200

% over 50: 26%

Doctors (in county): 8,370

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 420

Life expectancy at birth: 79.55

2. North Hempstead, NY

Beach, fishing,cold wheather golf,tides.

Population: 222,200

% over 50: 39%

Doctors (in county): 6,430

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 747

Life expectancy at birth: 79.18

3. Fort Lee, NJ

Early film industry, close th Giant stadium,Yankee stadium

Population: 36,500

% over 50: 41%

Doctors (in county): 3,653

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 757

Life expectancy at birth: 80.10

4. Yonkers, NY

Fine art, performing arts,maratons,ice skaing,ice hockey.

Population: 199,200

% over 50: 33%

Doctors (in county): 3,948

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 746

Life expectancy at birth: 79.64

5. Downers Grove, IL

Fishing,basketball,tennis,49 park sites,great restaurants.

Population: 49,000

% over 50: 36%

Doctors (in county): 3,896

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 318

Life expectancy at birth: 79.77

6. Los Angeles, CA

Yoga centers,organic food choices,rock climbing,raw food diets.

Population: 3,834,300

% over 50: 27%

Doctors (in county): 25,357

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 446

Life expectancy at birth: 78.15

7. San Jose, CA

Mountain walks,less than an hour from wineries

in the Santa Cruz Mountains,pacific ocean.

Population: 939,900

% over 50: 27%

Doctors (in county): 5,743

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 169

Life expectancy at birth: 80.33

8. Natick, MA

Seafood,New England grown fruits and vegetables.

Population: 31,600

% over 50: 34%

Doctors (in county): 4,644

Hospitals (in 30 miles): 237

Life expectancy at birth: 79.28

David Letterman grants wish

God bless David Letterman for granting the wish of Steve Mazan who was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer.

Even if petions and a website are involved, it is still a kind act on Letterman's part.

David Letterman grants wish.

How to buy A $50,000 House

While the average U.S. home price is $181,000, for more than $130,000 less than that, you can become a homeowner. However, for that rock bottom price tag, you may have to sacrifice a few things on your homebuying wish list such as size, location, age and amenities. Let's look at your options listed through Trulia.com:

A Work in Progress

3 bed/2 ½ bath single-family home in Grove Park
Location: Atlanta, GA
Price: $50,000

To make this your new home, you're going to have to either finish it yourself or hire a contractor to finish the work, since it's only partially complete.

It requires drywall work, electrical exterior painting, countertops, appliances, driveway and more.

You may be able to realize a great profit if you can price the work right and you like the location; however, it's going to take some major additional cash to make it livable.

Capital Expenses

3 bed/2 bath 1,372 sq. ft. townhome
Location: Centreville, VA
Price: $46,684

This house could be the deal of your dreams if you're looking for affordable living within reasonable driving distance to the nation's capital. While the property doesn't offer a fenced yard or lawn to speak of, it is located in a thriving downtown suburb with a lower than average crime rate and high number of college-educated homeowners and young families.

The cost of living in this area is relatively high, so this property may help you afford to reach your goal of homeownership in this area. Similarly-sized REO townhomes are listing for at least five to seven times as much!

Love It or Lease It

2 bed/1.5 bath 1,040 sq. ft. townhome off Military Highway
Location: Dallas, TX
Price: $50,000

This property is on a pretty tree-lined street in the Riverview Estates/Bruton Terrace neighborhood in Dallas, just outside the city. The downside is that it's currently leased to a tenant for 12 months; if you can buy and hold until the lease is up and then either move in or rent it again, it might be a deal worth considering. Find out what factors you should weigh when searching for income-producing real estate.

Price-wise the property is a steal at 34% lower than comparable homes in the area and 54% lower than the average price for homes in the same zip code. Also, the local crime rate is well above national averages - three times higher overall (for all types of reported crime) and six times higher than the national average for robbery. Safety might rule this sale out.

Needs Some TLC

2 bed/1 bath 1,006 sq. ft. duplex in Old North Milwaukee
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Price: $45,000

This short sale, two-family property is located in a nice neighborhood with wide, tree-lined streets but also comes with a long list of needed repairs. If you're intending to move in or use it as an investment property, you'll need to drop money on kitchen and bath remodeling, extensive roof and gutter repair, and drywalling work due to old roof leaks.

