(Shutterstock)

What That Chip in Your New Credit Card Means for You

The credit cards in most Americans’ wallets are pretty much antiques. They’re easy to counterfeit, thanks to magnetic strips that rely on basically the same 1960s technology used in cassette tapes. At last they’re getting an upgrade, giving them the technology, called EMV chips, used almost everywhere else in the world. 

Oct 2, 2015 Ben Steverman
(Shutterstock)

How to Make Managing Your Money Less Scary: Do it Over Eggs and Bacon

“Everyone’s stressed out about money, everyone’s nervous, everyone’s embarrassed about it, everyone thinks they’re making all these mistakes and they’re the only ones doing it. The idea of getting to relax and have a meal with somebody just changes the conversation and changes the atmosphere.”

Sep 29, 2015 Natalie Kitroeff
(Shutterstock)

How West Coast Businesses are (Trying to) Balance a Higher Minimum Wage

In California, higher state and local minimum wages are contributing to some owners’ decisions to sell businesses, said Bob House, general manager of the San Francisco-based brokerage BizBuySell. The company listed 2,296 businesses for sale in metropolitan Los Angeles between March and June, compared with 2,136 in the same period a year earlier.

Sep 25, 2015 James Nash
Gov. Jerry Brown announcing the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget proposal at the State Capitol last May

(Photo: Ken James for Bloomberg News)

Super-Earners Targeted in California Tax Push as Revenue Surges

Governor Jerry Brown convinced voters in 2012 they had to raise taxes if they wanted to avoid Draconian cuts to schools. It was temporary, he said. Now, as state coffers are heavy with surplus revenue, advocacy groups and organized labor want to keep the levies in place.

Sep 24, 2015 Alison Vekshin
(Shutterstock)

Go Slow to Go Fast

Winging it won’t work in today’s business landscape

Have you ever walked into a semi-dried lake bed? You start out on firm sand, and little by little the ground gets softer and stickier and deeper until finally the mud pulls your boots straight off your feet. That’s the position of many companies battling today’s marketplace, particularly small-business owners set in their ways and family businesses unable to overcome Dad’s unwavering march into the ground.

Sep 1, 2015 Christine Calvin