Challenges In The News 10/28/08

Sen. Norm Coleman (R., Minn.), who faces a challenge from comedian Al Franken this fall, kept the Stevens donation; his campaign manager said they believe in a justice system in which people are “innocent until proven guilty.”

“To me, it is so much more than just a game,” she says. “I can’t control everything. What I can do is challenge myself to do everything possible to be successful. That’s what I try to do every day.”

He was never challenged when he rolled through his Hambletonian elimination in 1:52-3/5 seconds last Saturday night at the Meadowlands. “You can drive him with two fingers,” says trainer-driver Raymond Schnittker.

“At some point, someone’s going to see what’s going on here and organize players to challenge it.”

The initiative that matters most is squeezing more money from Yahoo’s bread-and-butter display-ad business. The goal: to raise the prices advertisers pay for display ads on its main sites and – what’s more of a challenge – all the lesser-known pages that typically attract little interest from advertisers, such as individual users’ Yahoo Mail “in” boxes and Yahoo user forum pages.

Exxon Rides High on Profit, Loses Ground on Output: Higher Prices Drive 14% Earnings Riose; Shell Net Leaps 33%. Major oil companies face challenges to increasing their oil and natural-gas production as their existing fields mature and oil-producing countries become more restrictive about access to their oil.

“Clearly we are operating in challenging economic times, and some of the markets are deteriorating generally ... we will develop our strategies going forward over the next couple of months.”

Hu Defends China’s Actions in Rare Address to Media. Chinese President Hu Jintao, making an extremely rare direct address to the foreign media, defended his government’s preparations for the coming Olympic Games in Beijing and pledged to continue reform policies despite increasing economic challenges. “China’s domestic economy is facing increasing challenges and difficulties.”

Politicans, of course, have seen their chances written off before. Less than a year ago, Mr. Brown’s Conservative Party rival, David Cameron, was reported to be facing a challenge to his party leadership. Mr. Brown, meanwhile, was enjoying a burst of early popularity for his handling of a flood and other crises.

Those skills also come in handy in the corporate setting. Miller has navigated some of the media world’s most complex and difficult business challenges.

“The challenge” with a credit card, says Chris Allen, a director at Hitachi Consulting, is that “you have to make sure you have enough money to pay it back.” There’s also another option: “If you’re really worried about (overdraft fees), then use cash.”