Blog Posts by Lisa Scherzer

If you’re a strong leader, long-term thinker, can hold a headstand for at least 10 minutes and speak Sanskrit, Lululemon (LULU) might have a job for you.

The yoga apparel maker, which on Monday announced CEO Christine Day would step down, has begun its search for a new chief – and it’s starting with its own customers. Visitors to Lululemon’s site, who might want to do nothing but shop for $100 sweatpants, are being greeted with a big red sign that reads “CEO Wanted,” which links to the company’s tongue-in-cheek job posting and an “apply” button. (See an image of the ad below.)

A typical “day in the life” of the CEO includes “You break all the rules like getting your OM-on (loudly) whenever the urge arises,” and “you wear The Mansy to lead our company-wide morning chant” (click here if you dare to find out what a Mansy is). Some other criteria for the position: You have Ellen DeGeneres on speed-dial and "Your lineage is directly related to Phidippides" (we had to look it up: he was the

You’re paying about 100% more to put a gallon of gas in your car today than you did 10 years ago, and 145% more to heat your home. Ouch.

Gasoline expenditures for the average household in 2012 reached $2,912, or just under 4% of income, according to the Energy Information Administration. That was the highest estimated percentage spent on gas in nearly three decades, except for 2008.

Other items and services tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index have seen steep price increases over the past decade, as well. The price for all items included in the CPI went up by about 26% over this time period, but for some things, the change was significantly greater.

In order to see which rose the most, we looked at a variety of sub-indexes in the CPI and calculated their change from the beginning of 2003 until April 2013. Here are the top 10, along with some perspective on what’s behind their increases.

1. Fuel oil and other fuels (for home): 145%
2. Gasoline (all types) for

Nearly one of four Americans (23%) has no paid vacation and 23% have no paid holidays, while most of the world’s developed countries offer workers at least six paid holidays a year. These statistics come from a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), “No-Vacation Nation Revisited,” which could cause Americans to lament their too-much-work, not-enough-play lives.

The report revisits an analysis originally done by CEPR six years ago. Since the 2007 CEPR study, the U.S. has made up none of the gap with the rest of the major economies that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

John Schmitt, senior economist and co-author of the CEPR report, said: “It is striking that, six years after we first looked at this topic, absolutely nothing has changed. U.S. law and U.S. employer behavior still lags far behind the rest of the rich countries in the world.”

While the U.S. is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers

When you're young, you can afford to make some financial mistakes. The closer you get to retirement, however, the more costly those missteps can be. And whereas past generations often just waited for their pension checks to come each week, nowadays retirees have to handle most of the saving themselves and figure out how to allocate that money for a longer life span.

We spoke to financial advisers about some of the most serious slip-ups and how they can be overcome. Here are five:

1. Mistiming Social Security benefits

When to begin claiming Social Security benefits is “your most important financial decision,” according to “The Social Security Claiming Guide,” published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Your monthly benefit is based on a combination of your work history, earnings and age at which you file for benefits. You can start collecting Social Security at any age between 62 and 70, but at its most basic, the later you claim Social Security, the higher your

Everyone has bad habits. Maybe you obsessively check Facebook while at dinner with friends, arrive late to meetings or interrupt people when they’re talking. Chances are you’re at least sometimes aware of these bad acts. But you might not realize how other habits are costing you actual money. And we’re not talking about a daily Starbucks fix. If you get pleasure out of those lattes, by all means enjoy them.

But some other under-the-radar tendencies can end up sabotaging your financial health, and you may not even realize it.

1. You shop with friends

Shopaholics are typically portrayed by women in popular culture. But at least in one respect, men can out-shop women. A 2011 study, “The Influence of Friends on Consumer Spending,” found that men spend more when they’re accompanied by a friend than when they’re alone, and the effect wasn’t the same for women.

The results of four experiments showed that men shopping with a buddy spent 54% more than men shopping solo, while women spent about

One company after the next has been making public apologies lately for putting out highly offensive – even racist – ad campaigns. They’ve left consumers and marketing pros scratching their heads, wondering what the likes of Pepsi (PEP), GM (GM) and Hyundai were thinking.

The latest controversy to inspire a corporate apology was a 60-second online commercial for Mountain Dew, which is produced and owned by PepsiCo. The absurdist spot features a battered white woman on crutches in a police station trying to pick a suspect out of a lineup of black men. A talking goat named Felicia is also in the lineup, makes threatening remarks to her – “Keep your mouth shut” and “snitches get stitches” – until the woman runs out of the room hysterically screaming. The ad was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes and downplaying violence against women.

Mountain Dew Pulls 'Racist' Ad Created by Hip-Hop Artist (ABC News)According to a report on Billboard.com, a PepsiCo spokeswoman said the company was made aware on Tuesday that some people found the ad offensive.

In a hearing on the budget and health care last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, voiced a sentiment that should resonate with a broad swath of the American population. He told Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius that Americans, and small businesses in particular, have “no idea what to do” when it comes to health reform.

“I just see a huge train wreck coming down,” Baucus said. “You and I have discussed this many times, and I don’t see any results yet.”

For both consumers and business owners, in the months leading up to the implementation of several key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, confusion and misinformation reign.

Some big-name companies have gained attention over the past year by cutting workers’ hours as a response to Obamacare. Starting in 2014, under the legislation, employers with 50 or more full-time employees could face penalties if they don’t make affordable coverage available to full-time workers,

You can buy a Hot ‘n Spicy McChicken at McDonald’s for $1, a Junior Whopper from Burger King for $1.29, and 4-piece chicken nuggets at Wendy’s for 99 cents. Is it possible that fast food is getting too cheap?

As these restaurants contend with increased competition, cost-conscious consumers and a still-uncertain economy, they’re trying to outdo each other by slashing prices ever more in the hopes of getting customers through the door. But some franchisees are grousing, suggesting those rock-bottom prices are getting too cheap for their comfort.

A recent report from Janney Montgomery Scott on McDonald’s (MCD) surveyed several franchisees. Many seemed to feel it was a problem for restaurants to rely so much on discounted items. As one franchisee responded in the survey: “We need ‘new’ news – not just cheap food.” That sentiment was echoed by others, who on the whole said their stores’ level of discounting was too high. “It’s one or the other, the Dollar Menu or other discounting. We