Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 115285 articles
Browse latest View live

Why Some Guys Have Made The Switch From A Belt To Suspenders

0
0

guy dressed up suspenders drinking profileI have a wedding coming up this week, and it’s black tie.

I have a terrible confession though…I do not own a tuxedo.

I know, I know, what kind of respectable menswear blogger lacks this true staple of formalwear?

But, I just have not attended the necessary events to warrant the dough for quality cloth like that.

So I am improvising with a slick black suit, a crisp white shirt, and a sharp charcoal wool tie to give it a little texture.

I had a thought that suspenders could add a little sophistication to the look and little old-school flair.

Let’s take a closer look at the historical menswear staple common to every level of style from the skinhead/punk, to the banker on Wall Street, to the black tie gala, and of course now, the stylish hipster.

The Belt Starts Here

Suspenders originated over 300 years ago. At the core, they are simply fabric worn over your shoulders to help hold your pants up from the front and the back.

Unlike a belt, which cinches your pants tight around your waist to keep trousers from falling, suspenders merely hold them in place. This is important to consider when thinking about your silhouette, and your pants. If the waist is too big, suspenders won't help the pants look tighter; they merely help keep pants in place…literally suspended around the waist.

Albert Thurston introduced the first modern suspenders in 1822. Thurston invented the suspender in response to the high cut of pants at the time, which made a belt unrealistic. Still, men continued to view suspenders as an undergarment.

The belts we know and love today returned to prominence by the 1930s as the stylish waistcoats (that were used to hide suspenders from view) became less worn. But suspenders live on.

When to Suspender

Are suspenders formalwear only? As you’ll see above, they were historically viewed as undergarments. However, high quality suspenders—often made of silk—are notably white collar wear, only to be attached by buttons that are placed on the inside of a waistband.

RULE: If you do choose to go the button route, be sure your shoes match the leather of the suspenders! Clip on suspenders, which attach to the waistband of any pants are also a viable option. TIME.com notes, “In the 1960s, British skinheads adopted suspenders as part of their working-class look—often attaching them to tight blue jeans that didn't really need help staying in place.”

Though perhaps not as formal, many writers agree that it is OK to wear them with pants that even have belt loops. No matter how they attach, they are not formalwear only. If you’re as cool as Larry King you can get away with them anywhere.

Why not try it out to add some texture and a layer to your daily wear. Just be sure the fabric color matches or contrasts your shirt, pants, socks…you know, the usual rules of matching.

The Conclusion

In my opinion, it depends entirely on the material and the make. If they are silk then wear them to your next cocktail party or black tie event. Whether they clip or button, I'm not concerned—if they look sharp, and you know how to match, then break the rules.

However, be forewarned: This sartorial staple is not on trend yet, so be prepared to stand out. My only piece of absolute advice is widely agreed upon by every style writer—never wear suspenders and a belt together!

The GQ Style Guy puts it best: “Whenever I see a man wearing a belt and suspenders, which is not all that often, I think, Now, here is a pessimist. Guys who wear a belt and suspenders probably carry umbrellas on sunny days and wear more than one condom.”

Essentially, this modern man is explaining that one would only wear both pieces if he was that worried about his pants falling down, in which case he probably worries about the sky falling daily, the world ending tomorrow, and spilt milk. What are you so worried about hiding?

As we enter the holiday season, whether it’s a holiday party, a new years bash, or a gift, check out some of these modern sharp suspenders and find the one that’s right for your style from street, to punk, to heritage, to classic, to formal.

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »




10 Things You Still Can't Buy With A Credit Card

0
0

slot machine jacpot

Apparently, money can't buy happiness, and if you are using a credit card, that's not the only thing your money won't be able to buy.

Despite the belief credit cards can take you 'everywhere you want to be' — as the old Visa slogan went — the reality is there some places where your plastic won't be gladly accepted.

Here are ten items for which you might need to pocket the card and pull out the cash or checkbook.

1. Lottery tickets

If you dream of winning millions through your state's lottery program, you'll probably have to have some cash ready when you reach the register.

Most states prohibit the use of the credit cards for lottery purchases.

Even in the handful of states that accept credit cards, your card issuer may put the kibosh on lottery sales.

For example, even though Massachusetts allows credit card sales, American Express won't authorize payments for the state's Season Ticket program.



2. Gaming chips and slot machines

Like lottery tickets, many states and card issuers have made it difficult to use credit cards for casino gaming.

Many casinos are dedicated to responsible gaming practices that work to prevent behaviors that will fuel compulsive gambling.

Therefore, credit cards are off-limits for some forms of gaming while issuers may tack on additional fees for other usages.

For example, Nevada law prohibits the transfer of money directly from a credit card to many games or gaming devices such as slot machines.

Even when credit cards can be used, issuers often treat gaming purchases as a cash-equivalent purchase which can mean interest rates of up to 30 percent on your gambling habit.



3. Cars

If your limit is high enough, your credit card company would probably be thrilled to have you pay for your next vehicle with plastic.

Your dealer may not be quite so enthusiastic.

Since merchants pay a fee — typically between 1.5 and 3 percent of the purchase price — every time they process a transaction, some dealers just say no to credit card purchases.

In addition, private sellers are often not equipped to accept credit cards.

Of course, you could get a cash advance, but then you are the one stuck paying an extra fee of up to 5 percent, and you most likely get hit with an exorbitant interest rate to boot.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.



Legendary Architect Oscar Niemeyer Has Died

0
0

brazilian national congress oscar niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer, the architect, who has died aged 104, was best known as the designer of Brasilia, the daringly futuristic capital city of Brazil completed in 1960.

Niemeyer’s buildings in Brasilia are a tour de force of sculptural and technical invention. Combining modernist geometries with lyrical fantasy, their curves and clean white lines often seem to defy structural logic.

The parliament consists of two gleaming white saucer shapes, one upturned and the other downturned; the presidential palace is supported by arched columns so slender that the building appears to float above the ground; and the city’s cathedral, supported by a ring of elegant, curving white ribs, resembles nothing so much as a crown roast of lamb.

All of these were built of poured reinforced concrete, painted white to stand out against the crisp blue Brazilian sky, and were the result of Niemeyer’s close consultation with structural engineers to push the use of free form concrete to its limits.