However, if you've got the cash (or elbow grease and skill) you'll get a gem in the rough - the home was built in 1928, has original hardwood throughout and sits on two acres. The home price is 24% lower than the local average list price and 63% lower than the average home price for properties in the same zip code.

Depending on the renovation expense, it might not seem like enough of a bargain to seal the deal!

Not the Best Area

3 bed/2 bath 1,512 sq ft. single-family home
Location: Beaverton, OR
Price: $48,500

This property is a manufactured home in very good, move-in condition and boasts a new roof along with well-rated local schools. Its location (bordered by a major highway and freeway) may be a turnoff for some potential buyers.

In addition, there are disproportionately more neighborhood homes for sale that are either in foreclosure or are already bank-owned than in nearby areas, which may mean that it's a less attractive area for buyers or that prices haven't dropped as much as necessary.

It can also indicate that you may be moving into an area that has a glut of vacant homes because former owners have had to move out.

Priced to Move

3 bed/1 bath 1,528 sq. ft. single-family home in Autumnwood
Location: Mobile, AL
Price: $49,500

This brick, ranch-style home is an REO property that is selling for nearly $40,000 less than the last time it was sold; 22 months ago it sold for $85,400. The home was built in 1959 and features wood floors, a fenced backyard, newly-painted rooms and newly-tiled kitchen, and attractively landscaped front lawn.

The home is priced to sell -- comparable properties in the neighborhood are selling for $30,000 more. And while the area is predominantly made up of families, the local crime rate is twice the national average overall and nearly four times higher for certain types of crime, including robbery and property crime.

Get to know the neighborhood well before you rush to make an offer.

History in the Making

2 bed/1 bath 897 sq. ft. condo in Hyde Park
Location: Boston, MA
Price: $50,000

The upside is that, as a short sale, the property is well under the local median sales price of more than $262,000, and it's located near public transportation for an easy commute into the city; the downside is that it will require a cash infusion to make some much-needed improvements, especially considering that the property is nearly 100 years old.

Foreclosed Opportunity

4 bed/1 bath 2,340 sq. ft. in Granite School District
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Price: $50,000

This property has just entered the foreclosure process, meaning that the person holding the mortgage has defaulted on the loan.

The property has been on the market for nearly four months (before the homeowner defaulted on the loan), so that may indicate it's either in poor condition or not a great buy for the location, even if it is priced at 72% lower than the average list price for homes in the same zip code.

The Bottom Line

If your homebuying budget is tight you may be able to find a "gem in the rough" while the housing market is still depressed. But you'll need to lower your expectations, do a little legwork (and perhaps a little heavy lifting) to make it the home of your dreams.

Why Rent When You Can Buy in USA

Why Rent When You Can Buy in USA

In 20 metro areas around the U.S., the cost of buying a home is only a little more — and in two metros actually less — than renting

Pittsburgh renters can actually lower their monthly expenses by buying a home.

Home prices have dropped so much that the cost to own and maintain a house in many metros is only a bit more, and sometimes even less, than the cost of renting.

BusinessWeek.com teamed up with research firm Reis to rank 20 metros where it's almost as cheap to buy as it is to rent. (Reis made the calculations using its own second-quarter rent data and second-quarter home value data from Zillow.com.) We found two metros, Detroit and Pittsburgh, where renters can actually lower their monthly expenses by buying. The rest of the list, featuring metros where buying was only slightly more expensive, included Rochester, N.Y.; Memphis; Tampa; Cleveland; Columbia, S.C.; Dallas; Las Vegas; and Providence.

To create a fair matchup between owning and renting, we calculated ownership costs assuming a fixed 30-year loan for 100% of the purchase price with no down payment. If we had instead decided to factor in a 20% down payment, owning would have been the cheaper option for the top 10 metros on our list.

"It's a great time to buy," says Mollie Carmichael, senior vice-president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. "If you can own a home for less than the cost to rent, then it's a logical financial proposition."

An Opportunity for New Buyers

The housing slump has brought the own-vs.-rent equation closer to where it was before the housing bubble drove sales prices way above rental costs. (Rents are also falling now, but at a much slower pace.)

The foreclosure crisis has trampled down prices from Tampa to Riverside, Calif. And low interest rates and government incentives such as the $8,000 first-time home buyer federal tax credit, which expires this year, is attracting new buyers previously priced out of the market. The American dream is getting more affordable. In Tampa, for example, owning was 15% more expensive than renting in the second quarter. But it was 46% more expensive than renting a year earlier.

