Local businesses

On Dec. 10, Amazon offered a special deal to shoppers who used its smartphone app in brick-and-mortar stores: Scan certain items, and the Web retailer would give them an extra 5% off. Critics cried foul. In one tactless move, has Amazon cast itself as the new mom-and-pop business killer?

When it comes to money, it can be hard to choose between "doing good" -- say, by donating to charity -- and "doing well" -- deploying it to earn more money, say, by buying stock. But there are ways to combine both ideals, and one is by putting your money where your town is.

If you're a fan of free summer concerts that many cities hold to draw shoppers downtown, you may want to stay away from Livermore, Calif., where the "food police" are checking if attendees have a local receipt for their meal they want to bring in. Livermore concert-goers looking to save money by...

One solution for nourishing America's ailing small businesses might be the grassroots 3/50 Project. It asks consumers to choose three favorite local businesses and commit to spending $50 per month in them. That modest goal can have a massive effect.