A short, suave-looking man with swept-back hair and a gravelly voice, Niemeyer was a diehard communist with the heart of a romantic. From 1992 to 1996 he was president of the Brazilian Communist Party.

Brasilia, set out around a stark city plan conceived by the architect Lucio Costa, was envisaged as a utopian city of the future in the mould of one of Le Corbusier’s most visionary schemes — Ville Radieuse, a city of uniform towers sitting in an open space.

Before construction began in 1957, the site of Brasilia was no more than a featureless and hostile desert without even a road — “the end of the world”, as Niemeyer described it. Within four years an entire city had been constructed.

But although Niemeyer’s communism lay at the heart of his architectural commitment, Brasilia, like many attempts to reform society through building, was only a partial success. The city never developed into a genuine mixed community, and still today is principally the home of bureaucrats who catch the plane back to Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo for the weekend.

Meanwhile, the workers who service the bureaucrats — the cooks and cleaners to whom Niemeyer was most politically sympathetic — live in shanty towns surrounding the model city.

Niemeyer himself recognised Brasilia’s shortcomings, describing it later as a city “constructed as a showcase of capitalism — everything for a few on a world stage”. But, as he pointed out, such a grand project “was a positive thing for the Brazilian people, because it gave the world the idea that we could do many things. It seemed like a miracle.”

His dictum that “architecture is invention” was amply borne out in the capital city: “When someone goes to Brasilia, I warn them: 'You may like it or you may not, but you’ll not be able to say you’ve ever seen something like it before.’ ”

Oscar Niemeyer Soares Filho was born on December 15 1907 into a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Oscar Niemeyer Soares, was a businessman; his mother died when he was a baby.

As a child he was regularly taken to Mass by his grandfather, a minister of the Supreme Court who nevertheless died poor, and who had a strong influence on his grandson. “I learned humanism from him,” Niemeyer recalled, “and the importance of not getting rich.”

Oscar was more interested in sport than in learning, but his love of drawing led him to study Architecture at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Brazil in Rio. Shortly before graduating in 1935, he went to work in the office of Lucio Costa, then a promising architect, five years his senior. They became friends, and Costa became his young assistant’s mentor.

The next year Niemeyer worked under Costa on designs for Brazil’s Ministry of Education and Health building, for which Le Corbusier was the consultant. The resulting skyscraper, faced with blue, louvre-like brise-soleils (sun breakers), instantly became an architectural milestone.

In 1939 Niemeyer worked with Costa to design the Brazilian Pavilion for the New York World’s Fair (Costa had won the competition to design the pavilion, but he preferred Niemeyer’s scheme, which came second, and persuaded the jury to use it instead).

Before long Niemeyer was producing his own plans. In 1941 he was given his first major commission by Juscelino Kubitschek, then mayor of Pampulha, a new suburb near Belo Horizonte in Brazil.

The resulting buildings, which included a yacht club, a restaurant and a church, showed the influence of Le Corbusier, as well as Niemeyer’s own love of free-flowing form. The hangar-like church, however, proved too adventurous for the local archbishop, who rejected it as “unfit for religious purposes” — it was 16 years before the building was consecrated.

In the late 1940s Niemeyer was one of the group of architects who collaborated on the designs for the UN buildings in New York, and it was his plan that was selected as the basis the project as a whole.

Niemeyer was a prolific designer, and hundreds of buildings were built to his designs, ranging from small roadside shrines to a vast, curved apartment hotel at Petropolis housing 5,700 families.

Brasilia came about after Juscelino Kubitschek was elected President in 1956, and vowed to keep his election promise of creating a new inland capital to open up the country’s underdeveloped interior.

In 1957, mindful of their fruitful partnership at Pampulha, he chose Niemeyer to design the buildings for the new capital. Niemeyer agreed, but proposed a national competition for the city’s master plan. Lucio Costa won the competition. Barely fours years later, the government moved to Brasilia from Rio de Janeiro.

In 1964, following a Right-wing coup in Brazil, Niemeyer’s politics forced him into exile. He returned in 1970, but then suffered from the government’s hostility until democracy was restored in 1985.

Despite this, or perhaps as a result, he was revered in Brazil. His appearance at the Sao Paolo Biennale in 1993 drew crowds of more than 80,000 people.

During his years abroad Niemeyer lived in Algeria and France, with occasional visits to his own country. He designed buildings all over Europe, though his only proposal for Britain — a plan for St Anthony’s, Oxford, in 1973 — was never constructed. He stated late in his career that “Brasilia is not the most important thing in my work. More important projects were realised abroad.”

Niemeyer created an office building for Renault in France, and designed the Mondadori editorial office in Milan and the FATA office building in Turin. In Algiers, he designed the Zoological Gardens, the University of Constantine (now Mentouri Constantine University) and the Foreign Office.

In 1996 he completed the new Museum of Modern Art at Niterói in Rio de Janeiro, an enormous white concrete saucer set “like a flower” on a concrete stem. The building turned unfashionable Niterói into the city’s most popular tourist spot.

In all, Niemeyer created more than 500 buildings, and he continued to work into extreme old age. In 2002 his Oscar Niemeyer Museum complex was opened in the city of Curitiba, Paraná. In 2003, when he was 96, the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, commissioned him to design its temporary summer pavilion. In early 2011 a vast cultural centre costing £40m and designed by Niemeyer opened in northern Spain; six months later, however, it was shut for several months as regional Spanish authorities cut budgets.

Among his many awards, he received the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963, the Pritzker Prize in 1988 and the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1998. In 2001 he published a memoir, The Curves of Time.

Oscar Niemeyer married his wife Anita, with whom he had a daughter, when he was still an architecture student. She died in 2004, and in 2006 he married his longtime assistant, Vera Lucia Cabreira, who survives him.

Oscar Niemeyer, born December 15 1907, died December 5 2012

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



7 Things That Are Bound To Cost More This Holiday Season

0
0

girls, travel, on top of the world, happy, alive, free

It's hard enough to scrimp up enough discretionary cash to pay for holiday gifts. But for Ben Tischler of New York City, getting ready for the holidays also means preparing to wed his fiancee, Alicia.

It has been especially taxing since he learned that jewelry prices would be higher this season.

Click here to see what else will cost more > 

"Everything was more expensive than I expected. The jeweler told me the price of gold has skyrocketed," Tischler says. "This clearly isn't the kind of thing I can wait to buy to see if prices come back down, so I bit the bullet."

