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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: gift

gift stories: 30 news summaries

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happy holidays


 Give These Gifts 
 and Get Lucky 

Presents for the materialistic lady in your life

Nov 8, 09 12:39 PM CST
(Newser) - If you're out to win the heart of a woman impressed with pricey baubles and bubbles, Esquire has just the gift guide for you. Ask Santa to help you pay for:
  • La Perla Signature Collection: A $242 bra may seem outrageous, but it's hand-embroidered and Italian.
  • Christian Louboutin
... More »

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Microsoft • women • men • gift • Valentino • Tiffany & Co. • Christian Louboutin • La Perla

 Neiman 'Fantasy Gift' 
 Pricetags Plummet  
 to Mere $250K 

Slowdown scales down costs as even super-rich turn 'frugal'

Oct 7, 09 3:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - The slowdown in luxury spending has spurred Neiman Marcus to make its "fantasy items" in this year's Christmas catalog a lot less fantastic than in years past. For the first time in a decade there's no $1 million-plus items on offer, like the $20 million submarine offered in 2000... More »

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retail • luxury • Christmas • Neiman Marcus • gift • conspicuous consumption

ANALYSIS

Self-Serve Ads, Goods
Work Well for Facebook

After missteps, Zuckerberg and co. have found some winning formulas

Sep 16, 09 5:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Reports on Facebook’s newly announced profitability have focused on a fixed deal with Microsoft that generates a large chunk of their income. But the site’s homegrown revenue sources—self-serve advertising and virtual gifts—shouldn’t be discounted, writes Bobbie Johnson for the Guardian. The personal information on Facebook... More »

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social networking • Web 2.0 • Facebook • profits • profit growth • gift

(Newser) - A Silicon Valley couple has forsaken a traditional wedding registry for venture capital, Gawker reports. “The World's First Start-up Wedding Registry” doesn’t ask guests for appliances or candlesticks; instead, they can give enough to “feed an outsourced engineer for a day” or pay a month’s worth... More »

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Internet • marriage • wedding • funding • venture capital • startup • gift • registry • Aboomba

(AP) - Hebrew University has received a surprise donation of more than $100,000 from an unexpected benefactor—a woman who survived the Nazi Holocaust and appeared to be destitute, a university official said today. Upon her death 2 years ago, a homeless Holocaust survivor living on the streets of New York... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Israel • Jerusalem • university • homeless • gift

(Newser) - Habitat for Humanity has received a $100 million gift from a developer in the largest contribution in the charity’s history, the AP reports. J. Ronald Terwilliger said he hoped the gift would “inspire others to make the commitment to support affordable housing.” Habitat says the money will... More »

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philanthropy • charity • real estate development • donation • gift • Habitat for Humanity • home developer • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - Michelle Obama presented her new amie Carla Bruni with a hard-rockin', all-American gift today: a Gibson guitar, People reports. The two first ladies, who first met yesterday, kissed hello and held hands briefly during a tour of a cathedral and museum in Strasbourg. Obama also agreed to help... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama • Europe • Nicolas Sarkozy • guitar • gift • Carla Bruni • Strasbourg • NATO summit • President Obama

(AP) - President Obama's gift of an iPod to Queen Elizabeth II came loaded with 40 songs from popular Broadway productions, including The King and I, West Side Story, South Pacific, and Dreamgirls. The iPod was given to accompany a rare coffee table book of songs by composers Richard Rodgers and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Queen Elizabeth II • iPod • gift • President Obama

(Newser) - Apparently, admiration for Michelle Obama is not universal. In a column that might just qualify as a snit, Sarah Vine of the London Times takes the first lady to task for an "uncharacteristic lapse of judgment." The awful offense? Michelle gave toy models of Marine One to the... More »

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diplomacy • Michelle Obama • Gordon Brown • Britain • gift • first lady • Sarah Brown

 Don't Expect 
 Diamonds 
 on V-Day 

Americans to spend 15% less this year on holiday

Feb 10, 09 11:28 AM CST
(Newser) - This may not be the year you get that Tiffany necklace: Americans plan to cut back on lavish displays of love this Valentine's Day, MSBNC reports. One survey predicts that holiday spending will drop 15%, from, says another survey, about $123 to $103 per person. The plunge comes after nearly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recession • holiday • gift • Valentine's Day

 Daschle Faces 
 Grilling on 
 Charity Gifts,
 Apologizes 
 on Taxes 


Releases letter of apology to lawmakers for tax mistakes

Feb 2, 09 7:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Already beset with questions about his failure to pay taxes, Tom Daschle will likely also face questions today over whether he received improper gifts from charities, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Obama's nominee for health secretary is reported to have flown with an education charity to a Bahamas retreat... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Health and Human Services • taxes • charity • apology • health secretary • gift • Tom Daschle • tax returns • Obama administration • letter

