New orleans

Chicago entrepreneur Karriem Beyah grew up working in the grocery business, but when he courted some industry heavyweights to bring stores to the South Side, their response was disdainful: "Who wants to go over there?"

Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers flooded Vicksburg, Miss., to save New Orleans, an awful choice that speaks volumes about how hard it is for even modern technology to fight Mother Nature. 24/7 Wall St. looks back at other times when water won the battle.

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, an estimated 100,000 displaced New Orleans residents have yet to return home. What impact have these evacuees had on the local economies of their new homes?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency housed Katrina-displaced people in 145,000 trailers. Today the trailers -- many of which emitted unsafe levels of formaldehyde -- have become a symbol of incompetence in the face of a national tragedy.

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is older, wealthier and less diverse, but it's also home to more well-off young people -- demographic changes that could attract more businesses and developers, and give a real lift to efforts to rebuild the Big Easy.

Following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, the numbers of tourists visiting New Orleans dropped to nothing. The city's $5 billion tourism industry slowly recovered, however, and is now once again approaching pre-Katrina visitor levels.

Actor and humorist Harry Shearer, who made a new documentary about the man-made disaster that was Hurricane Katrina, says the media's coverage of the catastrophe was largely "grandstanding and showboating." There are exceptions, though.

Just two days after the TV premiere of Treme, David Simon's ode to New Orleans, HBO has ordered a second season of the series, the cable network said Tuesday. The speedy renewal was quick, even for Simon, whose previous HBO series, The Wire, was one of the best shows in TV history.

Contrary to earlier published reports, the hijacked U.S.-bound oil tanker Maran Centaurus is carrying about $140 million worth of Saudi crude -- not the $20 million previously claimed -- DailyFinance has learned. Reached in Greece Tuesday, a representative for Maran Tankers Management, the ship's...

With a protracted legal battle against the city of New Orleans, the closure of its Mexico City park due to swine flu fears, and $4.2 billion in debt, Six Flags would seem to be dealing with insurmountable odds. Yet even in the face of rumors of impending bankruptcy, Six Flags is hanging on like...