Greg Ghodsi, senior vice-president at Raymond James in Tampa, says buying a principal residence in Florida now makes more sense than it did during the housing boom.

"If you have a job and are looking for a primary residence, you can get places here in Tampa that aren't cheap, but relative to where they were, are fairly priced compared to renting … The whole equation has changed," Ghodsi says.

Be Prepared to Stay a While

Of course, different people have different notions of what cheap means and buying isn't an option for everybody. Many renters are now losing jobs and banks are raising standards for mortgages. And the housing market still poses significant risks as prices continue to fall and foreclosures rise. Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.com, says prices are likely to continue to fall and then begin to appreciate slowly, so buyers should plan to stay put for a minimum of five to eight years or risk making a loss.

"It's a fool's errand to try to time the bottom for both economists—and buyers and sellers," Humphries says. "If you found a house that you love and want to be in for a long period of time, now is potentially a good time to wade into the market."

But with the first-time home buyer tax credit expiring and the possibility that interest rates will start rising, it might pay to act quickly, says Victor Calanog, director of research for Reis. But rents are dropping, too, so tenants might also be able to cut monthly expenses by seeking out apartments with lower rents or concessions, he says.

"This might be the time to seriously evaluate the decision of whether to rent or own," Calanog says.

When It's Better to Buy Than Rent

1. Detroit Metro (Mich.)

Own/rent ratio: 94%

Annual cost to own: $8,519

Annual cost to rent: $9,072

Detroit is best known as the home of the Big Three automakers: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The city has been hard-hit by the recession because of its dependence on the struggling auto industry. Detroit was the 11th largest metropolitan area as of 2007, with a population of nearly 4.5 million. It had and unemployment rate of 17.1% in June, the worst of any metropolitan area with a population over one million.

2. Pittsburgh Metro (Penn.)

Own/rent ratio: 97%

Annual cost to own: $8,947

Annual cost to rent: $9,252

The Pittsburgh area, located on the west side of the state, has a population of about 2.3 million. This former steel town now has large employment in the education and health-care industries. Heinz and United States Steel have headquarters there. The area has escaped the worst of the recession and had a 7.7% unemployment rate in June.

3. Rochester Metro (N.Y.)

Own/rent ratio: 113%

Annual cost to own: $9,523

Annual cost to rent: $8,448

Located near Lake Ontario, the Rochester metropolitan area has a population of more than 1 million. Rochester is home to Eastman Kodak and the University of Rochester. The Rochester unemployment rate was 8.4% in June, not seasonally adjusted. In the first half of this year, one in every 276 houses received a foreclosure notice in the Rochester area, according to RealtyTrac.

4. Memphis Metro (Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.)

Own/rent ratio: 114%

Annual cost to own: $8,593

Annual cost to rent: $7,524

Memphis is located on the Mississippi River and the metropolitan area has a population of more than 1.2 million. The city is known as the birthplace of rock and roll. Elvis' estate, Graceland, is in the area. FedEx, AutoZone and International Paper are headquartered there. The Memphis area ranked 43rd in the nation in foreclosure notices in the first half of 2009 according to RealtyTrac.

5. Tampa Metro (Fla.)

Own/rent ratio: 115%

Annual cost to own: $10,823

Annual cost to rent: $9,444

South Florida is has been hit hard by the recession, and home prices in Tampa have taken a dive. The metro was the country's 19th-largest in 2007, with a population of more than 2.7 million. OSI Restaurant Partners and WellCare Health Plans are headquartered there. The Tampa Bay area also relies on the tourism industry.

6. Cleveland Metro (Tenn.)

Own/rent ratio: 119%

Annual cost to own: $9,934

Annual cost to rent: $8,364

Cleveland, Tenn., is located in the southeast corner of Tennessee, near Chattanooga. Major employers include Johnston Coca-Cola Bottling, Whirlpool, and Rubbermaid. With a population of approximately 112,000, the Cleveland area is among the smallest on this list.

7. Dayton Metro (Ohio)

Own/rent ratio: 119%

Annual cost to own: $8,420

Annual cost to rent: $7,056

Home prices and employment in Dayton have both taken a hit in the recession. The unemployment rate in the area was 12.1% in June. The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a large employer in the area.

