economy

How to get better gas mileage (and save a little time)

The most recent gas prices report (January 22, 2013) from AAA wrote that the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel is $3.31. The same report said annual household spending on gas in the United States in 2011 and 2012 was more than $4,000 each year. That's a lot of money any way you slice it.

Whether you've cut down on your driving, begun relying on public transportation, or even invested in a hybrid vehicle, there's still money to be saved by following just a few easy tips. We've put together a … Read more

How to track your car's gas mileage on Android

Do you feel like you're not quite getting the gas mileage out of your car that you should be? Tracking your fuel economy can provide you with some hard evidence to determine whether something is wrong. Some cars have built-in computers that can calculate your mileage, but they don't offer much in the way of customization or provide other useful stats.

FuelLog is an Android app that can help you easily track your gas mileage and offers a lot of statistics to help you get a better picture of your car's fuel consumption. You can track things … Read more

3D printing: The hype, the hopes, the hurdles

MARANA, Ariz. - Three-dimensional printing: hype, or hope?

That's the question industry leaders sought to answer at the Techonomy conference here in the sunny greater Tucson area. A panel of experts -- Geomagic's Ping Fu, Shapeways' Peter Weijmarshausen and PARC's Stephen Hoover, with CNET's own Paul Sloan moderating -- discussed the promises, pitfalls and potential of a technology that allows almost anyone to turn a digital file into a perfect copy of a physical object, from puzzle pieces to airplane wings, in materials such as plastic, metal and rubberlike polymers.

Can 3D printing change the world? … Read more

Silicon Valley rougher to business than Seattle, Austin -- report

Silicon Valley's economy seems to be recovering more quickly than the rest of the nation's, with employers hiring and venture capitalists offering sunny predictions. There's even a new reality show based here.

It may not last. A new analysis of how business-friendly states are -- released today by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation -- shows that California is way at the bottom. The Golden State ranks a dismal 48 out of 50.

"States do not institute tax policy in a vacuum," said Scott Drenkard and Joseph Henchman, the study's authors. "Every change to a … Read more

Tech layoffs hit 3-year high of 51,529 in first half of 2012

Though there's talk of the economy slowly but surely making a comeback, layoffs in the tech sector hit their highest level in three years during the first half of 2012, according to a report released today by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

During the first half of the year, 51,529 planned job cuts were announced across the tech sector, representing a 260 percent increase over the 14,308 layoffs planned during the first half of 2011. Things are so bad so far this year that the figure is 39 percent higher than all the job cuts recorded … Read more

The 404 1,078: Where Europe's heating up, but NY is even hotter (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 show, featuring Aunt Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large for CBS Moneywatch.com:

Check out the latest episode of Jill's podcast, Jill on Money: this week's episode rounds up the European crisis, retirement, and Social Security. Euro crisis: The 10 things to do right now to prepare for a potential euro zone melt-down.… Read more

Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S rated by EPA, results are 'meh'

We're starting to get just a little excited about impending U.S. launch of the Toyobaru twins: the 2013 Subaru BRZ and 2013 Scion FR-S. We've taken more than a few longing looks at each of these cars since their announcement, Subaru's pre-order page is already up, and now (thanks to the EPA's fuel economy web site) we have an idea of what fuel economy you can expect, should you chose to make one of of these vehicles your daily driver.

The Subie and Scion feature identical 2.0-liter, four-cylinder boxer engines that make use of … Read more

U.K. ISPs lose appeal, must pay legal fees of file-sharing suspects

Under the United Kingdom's new Digital Economy Act, Internet service providers must pitch in on the legal costs incurred by people suspected of illegally sharing files on their network, an appeals court has ruled.

According to the Guardian, a U.K. court today ruled against an appeal brought by ISPs TalkTalk and BT. The companies, as well as their competitors, now must pay 25 percent of all "qualifying" costs related to establishing and operating an appeals body for alleged file sharers. Ofcom, a U.K.-based communications regulator, will pay the remaining 75 percent of the costs.… Read more

Are Apple products really fueling the U.S. job market? Eh, maybe

Is the Apple the U.S. job market's savior?

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company today released the findings of a study conducted by the Analysis Group that found that it has either "created or supported" 514,000 jobs across the U.S. That figure includes 304,000 current jobs across a wide array of industries, including engineering, manufacturing, and transportation. The balance comes through the so-called "iOS app economy."

"Throughout our history, Apple has created entirely new products--and entirely new industries--by focusing on innovation," Apple said today on the new "Job Creation&… Read more

Silicon Valley economy recovering faster than nation

Silicon Valley is experiencing a surge in job growth and wealth, outpacing the national economic recovery, according to a new report released today.

Silicon Valley added 42,000 jobs last year, an increase of 3.8 percent, much higher than the nation's 1.1 percent growth rate, according to the 2012 Silicon Valley Index (PDF), a report issued by nonprofits Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

The unemployment rate for the region declined 1.4 percent to end the year at 8.3 percent, on par with the national average but well below California'… Read more