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Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Yelp IPO, whispering in airplanes

Chau Tu Feb 28, 2012
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Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Yelp IPO, whispering in airplanes

Chau Tu Feb 28, 2012
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Orders for big-ticket products, like airplanes and computers, are down, raising questions about the recovery. Home prices fell for a fourth straight month in December. That’s according to data this morning from the S&P Case Shiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities. Only Detroit saw an increase from a year earlier. Oil prices fell again today down to $107 a barrel in New York trading. Prices have been spiking recently because of concerns about tension with Iran. And gas prices — which typically follow oil prices up — have done just that.

Greek lawmakers are voting today on another round of budget cuts. Just yesterday, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s credit rating to “selective default.” It’s a move that everyone expected.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., is hearing arguments today and tomorrow from groups that want to overturn environmental protection rules.

Microsoft and several other firms have complained to EU antitrust regulators about Google’s social networking tool, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a move that may prompt the EU to broaden its ongoing investigation into Google. This week, Yelp will do what so many other online companies have done in the past year: sell stock to the public. The website that offers user reviews of everything from restaurants to rug cleaners is trying to raise $100 million.

A new study finds that the wealthiest among us are often the least ethical. Researchers found that wealthy people are more likely to describe greed as good. They were also more willing to break the law while driving, more likely cheat to win a prize — seriously — more willing to take candy from children. That’s really what the study says.

The Telegraph is reporting that crews on Virgin Atlantic flights are being taught to whisper at just the right volume in the airline’s upper class cabins — not too loud to disturb others, not so quiet you have to strain to hear. Turns out the ideal whisper volume is somewhere between 20 and 30 decibels.

We did the show last week in Michigan, and we heard a lot of people use the word “Michigander” to refer to the people who live there. Then we were told that many people from Michigan prefer to be called “Michiganians” or even “Michiganites.” Seems crazy, or should I say…mishegoss.

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