Business

When we talk about holiday shopping we're usually referring to gifts. But as anyone who's ever hosted the family Christmas party knows, holding shopping can also mean food shopping.

And this year in New Hampshire, there are more options for that kind of shopping than perhaps ever before.

Some employers are willing to try anything to incentivize employees to work harder and increase productivity. But what exactly are employees looking for in a job these days, aside from the pay?  Business NH Magazine's annual competition identifies the top ten best New Hampshire companies to work for and what makes them so great. Matthew Mowry is editor for Business NH Magazine and he joins us to talk about who came out on top.

Black Friday has long been a post-holiday shopping tradition for many Americans. During the last several years, customers have found their favorite stores opening ever-earlier in anticipation of growing demand. This time around, employees are fighting back against the early hours.

Emanuella Grinberg, writer with CNN.com’s Living Section, joins us to talk about her article “Retail Employees Fight Black Friday Creep.” 

More aging adults are stepping out on a limb and starting their own businesses, says a report from the Kauffman Foundation. In New Hampshire, the Small Business Association and AARP are working together to make sure these so-called “encore entrepreneurs” have the tools they need.

The recession had hit by the time Joyce Goodwin finished her temporary position as director of a school in Hudson. She was 54, and couldn’t find another job.  

Personalized, addressable ads are finally hitting our televisions. Ad Age's Brian Steinberg explains how they're doing something that seems a little too Minority Report to be true.

And, some feedback about a listener about our coverage of the non-coverage of the Paralympics.

StateImpact's Amanda Loder discusses the economic proposals of main Democratic gubernatorial contenders Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan with Morning Edition host Rick Ganley.

StateImpact's Amanda Loder discusses the economic proposals of Republican gubernatorial contenders Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith with Morning Edition host Rick Ganley.

In most downtowns across America, there are a handful of staple successful businesses: the pizza place, the hardware store, the movie theater.  

Then there are the niche stores that never seem to last long, the kind that make you wonder, can someone make a living selling just that?

In downtown Concord, N.H., that store might be Flagworks Over America.  And as its name implies, it sells only flags.

Patrick: “That’s a 48-star cotton flag that belonged to my wife’s grandfather, and it use to fly over in the Chicago area out in front of their house…”

The popular website glassdoor has thousands of people posting their salaries, reviews of their companies, and other juicy corporate tidbits online for all to see. Does this mark the end of salary secrecy? And what do companies think about it?

No matter what the economy throws our way, the wedding industry churns on, now topping seventy billion dollars a year. Here's the story of one photographer vying for a slice of that cake by building his own version of the latest wedding trend…a “new-timey” photobooth.

With so many Americans out of work and so many companies claiming they can’t fill vacant positions, many have blamed a so-called 'skills gap'. But business professor Peter Cappelli says this is just blaming the unemployed victim, and in fact, many companies are responsible for this bind. He says they're relying on automated, unreliable applicant tracking systems and refusing to train perfectly acceptable candidates.  We'll look at this debate.

Guests

Bleak. Troubled. Struggling. Take the phrase “North Country economy”, and you’ll almost inevitably hear one of those adjectives attached to it.

And to a certain extent, it’s true; the northern New Hampshire economy has had a difficult run since the bottom fell out of the mill economy. But can a handful of downbeat adjectives really characterize a whole region’s economy?

"Socially Responsible", its a catchword used by many businesses these days whether they want to promote their environmental friendliness, political awareness or by the way they treat their employees.  "We talk to the author of a new book who says there are many issues to consider when deeming a business socially responsible, both for the consumer and for the companies themselves. In some cases, there are uncomfortable tradeoffs, it’s nearly impossible to fulfill every ideal. And then there’s making a profit still a necessity, even if you’re eco-friendly.

Guest

News last month that trading losses at JP Morgan chase may be much larger than previously reported – possibly topping nine billion dollars. The number provides ammo for advocates of more stringent financial regulations… and for 99 percenters, proof that  corporate greed is running amok…and running the system. A number of progressive, socially responsible corporations are seeking designation as b-corps – or benefit corporations. Several states have already legislated incentives for B-Corps.

One of the buzzwords we hear around the economy these days is “certainty” – that if we all had a better idea of what the economy was going to throw our way, we’d be better able to prepare for it.

Once upon a time, Laconia Bike Week was a rowdy affair with a lot of drinking and wild behavior.

When you hear ‘trailer park’ lots of people often think tornadoes, or…trailer trash.

Other than that, mobile home parks are ignored, really...just invisible. But actually millions of Americans live in these communities nationwide. Where most people see little of value, the Concord-based ROC USA sees hope for the American dream.