This holiday season could be a mixed bag for consumers, retail experts say. Electronics such as big-screen televisions keep going down, but if you want that laptop that turns into a tablet — Microsoft Surface, anyone? — or that fancy new camera, expect to pay a bit more than last year.

And some traditional gift items could also take more of a bite out of your wallet as stores tap into the growing trend of using well-known designers or celebrities to hawk their goods.

All in all, prices are about 2 percent higher than last holiday season, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Travel

We've taken into account gifts and food, but let's not forget how you're going to get to your destination for the holidays.

If you are flying, expect a full plane and higher ticket prices.

Domestic ticket prices are up 4 percent from 2011, according to industry trade group Airlines for America.

For those thinking of traveling by car, gas has dipped some, giving a bit of relief.

But "we are still looking at historically high prices," says Heather Hunter, spokeswoman for AAA in Orlando, Fla.

She says about 300,000 more people will travel by car than last holiday season — and they are scouting for savvy ways to save money.

"They are looking for hotels that offer free Wi-Fi or a free breakfast," Hunter says.

When traveling by car, it might also mean more than just paying for fuel. It's not unusual for families to tune up the car and replace tires for the holiday trek, Cohen says.

And tires are much pricier than in the past. Cohen says tire companies are trying to make up for backroom costs, such as paying for all those lawsuits for faulty products in the last decade.

"You used to be able to buy four tires for $280, and they would mount them and balance them for free," he says. Look for these services to all cost something now.



Shoes

Looking to impress that runner in the family with a new pair of top-of-the-line sneakers? Nothing will impress the marathoner like a pair of Volts from Nike.

The running shoes look otherworldly — and so does the price: $150.

But these aren't the only pricey soles. Cohen says high-end athletic shoes across the board are more expensive.

On the opposite end of the shoe spectrum sits the women's discount dress shoe.

But don't take the word "discount" to heart. Vazquez says giving the woman in your life new shoes from the likes of Payless or DSW won't be as light on the wallet as in years past.

The reason again is the use of celebrities and the push to hike up the price point consumers are willing to pay.

As a result, even the discount brands now have a catch. They will make nice gifts, but they are not necessarily cheaper than last year.

"A lot of these budget-friendly brands have become more marketable and are using faces people know to sell their products," she says. "It's cool to wear them now."

And cool, she says, always translates into more expensive.



Digital cameras

A stalwart gift under the tree for any shutterbug is the single-lens reflex, or SLR, camera.

This is the perfect time of year to get new gear for them.

However, manufacturers such as Nikon and Canon are in a conundrum because every smartphone has a camera.

So that means digital SLR cameras this season are for a more niche crowd. These consumers are serious about their hobby.

"Since so many phones have cameras, they are manufacturing better digital cameras to compete with that to offer consumers better quality," Vazquez says.

"Many of these cameras also offer top-notch video capabilities. Camera phones can only do so much."

So, if you are going to indulge the shutterbug in your family, be ready to put down some serious bucks.

Stores such as Best Buy will package a camera with a set of lenses, a bag and other items, which also drives up the price, she says.

Prices for these high-tech SLRs can range anywhere from $500 for a Canon Rebel to more than $1,000 for a Nikon D700.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.



13 Ways Credit Cards Will Change In 2013

0
0

afghanistan credit cards rug shop

The holiday season tends to be a time for nostalgia and reflection, but as the calendar turns from 2012 to 2013, we will undoubtedly begin looking to the future, making resolutions, basking in the potential that comes with new beginnings, and wondering what the New Year has in store.

But why wait? Foresight is important in finance, so let’s make some predictions for what will affect your wallet most significantly in 2013.

Armed with an ability to see into the future, most consumers, analysts and even politicians would all be interested in many of the same things: Will we fall off the “fiscal cliff,” what will become of our European brethren, and will the U.S. economy continue its slow rebound or finally burst to life? While the rapidly approaching economic precipice has garnered top billing lately, all of those issues loom large and, in combination, are what our finances hinge on in the coming year. Though countless variables remain undefined, we can nevertheless make the following educated guesses for the state of credit:

  1. The “fiscal cliff” will have minimal lasting impact on consumers:There will undoubtedly be a lot of hysteria, cable news discussion, and political posturing related to the “fiscal cliff,” but we can expect either an eleventh-hour deal to be struck or an agreement to be reached soon thereafter, retroactively preventing catastrophe. No one wants to see what’s at the bottom of that cliff, after all, so even if Washington can’t come up with a lasting bipartisan solution, disaster will at least be delayed. As a result, initial market fluctuation borne from uncertainty will make way to normalcy and the economic recovery will continue unencumbered.
  2. Mobile wallet technology won’t catch on: The rumblings related to mobile wallet technology being the future of personal finance have indeed grown louder over the years, but like a construction project, additional delays are inevitable. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, the requisite infrastructure is not yet in place. Not only will retailers likely have to invest in new point-of-sale terminals, but more smartphones capable of supporting mobile payment technology are also needed, and it seems that the most exciting features are always delayed until the release of the next model. Part of the problem is the fact that smart phone providers have yet to effectively safeguard their devices against cybercriminals, according to the 2012 Georgia Tech Cyber Security Summit’s Emerging Cyber Threats Report.

    Secondly, the mobile wallet market is still far too fragmented. Just to mention a few, we have the Google Wallet, “V.me” from Visa, “Isis” from the big cell phone carriers, and the MCX program that has the backing of major retailers like CVS, 7-Eleven, Lowe’s, Shell and Darden Restaurants. It’s hard for any one manifestation of mobile payment technology to gain traction when there are so many different options competing for business. Finally, it’s frustrating enough to have your phone run out of battery without that also leaving you moneyless. While you may disagree with any of these individual factors preventing the widespread adoption of mobile payment technology, when you consider them together it’s clear that 2013 won’t become infamous among wallet manufacturers.