8. Columbia Metro (S.C.)

Own/rent ratio: 123%

Annual cost to own: $9,885

Annual cost to rent: $8,016

Columbia is the state capital and home to the University of South Carolina. The metropolitan area had about 700,000 people as of 2007. The city's large employers are the state government and University of South Carolina, two industries that are more recession-proof than others, and so it has been spared from the worst of the crisis. However, the unemployment rate still reached 10% in June (not seasonally adjusted).

9. Orlando Metro (Fla.)

Own/rent ratio: 124%

Annual cost to own: $12,107

Annual cost to rent: $9,756

The Orlando metro area, in central Florida, has a population of more than 2 million. Orlando's economy relies heavily on tourism from Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld amusement parks. The metro area ranked 10th in foreclosure notices in the first half of 2009, according to RealtyTrac. It had an unemployment rate of 10.8% in June, not seasonally adjusted.

10. Dallas-Fort Worth Metro (Texas)

Own/rent ratio: 124%

Annual cost to own: $11,037

Annual cost to rent: $8,880

Home sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were flat in the second quarter of 2009 after several declines, according to the National Association of Realtors. Mortgage rates are low, making this a good time for home buyers. The Dallas-Forth Worth region was the fourth-largest metropolitan area in 2007 and the largest city on this list. It had a June unemployment rate of 8.2%. American Airlines and ExxonMobil are headquartered in the area.

One of the biggest lessons of the recent housing collapse is that not everyone can afford to own a home. Too many people were suckered into mortgages with zero down-payments only to be hit later by usurious interest rates. But in some markets, homeownership has become surprisingly affordable—without having to resort to smoke-and-mirror mortgages. The reason is that in these cities the annual average cost to own a home has fallen to little more—and in some cases less—than the cost of renting. Where are these places? Read on to find out.

Editor's Note: The metro areas were ranked based on the annual cost of owning compared to renting. The own/rent ratio represents the annual cost of owning as a percentage of the annual cost of renting. The lower the ratio, the more favorable owning is over renting and in any metro with a ratio below 100%, it's cheaper to own than rent. To make a fair comparison between owning and renting, annual ownership costs were calculated based on a loan of 100% of the purchase price. (Of course, a down-payment is required for most purchases, but including it in our calculations would have skewed the results by lowering the cost of ownership). We also factored in tax rebates assuming an annual income tax rate of 30%. The ownership costs were calculated using a 30-year fixed mortgage with an interest rate of 5.5% and maintenance fees and property taxes were assumed to be about 3%. The second-quarter rental data, which was provided by REIS, is a blended average of all rental types and includes rent concessions. The second-quarter home value data comes from Zillow.com.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has avoided a meltdown and appears on a slow path to recovery, but Congress must now deal with enormous amounts of debt that threaten to erode U.S. purchasing power.

In an opinion column published on Wednesday by the New York Times, Buffett wrote that he "resoundingly applauds" actions by the Federal Reserve and the Bush and Obama administrations to pump trillions of dollars into the financial system.

But the "gusher of federal money" has run up a high level of debt that could fuel inflation, he said.

"The United States economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery," Buffett wrote.

"But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself."

Buffett, who runs insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc, likened the economic threat of "greenback emissions" to the environmental threat of greenhouse gas emissions, leaving the United States with a deficit of $1.8 trillion or 13 percent of gross domestic product this year.

In July, the government posted a $180.68 billion monthly budget deficit, a record for July, marking only the third time in the past 30 years that the government ran a deficit for 11 months in a row.

Buffett said a revived economy will not be able to generate enough revenues to bridge the gap between outlays and receipts, so changes in taxes and spending will be required.

Politicians will not likely have the will to raise taxes or slow spending, so they may opt to quietly let inflation increase, a move that will "confiscate" wealth and allow the United States to evolve into a "banana republic economy", he said.

"Our immediate problem is to get our country back on its feet and flourishing -- 'whatever it takes' still makes sense," Buffet said in the paper.

But once recovery is gained, Congress must end the rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio and keep its growth in obligations in line with its growth in resources, he wrote.

"Unchecked carbon emissions will likely cause icebergs to melt. Unchecked greenback emissions will certainly cause the purchasing power of currency to melt. The dollar's destiny lies with Congress," he said.

