D.C.'s Image Problem

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1. D.C.'s Image Problem?
It's time for a new blame game inside the Beltway; this time, the subject isn't deficit spending or tax hikes, but rather Washington's failure to prove itself worthy of consideration as a host of the 2012 Olympic Games. While many factors, including existing security and ease of citywide transport, were cited as reasons for dropping the joint Baltimore-Washington bid, the primary reason may have been purely political. Organizers and city boosters alike concede that D.C. may not have the most sterling reputation in the eyes of the world at large.

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2. Al Qaeda Bust
At last, progress on the home front. Almost a year after 9/11, Federal authorities have indicted four men as members of an al-Qaeda cell operating in the Detroit area. After seeing only lone operators such as John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla snagged by the justice system for associating with terrorists, the breaking of what prosecutors call a "combat operational cell" is reassuring news.

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3. U.S. Housing Industry Execs Flee Market
Turns out U.S. housing industry executive aren't waiting to see if the housing market is the next tech bubble. According the Financial Times, upper management has been selling stock in their industry at a record-setting $258 million-worth of shares more than they purchased in the second quarter.

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4. Sweet Deals
Forget tech stocks and even old-fashioned blue chips. In today's jumpy market, the most luscious deals can be found in the dessert aisle. Earlier this week, Hershey Foods' stock got a big boost from rumors of a $1billion+ buyout by Nestle Corporation, while doughnut juggernaut Krispy Kreme announced Thursday a 50 percent rise in 2nd-quarter earnings. The company cited expansion as a primary factor, as well as increased sales at existing stores.

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5. What's In a Name? Nazis!
You know how cars and other consumer products are often assigned utterly meaningless names — Camry, or Cressida, or Miata. Perhaps the marketing folks at sports shoemaker Umbro thought they were just using a cool-sound word when they named a new sneaker 'Zyklon'. But Holocaust survivors remember the name well — it was a type of gas used to exterminate people in the Nazi death camps. The company apologized and promised to more carefully check the meaning of words used to name its products in future.

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