  3. Overall credit availability will increase: As we all know, available credit withered during the Great Recession but has since bounced back. Consumers are expected to rack up $43.5 billion in credit card debt during 2012, nearly 483% more than in 2010, and that would not be possible if credit card issuers weren’t being more liberal with their underwriting. We can expect this trend to not only continue but build momentum in 2013, as the increasingly healthy portfolios of credit card companies, mortgage brokers, and other lenders will translate into more relaxed underwriting standards and more lines of credit being extended to more consumers. This is especially true given that the coming months will see a marked decline in unemployment. While joblessness is currently hovering around 8%, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York predicts that it could fall as low as 6% by mid-2013. The more people there are with steady income sources, the more qualified credit candidates there will be.
  4. Credit card companies will continue offering lucrative sign-up offers: In 2011, we saw initial rewards bonuses skyrocket into the hundreds up dollars and 0% introductory rates last as long as 24 months. The trend continued in 2012 (though the length of 0% terms declined slightly), and there is no reason to expect that the same won’t happen in 2013 as well. The reason: Even though credit availability will increase, the Great Recession taught banks how important it is to have a low-risk customer base, and extra points, miles or cash back as well as 0% intro rates are a useful tool for garnering the business of consumers with the highest credit scores. The average initial rewards bonus will score you around $60 cash back or 9,500 points/miles, but you can get up to $400 cash back by opening the right card and meeting a certain initial spending requirement.
  5. Secured credit cards will continue to become more popular: The CARD Act of 2009 capped first-year credit card fees at 25% of an account’s spending limit. Since such fees were the only way credit card companies could properly offset the risk posed by unproven consumers, unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit have largely disappeared. Secured credit cards are a safe alternative for all parties involved in that they require a security deposit that represents the cardholder’s credit line, protects issuers from losses, and makes high fees unnecessary. The fact that secured cards are essentially the only worthwhile show in town for people with bad credit naturally increased their popularity in 2012, but we can expect a bona fide secured card boom in 2013 as people become more familiar with them and issuers realize that the secured card market is a potential goldmine.

    What’s more, secured credit cards represent a natural solution to the problem of stay-at-home spouses being unable to independently build credit. This would be especially true if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) decides to eliminate the redundant income verification requirement for this card segment. There are roughly 16 million stay-at-home spouses in the United States, according to Census data, and that’s an awful lot of potential secured card users.

  6. There will be a prepaid card boom: The writing has been on the wall for a while now. Prepaid cards were the fastest growing form of electronic payment from 2006 to 2009, according to the Federal Reserve, and data from the Mercator Advisory Group shows that consumers have loaded 33-50% more money onto them each year since. There are now 7 million prepaid cards in circulation – double that in 2009 – and we can expect this number to explode in the near future.

    The Durbin Amendment made sure of this by capping the fees banks are allowed to charge merchants for debit card transactions, robbing them of $9.4 billion in annual revenue and prompting a search for more profitable alternatives. Prepaid cards are an obvious choice since they offer basically all of the same features and functionality as the combination of a checking account and debit card, aside from an actual physical checkbook. As a result, we’ve seen an infusion of funding and big-bank activity in the prepaid card space, highlighted by endorsement deals for the likes of Magic Johnson and Suze Orman as well as very attractive new offers fromChase and American Express. Not only will these household names attract their own followings, but if the initial forays prove successful (and we expect that they will), it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the banking industry’s big boys take the plunge. Ultimately, the Mercator Advisory Group’s projection that consumers will load $117 billion onto prepaid cards in 2013 might therefore prove to be low.

  7. Transparency will increase throughout financial services: Transparency has long been a hot-button issue in personal finance, largely due to the fact that certain banks engaged in bait-and-switch pricing, assessed excessive fees, unfairly allocated payments, etc., prior to the CARD Act’s implementation in 2010. However, that law primarily addressed issues related to the credit card industry. Now, as the CFPB becomes more mature, it is expanding its focus to other segments of the personal finance world. It recently began monitoring credit bureaus as well as debt collectors, and we expect prepaid cards and checking accounts to be next. The ultimate effect will be an altogether more consumer-friendly personal finance landscape in 2013, marked by fewer hidden pitfalls and predatory practices.
  8. Check cashing stores will continue to trend toward extinction: For a long time a check cashing store was one of the few places that unbanked consumers could go to collect their payday. That was unfortunate because such businesses tend to charge excessive fees, thereby robbing a traditionally low-income consumer segment of limited spending power. The seeds of the industry’s downfall have perhaps been sewn, however, given the availability of low-cost prepaid cards that enable consumers to load checks directly into their accounts using certain ATMs or mobile banking applications. Not only do we expect such cards to become more prevalent as the prepaid card market grows, but costs should also fall as more companies enter the prepaid card space and thereby increase competition. More and more unbanked consumers will therefore become aware of this obviously superior alternative to check cashing stores, and we can expect the industry to continue bleeding customers in 2013, resulting in a number of store closings.

(Bonus) The Prediction We Wish We Could Make: In a perfect world, the first prediction on our list would be that “Insurance will be regulated at the federal level beginning in 2013.” Why would that be a positive development? Well, it would lower overhead costs and in turn the barriers to entry for small companies, thereby creating more competition and lowering costs for consumers. The insurance industry would also become more efficient by necessity, since large companies would no longer be essentially guaranteed of a certain amount of business. Finally, an industry regulated at the national level would obviously attract more attention from both the media and consumer advocacy groups, which would reduce predatory practices throughout the space.

Why won’t it happen? The answer is simple: Lobbyists. The insurance lobby is far too strong to allow such a fundamental change to occur because there is too much money at stake for the companies currently dominating the industry. There’s also a significant divide among those who think federal regulation would be beneficial and those opposed to bigger government who feel that states are better positioned to oversee insurance, among other matters.

Finally, if you have any doubts about our predictions for 2013, you might want to check out how we did last year. Comments will let us know. You can also share your thoughts on this year’s predictions and even offer some of your own in the comments section below.

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



See What It's Like To Take The 190 MPH Bullet Train From Beijing To Shanghai

0
0

beijing shanghai bullet train trip jaunted

During a trip to China earlier this year, we had to make our way from Beijing to Shanghai.

Always keen to try out new modes of transport, we opted to forego our usual choice of flying and took the bullet train instead.

Jump to photos of the trip >

Since this Jaunted writer lives in Europe, rail travel—even the high-speed kind—is something we’ve done many times, but we were still pretty excited to try this and would definitely recommend it as one of the best ways to travel between these two cities.