Last month, in a newspaper column of his own, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, said the huge amounts of money the U.S. central bank has pumped into the economy will not undercut its ability to push borrowing costs higher when the time is ripe.

Stressing that the weak U.S. economy will likely warrant exceptionally easy monetary policies for a long time to come, Bernanke outlined in a Wall Street Journal opinion article how the Fed could raise interest rates even with cash flooding the financial system.

"At some point, however, as economic recovery takes hold, we will need to tighten monetary policy to prevent the emergence of an inflation problem down the road," Bernanke wrote.

The outline of the Fed's "exit strategy" from the extraordinary monetary policy easing it has undertaken in the past two years to deal with the global financial crisis was the subject of testimony to Congress by Bernanke in his twice-a-year economic report on July 21.

Richard Hatch is once again back in jail

BOSTON – "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch is once again back in jail.

Federal officials arrested Hatch, 48, and took him to a Massachusetts county jail that's used to temporarily hold federal prisoners Tuesday afternoon.

The Barnstable County Sheriff's Office didn't know why Hatch was there, and a federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman couldn't immediately be reached early Wednesday. It wasn't clear if Hatch has a lawyer.

Hatch was convicted in 2006 for not paying taxes on the $1 million prize he won on the CBS reality show's first season. He was sentenced to extra prison time for lying on the stand.

Hatch's arrest came three months after he was released into home confinement in Rhode Island and just hours after he spoke publicly for the first time since he got out of federal prison.

In an interview aired on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, Hatch said he believes the judge in his tax evasion case discriminated against him because he's gay and accused a prosecutor of misconduct.

"I know without question that there are personal issues involved for the prosecutor. I don't know why. The prosecutorial misconduct has been egregious," he said.

In court papers filed earlier this year, Hatch complained of widespread prejudice in the justice system against gay people.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said Hatch's claims are baseless, and in a May court filing prosecutors pointed out that Hatch offered no evidence to support a claim that he was prosecuted because he is gay.

Former U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente — whose office oversaw the case — told WPRO-AM that Hatch is "delusional." The judge in the case is now retired and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Hatch is due to be released from home confinement on Oct. 7, but he has asked a judge to release him immediately for a variety of reasons, including because he was represented by ineffective lawyers.

He told the "Today" show that he has been financially devastated by his tax case.

Barney Frank lashed out at protester

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform.

"On what planet do you spend most of your time?" Frank asked the woman, who had stepped up to the podium at a southeastern Massachusetts senior center to ask why Frank supports what she called a Nazi policy.

"Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it," Frank replied.

He continued by saying her ability to deface an image of the president and express her views "is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated."

Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, sought to assure more than 500 people attending the rowdy meeting that the average taxpayer wouldn't be hurt by plans currently under consideration in Congress.

Some of those attending the meeting organized by the Democratic Town Committee of Dartmouth shouted and booed as Frank and others addressed the crowd.

At one point, Frank asked the crowd: "Which one of you wants to yell next?"

Several people wanted to know how the government would pay for the reforms without worsening a growing federal budget deficit.

At least two dozen protesters gathered in small groups outside, handing out pamphlets and holding signs criticizing the overhaul, Obama and Frank. Some of the posters read: "It's the economy stupid, stop the spending" and "Healthcare reform yes, government takeover, no. Tort Reform Now"

Audrey Steele, 82, from New Bedford, said she does not want the government to get involved with health care because "they just make a mess of everything," referring to the $700 billion bailout of financial institutions that was used to pay for lavish conferences and hefty executive compensation.

Others at Tuesday's meeting were more supportive of reform.

Dr. Sheila Leavitt, a physician from Newton, said she hoped for changes that would support primary care physicians who aren't paid as much as specialists. She said some of the rowdy critics at Tuesday's meeting appeared to be using the same "talking points" as those who showed up at similar meetings around the country.

Hurricane Bill became a dangerous Category 4 storm

MIAMI – Hurricane Bill became a dangerous Category 4 storm Wednesday as it howled through the open Atlantic's energizing waters, which could further boost the storm's power as it moves north.

Forecasters said Bill will begin pushing large swells toward Bermuda and parts of the southeastern U.S. coast by the weekend, but it wasn't yet clear how close the storm will come to land.

