Author Archives: Laura Hertzfeld

Searching the future

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Last week, Microsoft and Yahoo agreed to join forces after years of rumors, back-and-forth brokering, and debate in the Internet industry. And just the week before, another big online force, Amazon, bought successful online shoe retailer Zappos. Do these deals mean the weak economy could be a good time for mergers and acquisitions?

WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show spoke with Web guru and Mahalo search engine founder Jason Calacanis today for his take on the Yahoo/Microsoft deal.

“I think this is a disaster for Yahoo and their shareholders…search is just an awesome business in terms of revenue and profitability… it’s the greatest advertising medium ever created…The big irony of it was, yahoo gave their search business to Google.”

PBS blog Mediashift asks for your opinion on the new Microsoft search engine Bing and gives a roundup of sources analyzing the Yahoo deal. And Marketplace looked at the details of who gets what out of the search agreement.

Last year, Nightly Business Report discussed the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions in recession eras.

Linda Gridley, CEO of Grindley & Co. said in an interview:

“You are seeing a big land grab for strategic maneuvering and positioning and market share building in that market environment. And companies have strong stock prices. They’ve got lots of cash and so they’ve got the money to be able to spend.”

Are more big deals from Silicon Valley to Wall Street in the works as the economic climate falters?

This old-new house

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While not everyone has $15 million lying around to snag Frank Lloyd Wright’s recently available Ennis House in Los Angeles, the housing market may be looking up, at least according to the latest figures, which show new home sales up 11% in June.

Patchwork Nation reminds readers to keep the national numbers in perspective.

“Housing markets are very localized,” Patchwork Nation’s Dante Chinni writes. “National numbers are interesting (maybe even promising) but may have little to do with the reality in your community.”

In the ‘monied burbs’ foreclosures were up in June, compared with May, Chinni explains.

“In a lot of ways, that’s the better measure because it gives an understanding for what the average ‘Monied ’Burb’ experienced. More of those communities were experiencing rising foreclosures. In fact, you could argue foreclosures are spreading.”

A Wall Street journal blog post today reiterates that national numbers might not tell the whole story.

“In Seattle sales of existing homes rose by nearly 8% from a year ago, to around 2,800, marking the highest level in nearly two years and the first year-over-year increase since the housing downturn began. However, banks foreclosed on 863 homes and condos in June, the highest month since the bubble burst and a 37% increase from May.”

Foreclosures are still the name of the game in places like St. Louis, where KETC’s Facing the Mortgage Crisis reported on crime waves and how to stay safe when houses around yours are being abandoned.

On a lighter note, but just as jarring, The Daily Show found that even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is feeling the housing crunch. And that can’t mean the housing numbers are all good news.

The hip-hop recession

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Teens use poetry, music and art to talk about their first experience with recession in a new project from Minnesota Public Radio, My First Recession. By collaborating with local artists and musicians, they found ways to express how their families and communities were coping. You can also share your story — no matter which recession was your first — here.

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Poverty and parks

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It’s summer vacation time, when families hit the road and see some of the nation’s most treasured places — national parks. While stimulus funds help keep the parks ready for visitors, many who live near these well-preserved areas are facing hard times.

In Flagstaff, Arizona, near the Grand Canyon, nearly one in three people need government assistance each month, NPR station KNAU reports. Many residents come to Flagstaff from the surrounding Navajo reservations because the city has better resources, but it’s hard to stay.

““We have single parents working two jobs…sometimes these families are just one paycheck away from being homeless.”

Listen to “Poverty With a View”

In Montana, Yellowstone Public Radio’s series on economic hardship in the region last year examined homelessness and job loss in the Yellowstone National Park area. Their reports also addressed “big Sky Grants” given to laid-off local residents and a bill that protects the residents of mobile home parks.

At the same time, federal funds are being freed up to keep park rangers employed so the parks run smoothly all summer long.

WNYC and PRI’s The Takeaway reports on a project that will put a new roof on the visitors’ center at the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

Do you plan to visit a National Park this summer? How are the parks in your area weathering the economic climate? Share your national parks stories here.