New Jersey joins a list of states considering privatizing their lotteries

New Jersey joins a list of states considering privatizing their lotteries: Interested in a piece of New Jersey's government? With Gov. Christie in office, now's the time to buy, buy, buy.

A bank of big dreams, big losses

A bank of big dreams, big losses: United Bank - the city's only black-owned bank - was founded in 1992 with modest capital and big dreams, as a path to economic success for the city's African American community.

Obama Campaign Defends New Bin Laden Web Ad

Obama Campaign Defends New Bin Laden Web Ad: Campaign backs video that questions if Romney would've ordered bin Laden raid, which his adviser called 'divisive'

White House Keeps Lid on Photos of Bid Laden Raid

Weaker Al Qaeda Dreams of Payback

Saudi Arabia: Bin Laden Wives Have No Terror Ties

British Red Cross Worker Killed in Pakistan

Health-care fraudster to pay $1.3M

Health-care fraudster to pay $1.3M: A MONTGOMERY County man who bilked Medicare in an ambulance-transport scheme was sentenced Thursday to time served and ordered to repay the government health-insurance program for seniors more than $1.3 million.

Sheriff's Office seeks extra $3.5 million

Sheriff's Office seeks extra $3.5 million: PHILADELPHIA Sheriff Jewell Williams wants $3.5 million more for his office than last year to pay for more deputies, accounting help and a new computer system.

Apple considered iPhone with physical keyboard? Wait, what?

Apple considered iPhone with physical keyboard? Wait, what?: According to former Apple engineer Tony Fadell, one of the proposals for the first iPhone was a hardware keyboard.
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Hey, kids, more moms want iPads for Mother's Day

Hey, kids, more moms want iPads for Mother's Day: A survey suggests that tablets and smartphones are swiftly catching up to jewelry and flowers as gifts that mothers crave (or, at least, feel they deserve) for Mother's Day.
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Apple responds to tax criticism by highlighting job creation

Apple responds to tax criticism by highlighting job creation: Rebuttal comes in the wake of a report claiming the tech giant goes to great lengths to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes.
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Video: Sixers Wrap up Roller Coaster Season

Video: Sixers Wrap up Roller Coaster Season: Can the 76ers finish the NBA season strong? CineSport's Noah Coslov and The Philadelphia Daily News' Bob Cooney discuss this and if Philadelphia will play the Bulls or the Heat in the playoffs.

NBA commissioner David Stern impressed with Sixers owners

NBA commissioner David Stern impressed with Sixers owners: At the Associated Press Sports Editors meeting with NBA commissioner David Stern yesterday, Stern said he is impressed with what the Sixers' new owners have done in their first season.

Walgreens settles amid probe

Walgreens settles amid probe: Walgreens will pay the government $7.9 million in a settlement reached amid allegations the drugstore chain illegally paid kickbacks so that prescriptions would be transferred to its pharmacies, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.

Cops: Killer's lover was victim's ex

Cops: Killer's lover was victim's ex: A MAN who fatally shot an Upper Darby barber in front of his customers, one of whom was a 4-year-old boy, was the boyfriend of the barber's ex, police said Thursday.

Henon to landlords: Stand and deliver

Henon to landlords: Stand and deliver: CITY COUNCILMAN Bobby Henon plans to haul allegedly negligent landlords into City Hall to answer for why they've let properties deteriorate, going as far as to single out eight people during Council's session Thursday.

What's next for LivingSocial

What's next for LivingSocial:

Gas prices continue retreat below $3.90

Gas prices continue retreat below $3.90: The price of an average gallon of regular gasoline declined for the third straight day Thursday, putting a crimp -- at least temporarily -- in one of the fastest and steepest runups in recent memory.

Where have all the women's jobs gone?

Where have all the women's jobs gone?: More jobless Americans are finding work these days, but they are mainly lucky fellas.

It's safe to sell your home again

It's safe to sell your home again: Given everything they knew about the lackluster housing market, Meghann and Cort Battles didn't expect much when they listed their four-bedroom home in Centennial, a Denver suburb, for sale in January. So they were taken aback by the onslaught of interest.

What Buffett means to Berkshire

What Buffett means to Berkshire: FORTUNE -- Warren Buffett, it appears, is worth less than he used to be. Shares of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) fell slightly, down about 1%, on Wednesday, a day after the company's legendary CEO announced he has Stage 1 prostate cancer. Buffett said his condition is "not remotely life-threatening" and would barely slow him down. (He won't be able to travel, while getting radiation treatment, for two months starting in mid-July.) Surely, part of the small drop has to do with the fact that few think Buffett is going anywhere soon. Nonetheless, the muted reaction of Berkshire's shares raise the question of just what investors think the 81-year-old CEO is worth to the company and its shares. The answer might be a lot less than they used to.

Baseball's new price tag

Baseball's new price tag: A question posed by the $2.15 billion bid to buy the bankrupt Los Angeles Dodgers (the most money ever paid for a sports franchise): Is the team really worth that much? Thanks to increasingly lucrative TV contracts, it very well could be. As the graph below of team sales since 2003 demonstrates, a larger audience drastically ups the franchise's price. Angels owner Arte Moreno knows this all too well. He spent more signing slugger Albert Pujols than it cost to buy the team in 2003.

AmEx is putting the customer back in customer service

AmEx is putting the customer back in customer service: Call-center customer service has become a finely honed discipline, but usually it seems honed to cut time: The agent is superficially friendly, but nothing can derail that person's mission of getting you off the phone fast. Service at American Express wasn't much different from that before Jim Bush was put in charge of it in 2005. His basic insight was that breaking with industry orthodoxy by transforming those conversations into less structured, more human engagements would pay off. Instead of evaluating service reps mainly by how quickly they got you off the phone, as many companies still do, he switched to the net promoter score developed by Bain's Fred Reichheld. It's based on one question: Would you recommend this company to a friend? AmEx's score has risen significantly under Bush's direction, and he was right -- it pays off. Customer spending is up, attrition is down.

