From Prison Bars to Business Stars (Portfolio.com)

Portfolio.com — The Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Texas transforms convicted felons into successful business owners by turning their criminal entrepreneurial aspirations to legal industries.
When you hit the streets after an eight-year stretch in prison and find no one wants to hire you, there isn’t much to lose in starting your own [...]

As the oil creeps closer

CNNMoney.com: With the Gulf oil slick spreading, these 5 business owners are among the thousands fearing for their livelihood.
Captain Louis Skrmetta
President and captain, Ship Island Excursions
Gulfport, Miss.
Just 11 miles off the Mississippi coast, Ship Island is home to some of the most beautiful waters and beaches in the state. Ship Island Excursions has been transporting [...]

Gulf oil hits land and wildlife

Nationalgeographic.com: Rescue workers carefully clean an oil-soaked northern gannet bird at a facility in Fort Jackson, Louisiana. Oil from the massive Deepwater Horizon rig spill began reaching the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday night, making its first landfall along Louisiana’s “bird’s foot” delta and barrier marshes. (See “Oil Spill Hits Gulf Coast Habitats.”)

Louisiana’s coast serves [...]

Super Bowl sparks sales surge in New Orleans (CNNMoney.com)

NEW ORLEANS (CNNMoney.com) — Saints fans have waited more than four decades for their team to get a taste of glory. When kicker Garrett Hartley made a 40-yard field goal to secure the Saints’ first trip to the Super Bowl, it proved to be a win not just for the team but for New Orleans’ [...]

7 good things the Credit CARD Act will do for you (Interest.com)

Credit cards have treated their customers pretty badly in recent years. There was little any of us could do as they raised interest rates, slapped on fees, cut credit limits and imposed onerous new terms.
But the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 that Congress passed last spring is supposed to put an [...]

Nanotechnology: A New Industrial Revolution? (Areadevelopment.com)

Whether they’re aware of it or not, many industries are in the midst of a nanotechnology boom. From the medical industry and renewable energy to plastic products and electronics, nanotechnology is improving a wide array of consumer goods and promises to usher in the next wave of industrial production. According to the research and advisory [...]

DUI could cost you $20,000 (Bankrate.com)

Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot to pay for a drink at a New Year’s party, but if that last glass of champagne puts you over the legal limit, you’ll be paying for it for years to come.
And that’s only considering the potential financial cost of being ticketed for driving under the influence or driving while [...]

U.S.-Mexico Barrier Spurring More Illegal Foot Traffic (Nationalgeographic.com)

Nationalgeographic.com: A year after a barrier was completed along its boundary with Mexico, Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has seen a significant decline in vehicle traffic from drug smugglers and illegal immigrants, officials say. But while the barrier is stopping vehicles, it may also be prompting more people to cross the desert [...]