Running between Beijing South Railway Station and Shanghai HongQiao, the fastest service takes roughly 4 hours and 45 minutes, with a top speed of 190 miles per hour (300+ km/h). China is a land of contrasts, and you see this clearly as the landscape zips by outside your window. Before we tell you more about the journey itself, a few words on booking a ticket.

Booking Tickets

While the bullet-train itself is sufficiently futuristic, getting yourself a seat has not quite made it into the 21st century of online booking. The concierge at our hotel in Beijing provided us with the train times a few months before our trip, but needed a scan of our passport and a scan of our credit card (a requirement of the ticketing office, not the hotel) in order to make a booking.

As we weren’t too keen to send these two pieces of information via email, we waited until we were safely in Beijing ourselves to sort everything out. Train tickets only go on sale a limited amount of time before departure, so availability wasn’t an issue, and a travel agency outpost inside our hotel got us the tickets within a few hours. Cash payment was the only option.

Travel Classes And Cost

Two main cabins are available on each train: First and Second Class. Second Class tickets were CNY555 ($90), First Class tickets CNY935 ($150). We traveled in First Class, which you can see pictured in the gallery above. The red seats sit in a 2-2 configuration on each side of the aisle. Exploring the train when we boarded, there was also a Super VIP” cabin, with only a handful of fancy leather recliner seats, which remained empty. The First Class carriage was at the end of the train, and it was fully occupied with a mix of mostly Chinese and Western business people on our trip.

The Journey

We arrived at Beijing South Railway Station by taxi from our hotel and were directed to the doors outside platform 16 by the information desk at the entrance. There are a number of trains between Beijing and Shanghai every hour, and many more to other destinations, so we double-checked with one of the security guards at the platform entrance that we were in the right spot. English won’t get you very far, so this was pretty much limited to us holding the ticket in front of us, pointing to it and the sign above the platform door and waiting for an affirmative response, but it did the trick.

You can only make your way down to the actual platform once boarding begins, and you need to go through turn-style entry gates, so the chances of getting it wrong are fairly limited.

One of the main benefits of taking the train is that you get to see something as you travel. Like we said, China is a land of contrasts, and this is pretty evident during the journey. While not particularly scenic, the Beijing to Shanghai route offers a fascinating look at the country. Crazy construction and monstrous apartment blocks interchange with traditional hutong-style housing and farmers laboring away on rice fields. There’s a certain frenetic pace to the construction you see everywhere, and the scale of the housing developments is truly mind-boggling.

Above the compartment door is a speedometer to tell you exactly how fast you’re hurtling through the landscape. Doing 190 mph explains the blurriness of some of the pictures; our camera couldn’t quite keep up with it.

Leaving Beijing at 2pm, we arrived at Shanghai HongQiao just before 7pm. We were picked up by a driver from our hotel, but there are a number of public transport options to make your way into town. HongQiao is also the location of Shanghai’s second airport, the other being Pudong International.

Bottom Line

A fast, efficient, and interesting way to get from Beijing to Shanghai; we had no complaints at all. Add to that a ticket price in First Class which was not much more expensive than a one-way ticket on a full-service airline, the avoidance of airport security, and we’d do this again should we need to in the future.

The trip starts at the Beijing South Railway Station.



Here's train G3's track boarding gate.



See the bullet train across the tracks at Beijing South Station.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.



The Incredible Modernist Architecture Of Oscar Niemeyer

0
0

Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect who is considered by many to be the father of modern architecture, died today.

After 76 years of continuous work, Niemeyer died at the age of 104.

Niemeyer was a prolific and innovative architect and designer. He designed hundreds of buildings, including the Cathedral of Brasília, the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio, and contributions to the United Nations Building in New York.

He is best known for his works in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, which are defined by their curves and abstract forms. His buildings in Brasilia were controversial when they were unveiled in the early 1960s, but Niemeyer proudly stood by them.

“When someone goes to Brasilia, I warn them: 'You may like it or you may not, but you’ll not be able to say you’ve ever seen something like it before,’ ” he said.

Niemeyer, who was born in 1907 to a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro, was a communist and served as the president of the Brazilian Communist Party from 1992 to 1996. After a coup in 1964, his political beliefs sent him into exile, but he continued to work until the very end.

Niemeyer collaborated with Le Corbusier and others to design the United Nations in New York City. Construction began in 1947, but was completed in 1952. This was one of his earlier works, but still stands as a symbol of modern architecture.



Niemeyer built his own modern home in Canoas, Rio de Janeiro, in 1952. It's called the Casa das Canoas.




Niemeyer is most famous for his works in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. Throughout the late 1950s into the early 1960s, he designed and constructed the National Congress of Brazil, the Palácio da Alvorada (the president's home), the Cathedral of Brasilia, and more. He worked with his friend, Lúcio Costa, to plan and design the entire city.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.



The Secret To Making One Of The Tastiest Sandwiches In New York City

0
0

The killer sandwich has always been an essential part of New York food culture. From a classic pastrami on rye to a simple falafel, a great sandwich is the go-to lunch option for many New Yorkers.

Eataly, which is the large Italian market started by Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich and their partners Oscar Farinetti, Alex Saper and Adam Saper in August 2010, brought some tasty new additions to the New York Sandwich scene, but one stands out for its simplicity and popularity – the prime rib.

Executive Chef Alex Pilas showed us how he and his team crank through 8-12 whole prime ribs every lunch service to make what has become the market's most popular sandwich.

"From 11:30am to 2:30pm it's pretty much prime rib, prime rib, prime rib," says Pilas.

Watch the video below to see how it's done.

 

Produced by Robert Libetti

Don't Miss:

Watch This Top New York Chef Make A Giant Foie Gras And Squab Spring Roll

A New York Cheese Shop Is Making 2,600 Pounds Of Fresh Cheese Every Day—And It Wants You To Watch

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »




Distill Your Own Booze With The HomeMade Gin Kit

0
0

This is the HomeMade Gin Kit.

Why We Love It: Remember when your mom used to tell you that making something was always the best gift? That's the idea behind the HomeMade Gin Kit, which comes with a liquor bottle, glass flask, juniper berries, strainer, funnel, instructions, and spices. The only thing not included is an affordable bottle of vodka (sorry).

With just a few shakes and 36 hours, you'll have made your very own small batch of gin without any illegal distilling equipment. Plus the old school bottle makes a nice presentation, too.

