Today in Money & Finance -- Friday, July 27 -- Best Global Brands, Best-Paying Blue Collar Jobs, Deluxe Airport Lounges & How to Survive a Market Drop

If there's still any doubt whether the pampering of pets is getting out of hand, the debate should be settled once and for all by Neuticles, a patented testicular implant that sells for up to $919 a pair. The idea, says inventor Gregg A. Miller, is to "let people restore their pets to anatomical preciseness" after neutering, thereby allowing them to retain their natural look and self-esteem. Americans now spend $41 billion a year on their pets - more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world. That's double the amount shelled out on pets a decade ago, with annual spending expected to hit $52 billion in the next two years. That puts the yearly cost of buying, feeding, and caring for pets in excess of what Americans spend on the movies ($10.8 billion), playing video games ($11.6 billion), and listening to recorded music ($10.6 billion) combined. BW Cover Story

BW's Best Global Brands 2007

Yes, Coca-Cola is still No.1. But several other brands have done well in the past year, shooting up the list by six or more spots. They range from Apple, which rode a wave of iPhone hype to the No.33 spot, to Nintendo, which has had runaway success with its Wii video game console, launched late last year. The biggest ranking jump came from Zara, an innovative Spanish fashion retailer that leaped nine spots to No.64. Far and away the biggest percentage jump was claimed by Google, jumping 44% and four spots to number 20.

Full Coverage | Slideshow

How to Survive a Market Drop

You have to admit: Stocks have risen to mighty heights mighty fast. The Dow has hit three milestones in nine months - crossing 12,000 in October, 13,000 in April, and just last week, 14,000. On Thursday, the leading stock index closed down 311 points, or more than 2 percent, the second biggest point drop this year. The biggest came Feb. 27, when the Dow fell 416 points, or 3.3 percent. What to make of this? Stocks are volatile. Or more to the point, investors' emotions are. It takes nerves of steel to shake off a big stock drop. But the world's best investors not only shake them off - they thrive on them. Here are several simple and effective steps you can take to turn a stock market crash to your advantage.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/26/magazines/moneymag/marketcrashes.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007072617

Dollar-store deals and dangers

You can save as much as 70% on household supplies by shopping at your local dollar store. Dollar stores are able to offer such low prices because they buy most of their stock at reduced rates from wholesalers. Among the best deals to be found at dollar stores are on cleaning products, shampoo, school supplies, food-storage containers and snacks such as potato chips and crackers. But beware: Some of the products sold at dollar stores don't meet established safety and nutritional standards. Consumer Reports' Shop Smart magazine found that certain brands of multivitamins it tested didn't contain nutrients listed on the label.

Worse, the magazine found that several kinds of soft vinyl lunch boxes sold at dollar stores contained trace amounts of lead. It also warns consumers to steer clear of electrical products, like Christmas lights and extension cords, some of which contained undersized wiring that can pose a fire hazard.

(This is basically the whole article.)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dollar-store-deals-dangers/story.aspx?guid=%7B5F916616%2D0D7D%2D4766%2DA3DA%2DF8B1780B93A6%7D

Even Celebs Need a Rainy-Day Fund

Celebrities show their real-people side by sharing their savings experiences. See what Adam Brody, Jennifer Tilly, Jordan Knight and others have to say about the money they make.
Celebrities talk about emergency savings

America's Best-Paying Blue-Collar Jobs
While being tough to get into, these traditional manufacturing and service fields can be well paid.

Article | Slide show

Oink! Oink! The 10 Piggiest States
Belly up. It's feeding time in the nation's capital. Congress is deliberating 12 appropriations bills that are supposed to be passed by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, and already we've seen some good examples of excess spending for lawmakers' pet projects back home, otherwise known as "pork." There's $30,000 requested by a Pennsylvania senator for a program called coolvirginity.com; there's $34.5 million that one influential Democratic Hawaiin senator, has sought for the "Education of Native Hawaiians." An unknown senator has set aside $1 million for the Irish Institute in Boston. Article | Slideshow: 10 Piggiest States

The Great Hotel Cover-Up

Hotels spent the last decade courting travelers and one-upping each other with plusher, sexier bathrobes. Now they're trying to stop terry-cloth clad guests from wandering into lobbies, bars, weddings and buffet lines. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118549508198979702.html?mod=hps_us_at_glance_wj

Deluxe Airport Lounges

Flying business-class has its perks: Wider seats, better food, and chichi toiletries. But increasingly, the real pampering starts before you get on the plane. Business 2.0 magazine has the details on some of the world's most lavish layovers. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0707/gallery.airport_clubs.biz2/index.html

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