The Business

A viral video happy ending

business — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:02:57 +0000

The world’s worst parking job attracted a million-plus views on YouTube. Hyundai was watching. Very clever marketing.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Dow 10,000 nostalgia

business — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:12:46 +0000

Today’s brief foray above 10,000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average will receive a lot of media play. We love round numbers, anniversaries and lists.

Just remember that 10,000 means we’re back where we were a year ago — and where we were a decade ago. Here’s the front page from The Wall Street Journal of March 30, 1999.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Lawsuit seeks all the money in the whole world

business — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:47:03 +0000

Dalton Chiscolm has filed a lawsuit against Bank of America seeking “1,784 billion, trillion dollars,” Reuters reports. He would like it placed in his account today, according to the lawsuit. He’d also like another $200 million.

His case is as clear as mud.

“Incomprehensible,” U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said in a brief order.

“He seems to be complaining that he placed a series of calls to the bank in New York and received inconsistent information from a ‘Spanish woman,’” the judge wrote. “He apparently alleges that checks have been rejected because of incomplete routing numbers.”

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Tiger roars past $1 billion

business — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:14:14 +0000

Tiger demonstrates is pitching skills in this Buick ad.

Forbes.com’s SportsMoney blog by Mike Ozanian estimates that Tiger Wood’s $10 million payday last weekend pushed his career earnings — on and off the course — past the $1 billion mark. That would make him the world’s first billion-dollar athlete, Ozanian said.

Ozanian writes:

The scary part is that Woods is only 33-years-old and might have 15 years of competitive golf left in him and 30+ years of designing golf courses. This is only the first $1 billion for Woods.

Comments on the blog claim that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher already have eclipsed the billion-dollar mark. But Woods’ financial accomplishments at such a tender age are impressive.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Virtual reality biz actually imaginary

business — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:44:07 +0000

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged 3001 AD, which claimed to be a virtual reality technology company, with fraud. The SEC claims the company was nothing more than a boiler room telemarketing scheme designed to fleece investors.

The SEC alleges that 3001 AD, LLC and these individuals raised approximately $20 million from about 500 investors nationwide through a maze of unregistered offerings that hyped the company’s supposedly promising virtual reality products, including a helmet system tracking players’ head movements to provide a 360-degree view in a video game. Investors were told in the offering materials that the sales commissions paid on their investments were dramatically less than they actually were. An imminent Initial Public Offering (IPO) was repeatedly hyped to investors while no steps were actually being taken toward going public. And prestigious business relationships between 3001 AD and Microsoft, Apple, and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner were touted to investors even though such relationships never existed.

Turns out the promised profits, like the professed products, were virtual.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

A century of dumb inventions

business — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:24:42 +0000

Life has compiled a photo gallery from its archives of some of the dumbest ideas that inventors created in the 1900s. Many of the photos are priceless, and the captions contain just enough snark. About a gunslinging robot, Life writes: “It’s always easy to question the wisdom of giving a robot a gun, but also making him quick on the draw is just irresponsible.”

Of an anti-bandit bag with a bottom designed to collapse and dump the bag’s contents when its owner is threatened, Life writes: “That’ll stop those thieves from getting at the contents of your bag! No, wait. It won’t.”

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

Mad Money’s Jim Cramer coming to OU

business — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:30:12 +0000

Jim Cramer, money maven of the rolled-up shirt sleeves and sound effects, will visit the University of Oklahoma next month. Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” will tape an episode of the show before a live audience of OU students on Oct. 30. He also will be the keynote speaker at a dinner for OU business students and alumni on Oct. 29.

OU President David L. Boren said Michael Price, the former Wall Street money manager who the OU business college is named for, arranged Cramer’s visit.

“Jim Cramer’s visit will give OU students an excellent opportunity to hear one of the most prominent personalities on Wall Street,” Boren said.

Anyone have any questions they would like to ask Mr. Cramer? Submit them in the comments.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

A short stack, robot style

business — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:32:03 +0000

British food producer HoneyTop employs the Flexpicker machine to stack its pancakes for shipping. The robot uses a high-def camera to identify the stackable pancakes and utilizes a buffer shelf to save pancakes to fill in short stacks. The process, one part “The Jetsons” and one part “Terminator,” must be seen. First view of the Flexpicker comes at about 1:15; the buffer shelf is demonstrated at about 2:10. (via eatmedaily.com)

By the way, who buys pre-made pancackes? Is there any food that’s easier or faster to cook?

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

They don’t build ‘em like they used to — thank goodness

business — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:02:01 +0000

To note the 50th anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, best known for its vehicle crash tests, the organization brought together some 50-year-old Detroit steel with its modern-day counterpart. In other words, they slammed together a 1959 Chevy Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Impala at 40 mph. As the following video shows, it was no contest when it came to passenger protection.

“It was night and day, the difference in occupant protection,” Institute president Adrian Lund said. “What this test shows is that automakers don’t build cars like they used to. They build them better.”

The fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror of the ‘59 Bel Air appeared to survive unscathed.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer

I flunked the “smarter than a seventh-grader” quiz

business — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:39:02 +0000

In Sunday’s editions of The Oklahoman, I posed the question “Are You Smarter Than a Seventh Grader?” and ran a quiz testing our readers’ financial knowledge. As scores of our highly informed readers have informed me, one of the questions was wrong.

Question 6, which asked at what age one is required to take distributions from an Individual Retirement Account, listed 59 1/2 as the correct answer. The correct answer actually is 70 1/2, which was not among the options offered in the multiple-choice quiz.

Distributions may be taken from IRA accounts at age 59 1/2 without penalty. But the required withdrawals don’t begin until 11 years later.

My sincerest apologies. I have personally rapped my own knuckles with a ruler.

Don Mecoy
Business Writer