Homemade Gin Kit

 

Homemade Gin Kit

Where To Buy: The HomeMade Gin Kit website.

Cost: $39.95.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

SEE ALSO:  Handpresso Outdoor On-The-Go Espresso Set

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



A Fantastic Anecdote About Calvin Klein Getting A Burger At McDonald's

0
0

Big Mac

While many celebrities indulge in the guilty pleasure of McDonald's, it would appear that superstar designer Calvin Klein isn't one of them. 

Klein's ex-boyfriend, Nick Gruber, revealed a hilarious anecdote about the time he convinced Klein to go for some classic American fast food. 

"I made Calvin go to McDonald's and have a Big Mac, and he asked if they had it medium rare," Gruber told Page Six Magazine. 

Klein didn't appear to enjoy the burger.

""He took a bite, and he was like, 'Ugh, what's this?' I'll never forget that story: medium rare for a Big Mac at McDonald's," Gruber said. 

Gruber, an aspiring male model, is writing a tell-all memoir about his relationship with Klein, who is 48 years older than him. 

DON'T MISS: The Fabulous Life Of Amancio Ortega, The Mysterious Billionaire Behind Zara >

Please follow Retail on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



A Bitter Donald Trump Has Banned Glenfiddich Whisky From All His Resorts

0
0

donald trump macy's

Property magnate Donald Trump has gone to war with one of the world's largest whisky companies after it sponsored an award given to an arch critic of his controversial Scottish golf course.

In what is emerging as the battle of the billionaires, Trump said he has banned every brand of whisky sold by William Grant & Sons from his resorts and hotels after Michael Forbes, his obstinate neighbour in Aberdeenshire, was voted Top Scot in a ceremony sponsored by the distiller's leading brand, Glenfiddich.

The closest resident to Trump's golf course, Forbes won the award last week after a public vote, beating the Olympic tennis gold medallist and US Open winner Andy Murray. Trump said that decision was "an insult to both Andy Murray and Scotland itself".

Trump claimed that William Grant & Sons, which broke through the £1bn sales barrier this year and owns several of the world's most popular whiskies, including Grant's, was jealous of his own inhouse single malt whisky brand.

The distillery sold more than one million cases of Glenfiddich, but Trump continued: "Glenfiddich should be ashamed of themselves for granting this award to Forbes, just for the sake of publicity.

"Glenfiddich is upset that we created our own single malt whisky using another distillery, which offers far greater products. People at our clubs do not ask for Glenfiddich, and I make a pledge that no Trump property will ever do business with Glenfiddich or William Grant & Sons.

"I hereby call for a boycott on drinking Glenfiddich products because there is no way a result such as this could have been made by the Scottish people."

After suggesting that the voting for Forbes had been fixed by "a small group of detractors" casting multiple votes, he continued: "Glenfiddich's choice of Michael Forbes, as Top Scot, will go down as one of the great jokes ever played on the Scottish people and is a terrible embarrassment to Scotland."

William Grant & Sons gave short shrift to Trump's criticisms, which he first aired on Twitter on Tuesday, insisting it had nothing to do with the voting for the award, which Glenfiddich has sponsored for 15 years.

It had never interfered with the outcome, it said, and insisted Forbes's victory should be respected.

"We understand that there may have been some confusion and misunderstanding concerning the structure and running of the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards," the firm said in a statement.

"Top Scot is a totally open category in which the people of Scotland can vote for whomsoever they choose and Glenfiddich has no influence on this decision. [The] Top Scot may be one of that year's category nominees or may come from any walk of life. The person receiving the greatest number of votes, cast by the people of Scotland, wins the award."

It added: "In the history of these awards, we are not aware of the Top Scot award causing any offence or upset to anyone and it is not our intention to do so now. These awards were set up to give the people of Scotland a vote and we must respect their decision."

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

SEE ALSO: Take A Walk Through The Opulent Real Estate Of Donald Trump

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



The Sandy Crane Collapse Has Been Immortalized In Gingerbread

0
0

Remember when Hurricane Sandy toppled a crane atop a luxury highrise in Midtown? Well, a team of chefs at Le Parker Meridien Hotel do, and decided to immortalize it the best way they know how — with food.

As a part of the hotel's annual gingerbread house charity benefit, a team of pastry chefs spent two weeks on and off building the "Candycrane." The 5-foot-tall, 125-pound structure will be on display through January 3rd in the hotel lobby.

Le Parker Meridien was one of the nearby hotels evacuated when the crane started swinging from atop the skyscraper. Executive chef Emile Castillo told DNAinfo, "We were originally going to do the Statue of Liberty, but when the crane fell, I saw it. I was there."

The "Candycrane"  also known as the "Hurri-CRANE" is one of five gingerbread structures following this year's theme of "Landmarks Around The World" at Le Parker Meridien's annual gingerbread competition. Public viewing is free, and visitors can spend $1 to vote or $5 for eight votes to choose their favorite candy creation. All proceeds will go to City Harvest to support its holiday food programs.

Candycrane

 

Candycrane

DON'T MISS: The Stunning View From The Top Of Ultra-Luxury Highrise One57

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



China Will Flatten 700 Mountains To Build A City In The Desert

0
0

Lanzhou

A long, long time ago, a 90-year-old Chinese peasant named Yu Gong decided to move two inconveniently located mountains away from the entrance to his home. Legend has it he struggled terribly, but ultimately succeeded. Hence the Chinese idiom "Yu Gong moves the mountains." When there's a will, there's a way.

Now Chinese developers are putting old Yu to shame.

In what is being billed as the largest "mountain-moving project" in Chinese history, one of China's biggest construction firms will spend £2.2bn to flatten 700 mountains around Lanzhou, allowing development authorities to build a new metropolis on the northwestern city's far-flung outskirts.

The Lanzhou New Area, 500 square miles (130,000 hectares) of land 50 miles from the city, which is the provincial capital of arid Gansu province, could increase the area's gross domestic product to £27bn by 2030, reported the state-run China Daily. It has already attracted almost £7bn of corporate investment.

The project will be China's fifth "state-level development zone" and the first in the country's rapidly developing interior, according to state media reports. Others include Shanghai's Pudong and Tianjin's Binhai, home to a half-built, 120-building replica of Manhattan. China's state council, its highest administrative authority, approved the Lanzhou project in August.