Drug Companies Agree
to Stop Docs' Free Goodies

Critics charged stacks of free trinkets were attempt to influence doctors' decisions

Dec 31, 08 7:20 AM CST
(Newser) - The piles of freebies drug companies lavish on doctors will go the way of the VHS tape as of tomorrow, the New York Times reports. The industry, facing criticism that it is trying to unduly influence doctors' decisions, has voluntarily decided to stop handing out pens, stethoscope holders, bandages, T-shirts,... More »

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pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • physician • doctor • gift • pharmaceutical industry • doctors

Arab Leaders Shower Condi With Jewelry; Bush, Meh

State chief got $316K in gifts last year, to about $100K for Bush

Dec 23, 08 12:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice scored $316,000 worth of lavish jewelry from Arab royals last year, the AP reports. Jordan’s King Abdullah treated Rice to an emerald and diamond necklace, ring, bracelet, earrings, and other finery; King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia a ruby and diamond necklace and earrings, bracelet and ring.... More »

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King Abdullah • King Abdullah II • Condoleezza Rice • secretary of State • gift • jewelry • Arab • George W. Bush

Economy Spells Weary Christmas for Toy Charities

Donations off as much as 30%, some say

Dec 18, 08 3:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Across the country, charities that dole out gifts to underprivileged kids have seen donations fall off steeply compared to last holiday season, USA Today reports. Some are reporting as much as a 30% decline in giving as the economy flags. “Families that would normally have been helping us... More »

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toys • charity • donation • Christmas • gift • Salvation Army • financial crisis • economic downturn • presents

 Brangelina Push DIY Christmas 

Family aims to keep spending to a minimum, want kids to 'make something' for each other

Dec 16, 08 11:12 AM CST
(Newser) - Though they are among the richest couples in the world, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie don’t plan to drop a bundle on their six kids this Christmas. “We have gifts, but we try to keep the money spent to a minimum,” said Pitt in an interview with... More »

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Angelina Jolie • Brad Pitt • celebrity • Christmas • gift • celebrity parents

 Physics Fuels Santa's Magic 

Nanotechnology, space-time distortions enable Christmas miracles

Dec 15, 08 4:15 PM CST
(Newser) - New research has shed light on the amazing ability of Santa Claus to deliver presents to children around the world in a single night, Reuters reports. Santa is able to distort the space-time continuum, says a North Carolina State expert: "He understands that you can stretch time, compress space... More »

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humor • physics • holiday • Christmas • gift • Santa Claus • nanotechnolgy

(Newser) - Naughty or nice, America’s retail stores can’t look forward to two of the holiday season’s usual boons: gift card sales and “self-gifting” splurges, MarketWatch reports. About 44% of shoppers say they will not buy gift cards this year, up from 26% last year, a marketing study... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • retail sales • holiday shopping • gift • holiday sales • gift card • economy

Just in Time for
Holidays: No Job

Families struggle to save traditions on Tiny Tim budgets

Nov 30, 08 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Few things ruin the holidays like losing a job. Yet that's what's happening to thousands of Americans just as they were planning to treat friends and families to gifts and holiday gatherings. The turnaround is excruciating as families struggle to save traditions on extremely tight budgets, reports the New York ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
big gifts • holiday • Christmas • school holidays • Hanukkah • gift • holiday depression • financial crisis • chanukah

opinion



 Strapped Budgets 
 Make for Better Gifts 

Use a signature gift to cut costs, give meaningfully

Nov 29, 08 4:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Tight budgets are forcing Americans to skirt the season's traditional buying frenzy and make gifts that put "emphasis on people, not stuff," Melissa Magsaysay writes in the Los Angeles Times. She's creating "a creative signature gift" of Ugandan beads that she's turning into bracelets: The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
crafts • holiday shopping • gift • weakening economy • economy • holiday season

 Stevens Jury Finds Typo;
 Defense Urges Acquittal 

On indictment, feds charged senator checked 'no' box when he checked 'yes'

Oct 27, 08 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The jury in Ted Stevens’ corruption trial has uncovered an error in one indictment, and the defense is springing at the chance, the Hill reports. Jurors sent the judge a note today questioning a discrepancy in the prosecution’s allegations regarding the senator’s 2001 financial disclosure. Where the indictment... More »

MORE ABOUT:
corruption • Ted Stevens • trial • jury • indictment • gift • financial disclosure • typographical error

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