The National Hurricane Center also said people in the Leeward Islands should keep an eye on the storm, though its core was expected to pass well to the northeast of the chain in the next 24 hours. Fishermen in Antigua were advised to dock their boats.

"The wind shear is light and the waters are warm," Todd Kimberlain, a forecaster at the center, said Tuesday. "Those are two essential ingredients not just for the formation, but also the maintenance, of hurricanes."

Bill was maintaining a top wind speed of 135 mph Wednesday, and forecasters said it could get stronger. The storm's center was located 380 miles east of the Leeward Islands — or more than 1,500 miles southeast of Miami — and it was moving west-northwest near 18 mph.

The most significant threat could be to Bermuda, which the storm could pass in three or four days, Kimberlain said. But it also could move directly between Bermuda and the eastern coast of the U.S. without making landfall.

Regardless of how close Bill comes to land, it should begin sending stronger waves toward Bermuda and parts of the southeastern U.S. coast Friday and Saturday, hurricane expert Eric Blake said.

It was too early to tell if Bill would come close to shore over the weekend or swing away from the East Coast of the U.S., but the five-day forecast predicted its center would pass well offshore of the North Carolina-Virginia line Sunday.

San Diego resort 19 buck Survivor Package

San Diego resort 19 buck Survivor Package

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – For their one-and-only family getaway this year, the Billingtons checked in to an upscale San Diego resort on Sunday with many of the usual vacation accessories -- bathing suits, board games and golf clubs.

But they also brought flashlights, sleeping bags and an inflatable mattress because the pool-side room they booked for just $19 comes with a tent where the beds normally would be. They even had to pack their own toilet paper.

While many of Southern California's luxury hotels are battling a severe slump in business by offering extra services and more amenities, the Rancho Bernardo Inn is luring guests with the exact opposite -- no frills and barely any basics.

Called the "Survivor Package," the hotel's deeply discounted promotion lets patrons trim its standard $219-per-night rate on a sliding scale of deprivation, lowering charges with each amenity stripped from the room.

The most basic version: a room for $19 with no bed, toilet paper, towels, air-conditioning or "honor bar," and only a single light bulb in the bathroom for safety. The next level up adds in a bed -- sans sheets -- for $39 a night.

For a bed plus toiletries and toilet paper, the rate is $59.

Maureen Carew, assistant general manager of the four-star inn, called the promotion "clever marketing in a downtime."

THRIFTY VACATIONS

Herman Billington, 39, a personal trainer who owns his own business, says it's the only vacation he, his wife and their two sons, aged 9 and 10, plan to take this year as they concentrate on "keeping it lean."

"The boys get to feel like they're camping, and I get to go to the spa," said their mother, Erica Billington, 37.

Luxury hotels and resorts have fallen on hard times during the recession, as corporate travel planners shy away from lavish spending and consumers plan thrifty, if any, vacations.

Across the industry, occupancy rates have dropped about 10 percent Carew said. The slump has pushed room rates down, with many of California's more luxurious properties throwing in a breakfast, a round of golf or extra night's stay for free.

The outlook for the rest of 2009 is bleak, according to Smith Travel Research, which predicts that U.S. hotel revenue per available room will fall 17 percent and demand will drop 5.5 percent by the end of the year.

Carew said Rancho Bernardo's promotion drew more than 420 reservations, including 240 bookings at the $19 rate and 116 at the $39 rate.

Like the Billingtons, mortgage banker Brian Sciutto, 36, is watching his pennies. His Sunday night stay at the hotel is his first getaway in two years, though he brought his iPhone and mail from home to keep busy.

"I feel like I'm on vacation but I'm not," Sciutto said as he enjoyed the cool breeze blowing in from the golf course outside. "I feel like I'm being spoiled for 19 bucks."

Best one buck meals for the money

Best one buck meals for the money.
Common wisdom suggests that it's cheaper to cook your own meals at home than it is to eat in a restaurant. But as the economy's slump continues, fast-food restaurants have been trumpeting the financial merits of their value menus, many of which offer filling food for a dollar or less.

With these companies' ability to buy food in mass quantities at much greater discounts than what you can get from even a discount grocer, can you really compete? Let's take a look the top five fast food values out there today.
Breaking It Down

To come up with per-serving prices for ingredients in these fast food items, we used their average or estimated retail costs. These will vary depending on where you live and where you shop. The cost of individual condiments was excluded for simplicity's sake.