The first stage of the mountain-flattening initiative, which was first reported on Tuesday by the China Economic Weekly magazine, began in late October and will eventually enable a new urban district almost 10 square miles in size to be built.

One of the country's largest private companies: the Nanjing-based China Pacific Construction Group, headed by Yan Jiehe is behind the initiative.

Chinese newspapers portray the 52 year old as a sort of home-grown Donald Trump– ultra ambitious and preternaturally gifted at navigating the country's vast network of "guanxi", or personal connections.

Yan was born in the 1960s as the youngest of nine children. After a decade of working as a high-school teacher and cement plant employee, he founded his construction firm in 1995 and amassed a fortune by buying and revamping struggling state-owned enterprises. In 2006, the respected Hu Run report named Yan – then worth about £775m – as China's second-richest man.

His latest plan has evoked a healthy dose of scepticism. Lanzhou, home to 3.6 million people alongside the silty Yellow River, already has major environmental concerns. Last year, the World Health Organisation named it the city with the worst air pollution in China. The city's main industries include textiles, fertiliser production and metallurgy.

Liu Fuyuan, a former high-level official at the country's National Development and Reform Commission, told China Economic Weekly that the project was unsuitable because Lanzhou is frequently listed as among China's most chronically water-scarce municipalities. "The most important thing is to gather people in places where there is water," he said.

Others also pointed to the financial risk of building a new city in the middle of the desert. "All this investment needs to be paid back with residential land revenue, and I don't see much on returns in these kinds of cities," said Tao Ran, an economics professor at Renmin University in Beijing. "If you have a booming real estate market it might work, but it seems to me that real estate in China is very, very risky."

In an email interview, a China Pacific Construction Group spokeswomandismissed criticisms of the project as unjustified. "Lanzhou's environment is already really poor, it's all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water," said Angie Wong. "Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before."

Yan's plans could be considered "a protective style of development, and a developmental style of protection", she said, adding: "I think whether it's England or America, or any other country, no one will cease development because of resource scarcity caused by geography."

A promotional video posted on the Lanzhou new area website shows a digitally-rendered cityscape of gleaming skyscrapers and leafy parks. Against a driving operatic score, the camera zooms out from a large government building to reveal features of the area's imagined urban topography: a clock tower, a new airport, an oil refinery, a light-rail system, a stadium packed with cheering fans.

The new area "will lead to an environmentally sustainable economy based on energy-saving industries" including advanced equipment manufacturing, petrochemical industries and modern agriculture, wrote Chinese Central Television on its website.

The Lanzhou city government could not be reached for comment.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

Please follow Science on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



Is Spending $350 To Get Your A/C Cleaned Worth It?

0
0

air conditioning, apartments, nyc

If our mild winter is any indication, things are going to heat up quickly this spring, so now's a good time to make sure those a/c units are heatwave ready.  

But is it worth it to have your a/c hauled out of your apartment and professionally cleaned every year or two at an average cost of $300-350 per unit, as one StreetEasy.com user is thinking of doing?

Cleaning the a/c is supposed to help the unit live longer and run more efficiently  (saving money on electric costs), but as a StreetEasy commenter scoffs, "It would take a hell of a lot of 'peak efficiency' to make back $350 a unit on energy costs. I mean, how does this math make any sense?"

It doesn't, concurs another, unless you've got a Cadillac of an a/c:

"When you are looking at a 25,000BTU AC, $350 is worth it. if you are looking at 6-12,000 BTU, then it's cheaper just to buy new ones every year. Each year the ACs become more economical in utilizing electricity, so donate your old and buy new."

If you do decide to get your a/c units cleaned--or swap it out for a new one--don't forget to tip. Tired of the whole window-unit dance? Here's some info on installing central air.

Related posts:
The cost of cool: Tipping advice for a/c season
Care for some mold with that a/c?
Dear Ms. Demeanor: Irreconcilable air-conditioning differences

Don't miss: 10 signs your neighborhood's property value is on the skids > 

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



No One Knows What To Do With The Massive Whale Carcass Rotting Near Malibu's Celebrity Homes

0
0

A rotting whale carcass that washed up on the beach in Malibu earlier this week is posing a messy problem for local celebrities and millionaires who live nearby, according to the Associated Press.

Three days after it first appeared, authorities are still figuring out whose responsibility it is to deal with the 40,000-pound fin whale carcass. Los Angeles County lifeguards were reportedly going to try to pull the whale out to sea today, but the local fire inspector said the job would likely require a tug boat.

Los Angeles County has also said that its department of beaches and harbors is not responsible, the AP reported.

The photo below from the California Wildlife Center shows the whale earlier this week, between Malibu's Paradise Cove and Point Dume, near the homes of Barbra Streisand and Bob Dylan.

whale carcass

SEE ALSO: Meet The Rich And Famous Residents Of Malibu's 'Billionaire's Beach'

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »




Underground Construction Photos From NYC's New $2.4 Billion Subway Station

0
0

mta hudson yards subway construction

Even as it is busy recovering from the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy and building a new subway line under Second Avenue, New York City's MTA is undertaking a huge project to extend the 7 line from Times Square to Eleventh Avenue on the West Side.

The $2.4 billion project is expected to be complete in a year's time, and include a brand new station at 34th Street and Eleventh Avenue.

By 2020, the MTA expects it to be the busiest station in the city, with 35,000 subway riders passing through the station in a single hour at peak times.

The MTA provides regular updates on its progress, and has published images of what the completed station will look like.

Once the station is completed, this is what its main entrance will look like.



Here's a breakdown of where everything will go.



Across from the Jacob Javits Center, a ventilation building is under construction.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.



These Guys Found Out The Hard Way What It's Like To Live On $1 A Day

0
0

one-dollarAbout 1.1 billion people in the world survive on just $1 a day.

It's a fact that economics students Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci couldn't get out of their heads. 

"What can I do? That's the hardest part about it ... there is no one answer," says Temple. "[The U.S.] has poured $2.5 trillion dollars into international development trying to end poverty and a lot of times it just made things worse."

Together, the pair decided to take their studies outside the classroom, to someplace more practical –– the edge of poverty itself. Living on $1 a day for two months, they moved to a remote Guatemalan town to study the people's relationship with money and see how access to credit could impact their survival. 

