BUSINESS
December 3, 2013 | By Ronald D. White
Overall charitable giving rose 2.3% during the three months that ended on Oct. 31, driven in part by the rising stock market, according to Blackbaud Inc. Blackbaud does not release total numbers for the amount of money given over that period. But the Blackbaud Index data looked at 3,828 charities that raised more than $12 billion over the last year. The Charleston, S.C.-based Blackbaud Inc. is a public company that tracks charitable giving. Blackbaud also works with more than 29,000 nonprofit organizations in more than 60 countries that support higher education, healthcare, human services and other issues.
NEWS
September 26, 2013 | By Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey
President Obama says his Affordable Care Act is about to make health insurance cheaper than the average cellphone bill and as easy to get as “a plane ticket on Kayak.” In a pitch to community college students in suburban Maryland on Thursday morning, Obama compared the soon-to-launch healthcare “marketplaces” to Internet travel websites that let users compare prices and details with a few keystrokes. “Don't take my word for it, go on the website,” Obama told a crowd at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Md. “See for yourself what the prices are. See for yourself what the choices are and then make up your own mind.
BUSINESS
August 6, 2013 | Andrea Chang
Jeffrey Bezos is best known for founding Amazon.com Inc. and pioneering online shopping, so his purchase of the struggling Washington Post newspaper stunned media watchers and technology analysts alike. Although Bezos, 49, is an active backer of several oddball endeavors -- among them unearthing old rocket engines from the bottom of the ocean and developing a futuristic clock -- most of his previous investments have gone toward creating new technologies, not reviving ailing industries.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2013 | Los Angeles Times
After surviving a brutal recession that saw many chain retailers, restaurants and shops struggle and even go under, Southern California landlords are regaining the upper hand in rent negotiations. With shoppers willing to spend money again, signs of a retail revival in greater Los Angeles are starting to spread beyond destinations such as trendy Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood and malls in Calabasas to once less popular areas such as downtown Long Beach as well as Echo Park and Highland Park in Los Angeles.
IMAGE
May 28, 2013 | By Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times
Futuristic fabrics and high-tech garments are just one way technology is affecting the fashion landscape. Another, e-commerce, was the topic of discussion at Fashion Digital Los Angeles, a recent day-long conference in Hollywood. Some 450 registrants gathered for a range of discussions with such titles as "Beating Amazon With Inspiration-Based Commerce? Yes, It's Possible!" and "Turning Small Screens and Fat Fingers into Big Opportunities" that underscored that the fashion side of e-commerce is big and getting bigger.
BUSINESS
November 27, 2012 | By Shan Li, Los Angeles Times
Consumers hopped online for some more Internet shopping on Cyber Monday after last week's post-Thanksgiving Black Friday frenzy came to a close. Many started early this year: Online spending on Black Friday topped $1 billion for the first time as some shoppers turned to their computers instead of braving the crowds in person. Cyber Monday is "the Super Bowl of online shopping," said Jonathan Johnson, president of bargain site Overstock.com. As of late afternoon, the site's traffic was up compared with last year's Cyber Monday, he said, but it was too early to predict how the entire day's sales would shake out. In the last few years, he said, Cyber Monday shoppers with high-speed Web access have started browsing Overstock at home after a day at the office.