Chrysler was going to kill the Viper - but it's alive

Chrysler was going to kill the Viper - but it's alive: As the 2013 SRT Viper was revealed at the New York Auto Show earlier this month, Ralph Gilles, head of Chrysler's SRT performance division, was inside the car wiping away tears and trying to pull himself together.

Got bad credit? You can get a credit card anyway

Got bad credit? You can get a credit card anyway: Credit card issuers are ramping up lending to consumers with poor credit. But borrowers beware: The terms aren't always going to be good.

Living near good schools costs $200K more

Living near good schools costs $200K more: Home values are $205,000 higher, on average, in neighborhoods with high-scoring public schools versus schools with low scores, according to a new report issued by the Brookings Institution.

American Airlines loses another $1.7 billion

American Airlines loses another $1.7 billion: The parent of American Airlines, which went into bankruptcy last year, announced a quarterly net loss of $1.7 billion on Thursday, slammed by reorganization costs and rising fuel prices.

See how women's pay lags men's

See how women's pay lags men's: In most industries, women still get paid less than men. But the gap is widens - or narrows - in certain industries.

Sprint hit with $300 million tax fraud lawsuit

Sprint hit with $300 million tax fraud lawsuit: New York's attorney general filed a tax fraud lawsuit against Sprint Nextel on Thursday, accusing the wireless carrier of intentionally underpaying sales tax in the state for seven years.

CEO pay is 380 times average worker's - AFL-CIO

CEO pay is 380 times average worker's - AFL-CIO: Chief executives at some of the nation's largest companies earned an average of $12.9 million in total pay last year -- 380 times more than a typical American worker, according to the AFL-CIO.

12 more billionaires sign Buffett/Gates pledge

12 more billionaires sign Buffett/Gates pledge:

Starbucks to phase out bug extract as food dye

Starbucks to phase out bug extract as food dye: Want some crushed bugs with your Starbucks frappuccino?

Obama unveils new help for unemployed

Obama unveils new help for unemployed: Some states could soon be allowed to use unemployment funds to subsidize on-the-job training and other re-employment programs.

WINDOWS UP, XBOX DOWN

WINDOWS UP, XBOX DOWN: Microsoft's sales growth for Xbox and Kinect slowed sharply last quarter, but other sectors like Windows helped the company post earnings that beat analysts' estimates.

Investors to ECB: 1 trillion euros is not enough

Investors to ECB: 1 trillion euros is not enough: The European Central Bank pulled out all the stops to prevent a credit crunch by providing banks with €1 trillion in ultra-low cost financing.

It's not so E-Z on Pa. Turnpike

It's not so E-Z on Pa. Turnpike: IF YOU DON'T have E-ZPass, be careful following your GPS or online map when it comes to two interchanges onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Vouchers at issue in race: Roebuck's opponent is backed by Black Clergy

Vouchers at issue in race: Roebuck's opponent is backed by Black Clergy: THE BATTLE in Harrisburg over school vouchers has placed state Rep. James Roebuck Jr. in political peril to a newcomer with well-heeled campaign contributors.

Rumors swirl of smaller iPad, which Jobs detested

Rumors swirl of smaller iPad, which Jobs detested: Apple generates more gossip than the Kardashians.

Penn State pays millions to Paterno's estate

Penn State pays millions to Paterno's estate: Penn State says it has provided more than $5.5 million in payments and benefits to settle Joe Paterno's employment contract.

How Mega Millions powered to new lottery jackpot record

How Mega Millions powered to new lottery jackpot record: It's ironic that Mega Millions had the first jackpot to break not only the $400 million barrier, but the half-billion mark as well.

Settlement ends SEPTA police strike

Settlement ends SEPTA police strike: Striking transit police began returning to their SEPTA posts Friday night after reaching a tentative settlement to end their nine-day strike earlier in the evening.

New Jersey comptroller details waste by Delaware River Port Authority

New Jersey comptroller details waste by Delaware River Port Authority: The Delaware River Port Authority has wasted millions of dollars of toll payers' money through mismanagement and political cronyism, the New Jersey state comptroller said in a report issued Thursday.

New tax-board review has high stakes for Phila.

New tax-board review has high stakes for Phila.: With $36 million in desperately needed tax revenue at stake for Philadelphia and its financially beleaguered school district, the state has agreed to reconsider a ruling that could mean victory for many Philadelphians appealing their property assessments.

Announcement of sale of newspapers, website expected Monday

Announcement of sale of newspapers, website expected Monday: The sale of The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com will likely be announced Monday, according to several sources.
A local investor group has spent much of the last two months negotiating to acquire PMN from its hedge-fund owners in a transaction valued at $55 million to $60 million, according to multiple reports. With paperwork still to be signed, delays are always possible at the 11th hour.

A $1M gift will keep music going

A $1M gift will keep music going: Play On, Philly!, the upstart West Philadelphia after-school classical music program, has received a major vote of confidence in the form of a large gift: $1 million.

DIMINISHING RETURNS

DIMINISHING RETURNS: Throughout the presidential campaign, each of the candidates has invoked the American Dream.

The venerable notion that hard work leads to prosperity - and that every generation does better than the previous one - has long been a rallying cry that tells us who we are and pulls us forward as a nation.

But for young people these days, the American Dream is imperiled.

MBIA Court Case Outcome Looks Favorable

MBIA Court Case Outcome Looks Favorable: By Calder H. LambMKM Partners just initiated coverage of MBIA (MBI) with a "buy" rating and a 12-mon...