Diana Wolf

Joined: Nov 21, 2012

What the Financial Crisis Means for Spam, Psychics, Hosiery & More

Why the Fed Keeps Cutting Rates

The Dow: Then & Now

The Stories Behind 5 Old American Brands

Second-Cheapest Syndrome

Ever order the second-cheapest wine on the menu while dining out? You don't want to spend very much, but you also don't want to look like a cheapskate ordering the cheapest bottle on the whole menu. Well, one in four diners do (in the UK, at least). In th

The Financial Crisis: Who's to Blame?

The Federal Reserve plans to spend $700 billion (adding to our current $10.6 trillion deficit) to buy up mortgage-related debt from our ailing banks so the banks will be able to lend again. Credit is, after all, what America runs on. As Fed Chairman Ben

How to Sell Short (And Why? And When?)

Perhaps you've read about the ban on short selling. Many believe it is one of the main causes of the current financial crisis and the fall of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and AIG. But what exactly is "short selling"? How and when can you do it? And why

AIG: Now that you own it, learn about it!

First of all—what is AIG? AIG is American International Group, the largest insurance company in the world. It's not just an insurance company, however; its business is divided into four divisions: general insurance, life insurance and retirement ser

What Does the Freddie/Fannie Bailout Mean to You?

The big bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been big news this week. But what does it mean to you? GSEs —> TSEs? Well, the Government Sponsored Entities just became Taxpayer Sponsored Enterprises. The Treasury "bailed" them out, changed th

What's the Deal With Jerry Seinfeld's Microsoft Ad?

The ad world is all abuzz about the new Microsoft Windows commercial featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. It's a bit hokey, rather long, and, well, it just doesn't make any sense. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Ad Age calls it "a classic

2 Strange Effects of a Bad Economy

1. Fewer Males are

10 (un)American Icons

When you think of 7-Eleven, the Chrysler Building, and Budweiser, what country comes to mind? If you said Japan, Abu Dhabi, and Belgium, then no need to read on. But if such news comes as a shock, keep reading to learn about ten un-American Icons this cou

The Business of Being Debbie Phelps

Everyone knows Michael Phelps is going to be double-fisting endorsement deals for years to come. But who knew that his mom's getting a piece of the

Does Starbucks have any relation to the Starbuck family?

While romping about Nantucket's fields and beaches, I stumbled into a little history. Nantucket was originally inhabited by the Wampanoag tribe until the English settled down in the mid 1600s. Among the founding families of Nantucket were the Macy's of Ma

6 Reasons Today's Olympic Swimmers are Breaking so many World Records

For some reason every swim event in this Olympics is a record smasher. And it isn't just Michael Phelps who's seconds ahead of that daunting green world record line. Curious what's making this year's athletes so much faster? Here are 6 possible answers. 1

The O Factor: Oprah Gives Obama an Extra Million

Votes, that is. It's clear that a plug from the daytime diva can turn a book into a best seller (Anna Karenina & Love in the Time of Cholera increased 100% immediately after their selection into Oprah's Book Club). And she can turn any movie into a blockb