No. 5 KFC: The "Snacker" Is Just That

KFC launched its 10-item value menu in February, but unlike some of the other chains on this list, only three of its value offerings fall under the $1 mark. The best value of the bunch is probably the Ultimate Cheese KFC Snacker, a 3-ounce breaded chicken strip covered in cheese sauce and lettuce on a dinner-roll sized bun.

At 115 grams, it's a considerable lightweight compared to the other value menu items on this list, which weigh in anywhere from 128 grams (Taco Bell) to 151 grams (McDonald's).

Per-Sandwich Cost at KFC: 99 cents
Per Sandwich Cost at Home:
-Chicken(prepared at home at $3/pound): 56 cents
-Dinner Roll: 15 cents
-Cheese Sauce: 4 cents
-Total: 75 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: You can make this at home for less, but only if you can crack the Colonel's secret recipe.

No. 4 Burger King: Where's the Cheese?

There are more than a dozen value menu items at Burger King. The Whopper Junior, a standard burger with 2.2 ounces of beef, is the most substantial item, but unlike the other burgers on this list it does not include cheese. According to BeefRetail.org, the average price of regular ground beef as of March 2009 was $2.44.

Per-Burger Cost at Burger King: 99 cents (depending on where you live)
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 33 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Total: 58 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: If you make your own version of a Junior Whopper, you can add a slice of cheese and a little extra meat and still get more food for $1.
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No. 3 Taco Bell: Why Pay More?

Taco Bell's ‘Why Pay More?’ Value Menu has some of the lowest prices around, with 10 products priced at 79, 89 and 99 cents. This Mexican-inspired food goes for prices that you might see in, well, Mexico. The hot item on this menu is reportedly the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, an eight-ounce giant with about 2.5 ounces of seasoned ground beef, cheese sauce, seasoned rice and red sauce.

Per-Burrito Cost at Taco Bell: 99 cents
Per Burrito Cost at Home:
-Meat: 38 cents
-Tortilla: 25 cents
-Cheese Sauce (prepared, 1/2 ounce): ~15 cents
-Rice (at a price of 4 cents per ounce and assuming two ounces): 8 cents
-Total: 86 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: If you make a similar item at home, you might be cutting it close in terms of coming out ahead of this fast-food item, as tortillas can easily cost as much as 40 cents each, depending on where you shop. If you make your own tortillas, you could make a similar burrito for as little as 60 cents.

No.2 McDonald's: Budgets Are Lovin' It

The iconic Mcdonald's dollar menu has been around since 2002, and although it offers only a handful of items, they seem like a steal. A dollar-menu staple, something you could actually call "lunch", is the McDouble: two hamburger patties, one slice of cheese, condiments and a bun.

Per-Burger Cost at McDonalds: $1
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 49 cents
-Cheese: 20 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Total: 94 cents + condiments and the time it takes to cook it

Bottom Line: Assuming the cost of the condiments adds a few more cents, you can see that the McDouble is a tantalizingly good value.


No.1 Wendy's: It's Value

Wendy's doesn't have a signature sandwich but it does capitalize on its signature square burger patties. But does this chain offer a product that's "wayyyy better than fast food" in terms of value?

In a word: yes. Look at Wendy's Double Stack burger, one of the key items on its sizable Super Value Menu. It is advertised as a 99-cent item and consists of two 1.78 ounce hamburger patties, a cheese slice and condiments.

Per-Burger Cost at Wendy's: 99 cents
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 54 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Cheese: 20 cents
-Total: 99 cents +condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: As it turns out, Wendy's really isn't cutting corners with its signature square burgers. If you can find a Wendy's location that's selling this item for 99 cents (some have bumped the price up to $1.49), you'll be sinking your teeth into the most beef you can get for less than a dollar.

Can I Take Your Order?

So, while in most cases you can't get better deal at the drive-through window than in the grocery aisle, if you stick to value menu items, the savings gleaned by flipping your own burgers are very small, particularly for top fast food restaurants like Wendy's and McDonalds.

It all depends on what you value most. If your top priorities are convenience and price, fast food chains may be the most budget-friendly way to fill your stomach. If you're worried about food quality - or your waistline - these cheap, filling fast food deals may not be your best bet.
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