In the timeless holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, forgotten playthings are eventually rescued from the Island of Misfit Toys. This Christmas, we may be seeing companies banished to the island of misfit toymakers.
In his new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer writes about how Barbie was actually the result of a cultural misunderstanding -- an innocent mix-up that became a huge moneymaker for Mattel.
With The Hunger Games opening this weekend, investors can stack the odds in their favor by considering the companies that stand to benefit from the film's likely success.
Zynga is the undisputed king of social gaming for Facebook and smartphones, and its stock price gives it a market cap nearly as big as video game leader Activision Blizzard. But at less than 5 years old, has the bulldog already jumped the shark?
Video-game publisher THQ, who makes the popular uDraw tablet and fighting game UFC, has signed a deal with Mattel to bring Barbie, Hot Wheels and other brands to gaming consoles. Can it help give the gaming company -- whose stock has soared 47% in less than two months -- increase its revenue?
