Latest from Stacey Vanek Smith

• Aug 19, 2010

  Old news: Media organizations make political donations

  

  Media companies making political donations may seem taboo, but it's hardly anything new. Stacey Vanek Smith looks into how media companies donate to political interests.

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• Aug 18, 2010

  LAT analyzing and ranking Los Angeles teachers

  

  The Los Angeles Times will be releasing rankings of 6,000 school teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Many agree that the American education system needs revamping, but many also find the rankings unfair.

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• Aug 18, 2010

  American Apparel’s future a ‘going concern’

  

  American Apparel hasn't submitted their second quarter profits report yet, but they did submit a preliminary report — and it doesn't look good.

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• Aug 14, 2010

  ‘Eat Pray Love…’ and shop!

  

  "Eat Pray Love" is open in theaters, though I probably don't have to tell you that because the movie's being promoted like crazy. Oh, and there are the products: travel packages, clothing, prayer beads. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports on how a book about one woman's quest to de-clutter her life has spawned a mega-marketing blitz.

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• Aug 13, 2010

  How U.S. involvement in GM affects IPO

  

  GM has plans to go public. Pretty soon, you could be buying shares of the automaker, which is a little strange, since taxpayers already essentially own GM. So what does Uncle Sam's involvement in a company mean for investors? Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.

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• Aug 12, 2010

  Confidence or economic recovery: What comes first?

  

  Consumers might be suffering from a massive case of low self-esteem. But does confidence need to rise to boost the economy, or does the economy need to get better before consumer moods improve?

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• Aug 10, 2010

  Orbitz offers new hotel search tools

  

  Online travel agency Orbitz announced it's stepping up its hotel search options, so you really check out potential vacation digs. Actually, the whole industry is innovating like mad because the online travel business is taking off. Stacey Vanek Smith has more.

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• Aug 7, 2010

  Local gov’t job cuts take economic toll

  

  The latest jobs report shows the economy lost more jobs than expected and added fewer. Only about 71,000 jobs were created in the private sector last month. Meanwhile, 143,000 temporary census workers were let go. And state and local governments slashed 48,000 jobs in July. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.

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• Aug 6, 2010

  Jobless claims point to troubling trend

  

  We don't usually talk too much about weekly jobless claims. They jump around a lot and it can be dangerous to read too much into them. But they caught our eye this morning. Nearly 480,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week — that's the highest level since April. Stacey Vanek Smith reports.

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• Aug 5, 2010

  Barnes’ woes signal book biz transition

  

  Barnes & Noble shares are flying high after the company announced it's considering putting itself up for sale. It's the latest plot twist for a publishing industry that's madly trying to figure out its next chapter. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.

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