Weekend Digest: The Olympic Edition
by August 4, 2012 12:10 am 84 views
For our weekend business readers:
OLYMPIC MEDALS COULD BE COSTLY
That is if the IRS has its way despite one Republican Senator's bill to exempt U.S Olympians from paying taxes on their winnings.
The Huffington Post says “Each Olympic victory comes with a price, as medals and prize money are both subjected to income tax.”
A gold medal, which is worth $650, according to CNN, could cost athletes about $236 in taxes. While a bronze medal, which is worth $5, could only cost an athlete $2 in taxes.
If you think that's putting the squeeze on glory and performance for the USA, read the Post story to find out how much athlete's may have to ante-up to Uncle Sam from their performance bonuses.
The U.S. Olympic Organizing Committee will award London champions $25,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bringing home a bronze, Reuters reports.
And the medals and bonuses are just the beginning. Every winner has a dream of being featured on a box of Wheaties, but sponsorships like that are lucrative and so are the taxes.
Click here to find out how much winning or medalling could cost U.S. athletes and what Senator has come to the defense of the team.
STAR U.S SWIMMER MAKES HIP-HOP FASHION STATEMENT
Ryan Lochte making a hip-hop fashion statement? No way. Yes, way.
After winning a gold medal, the swimmer flashed a mouthful of stars-and-stripes-shaped diamonds that had been created for him by the rapper Paul Wall and Johnny Dang, a Houston jeweler to the hip-hop stars who goes by the handle of TV Johnny.
According to the New York Times, the “grill” reportedly cost $25,000.
This is not the first time Lochte has worn grills to swim meets, but because this is the Olympics he has received some criticism for his decision to wear such an unusual item and pose in pictures while flashing his bejeweled smile.
“I was really a bit upset when I saw it,” said Robert Tateossian, a designer who has been watching the Games closely. “It is so non-harmonious with his image and with the sport that he represents. Swimming is such an elegant sport. It is all about softness, like the softness of the water.”
But there are many who have had a positive response to the patriotic grill.
Read the entire Times story for those comments and learn how the fancy mouthpiece could add to Lochte's lucrative covey of sponsors.
RETIRING OLYMPIANS COULD FACE ILLNESS SYMPTOMS
It's true that exercise is addictive and Bloomberg.com says as intense as Olympians work out, retiring could cause severe withdrawal symptoms.
Research shows intensive exercise is as addictive as heroin, putting retiring Olympians at risk of depression.
Read this how to increase vertical jump
-up-cleats-risk-drug-addict-like-ills.html”>fascinating story to learn about how such high levels of training can lead to withdrawals similar to severe drug addiction.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that sheds light on why athletes may be more prone to substance abuse, eating disorders and suicide than the general population.
BRANDS THAT WERE IN THE DOG HOUSE STARTING TO MAKE COMEBACK
You used to love them, and then some of you actually started hating them. Now brands like BP are becoming popular again.
The company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history, killing oil rig workers, and devastating marine and wildlife habitats — not to mention the Gulf of Mexico's fishing and tourism industries — has won a popularity contest, of sorts.
BP topped a list of brands that have most improved their images in the eyes of U.S. consumers, according to the YouGov BrandIndex.
Along with BP, the story details “10 Surprising Brands That Are Making Comebacks.” Click here to find out who made the list.
COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT
Don't you hate it when you feel like you've been ripped off or gotten poor service, like when the appliance you just had repaired breaks again? We all have been there, and AOL Daily Finance has put together a list of the “Top Ten Consumer Complaints.”
The Consumer Federation of America on Tuesday released its annual chronicle of the top 10 consumer complaints. The CFA list comes from a survey of 38 consumer agencies about the kinds of complaints they received in 2001.
Yes, of course, the usual suspects are on this list, but there are some surprises too in the almost 300,000 complaints that were registered.
Click here to see the dirty 10 and find out the staggering amount of money all the complaining saved consumers.
REAL WINNERS ARE….WELL, WINNERS!
The Harvard Business Review has posted a thought-provoking piece on winners. It's called, “Ten Reasons Winners Keep Winning, Aside from Skill.”
Whether the game involves competing every four years in the Olympics or every day in a business, winning brings advantages that make it easier to keep winning. To understand sustainable success, I compared perpetual winners with long-term losers in professional and amateur sports and then matched the findings to business case studies for my book Confidence.
I found that winners gain ten important advantages as a result of victory–and that smart leaders can cultivate and build on these advantages to make the next success possible.
Writer Rosabeth Moss Kanter's Top Ten are not only invaluable for business, but could serve as mentoring lessons for parents and teaches as well. Check out all the winning formulas at this link.