They documented their journey in a new film called "Living On One."

Two Claremont McKenna College students moved to a remote village in Guatemala, where they would try to survive on an income of $1 per day for a total of 56 days.



"For all our academic learning, there were some things a textbook just couldn't answer."



They chose the town of Pena Blanca, which is majority Mayan.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.



HOUSE OF THE DAY: Photographer Annie Leibovitz Lists West Village Compound For $33 Million

0
0

annie leibovitz townhouse

Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz is trying to unload a trio of West Village townhouses for $33 million, The Wall Street Journal's Candace Jackson reports.

The buildings include a main home, Leibovitz's studio, and guest quarters. They surround a slate patio and have a whopping 13 fireplaces, according to Jackson.

The photographer is reportedly selling to move closer to the uptown school of her three daughters. Brown Harris Stevens' Paula Del Nunzio has the listing.

Leibovitz's compound is located on the corner of Greenwich Street and occupies more than 10,000 square feet of space.



The compound is comprised of three townhouses, which open up onto a central garden.



The brick buildings date back to the 1830s.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook.



This Is How Savvy Travelers Find Great Deals On Exotic Vacations

0
0

snorkeling vacation bad wedding giftsThis post originally appeared on SmarterTraveler.

Most people dream of taking a once-in-a-lifetime vacation to somewhere far away and exotic.

Maybe it's to celebrate a special occasion like a honeymoon or an anniversary or simply to enjoy a much-needed escape from the daily grind.

No matter what, your longing doesn't have to live in fantasyland forever. Far-flung places like Tahiti, New Zealand, Bali, and Hawaii are more within reach than you might think.

Whether you've been squirreling away cash for more than a decade or are just starting to consider a trip, here are some exotic South Pacific vacations that are sure to wow. As a bonus, we've compiled some useful tips and money-saving strategies to make these dream trips a reality.

South Island, New Zealand

New Zealand's larger island has less than half of the country's population, so if you want to get away from it all, this is definitely the spot. You'll find wildlife and scenery here that's unlike anything else in the world.

Why Go: Mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, and pristine coastlines make the South Island's landscapes some of the world's most picturesque.

Skiing, scuba diving, and hiking await the adventurous, while world-famous vineyards, glamorous boutique hotels, and relaxing spas are in store for those who need some pampering.

Getting There and Finding Deals: Embrace the South Island's outdoorsy focus by renting a campervan to be both your transportation and your lodging. Rates start as low as $28 per day.

Or, experience life on a working New Zealand farm, by booking a farmstay (sheep-shearing duty is optional).

Arriving from the North Island? The most scenic way to get here is via ferry, which takes around three hours. If you're short on time and money, Jetstar Airways often has airfare deals between the two islands.



New Caledonia

Heavenly South Pacific beachscapes and Melanesian culture meet French savoir-vivre on New Caledonia, an archipelago collectivity of France.

Why Go: New Caledonia offers two vacations in one: a luxurious city escape fused with a breezy island adventure.

For a spot of French chic in the South Pacific, visitors can head to cosmopolitan Noumea, New Caledonia's largest city, where vintage boutiques, aqua spas, art galleries, and museums abound.

Then, they can retreat from the city and explore vivid blue coral lagoons, kayak to close-by uninhabited islands, or hit the beach and relax under palm trees on warm sand.

Getting There and Finding Deals: New Caledonia's flagship international airline is Aircalin, which connects the island with destinations in Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.

Travelers seeking to visit a handful of South Pacific islands can save money by purchasing a Pacific air-travel pass from Aircalin.

Prices vary, but according to Travel Press, rates start at $150 per coupon. (Each coupon is valid for one travel segment.) Note that this pass isn’t currently sold in the United States. Contact Aircalin for more details.



Tahiti

Five amazing archipelagos, 118 islands, one paradise.

Tahiti is less than eight hours from Los Angeles, but it may as well be in an entirely different universe.

Why Go: The South Seas islands promise emerald waters, white-sand beaches, and, oh yeah, overwater bungalows.

Embrace leisure with a unique banana-tree-leaf body wrap, culture on a tour of small villages, or adventure on a shark-feeding expedition.

Or, simply start out the day in your overwater bungalow with breakfast delivered by canoe.

Getting There and Finding Deals: Air Tahiti Nui offers service from Los Angeles. Tahiti.com is offering a two-island vacation package that includes round-trip airfare, ferry transport between islands, daily breakfast, five nights' accommodations, and transfers from $1,999 per person.

For $450 more per person, you can upgrade to an overwater bungalow and have the ultimate Tahiti experience. Find current air-and-hotel vacation packages from a variety of providers on Tahiti-Tourisme.com.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.



WEIGHT WATCHERS CEO: 'Willpower Is Completely Overrated'

0
0

Bacon Burger

America's obesity epidemic rages on, but there's one company that may have the solutions to tightening America's waistband: Weight Watchers.

We sat down with Weight Watchers CEO, Dave Kirchhoff, to get the scoop on how the company's new 360 program helps participants lose weight and keep it off.

"You have to start making healthy choices automatic," Kirchhoff said. "Willpower is completely overrated and just doesn't deliver."

That's why Weight Watchers launched Weight Watchers 360, which focuses on combining healthy lifestyle techniques with technology and group support to lose weight and maintain trimmer figures.

The original Weight Watchers program centered around calorie counting which often led participants to initially lose weight but then later gain it back.

There were some fundamental issues with the old plan. People treated it like a diet. They didn't want to waste 100 calories on an apple if they could have a 100 calorie pack of cookies, Kirchhoff explained.

Dave KirchhoffSo Weight Watchers moved toward educating its participants. "[360] is really a behavior modification program that nudges people toward smarter choices," Kirchhoff said. "And it does not require perfection."

The program also teaches members to manage their food environments, control portion sizes, and increase physical activity.

The company decided to expand its existing program in light of new scientific research. One study found that people make around 200 food-related decisions a day, far more than the 15 decisions they are aware of, he said.

By being more mindful of what and how they consume food, people can track their good choices and isolate their less good choices, Kirchhoff explained.

NOW SEE: Weight Watchers Crosses A Line In Tasteless New Charles Barkley Ad>

Please follow Retail on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »



Viewing all 115285 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images