Stacey Vanek Smith

Reporter, Marketplace

SHORT BIO

Stacey Vanek Smith is a former senior reporter for Marketplace.

Latest Stories (1,140)

Avatar's success is in the marketing

Dec 18, 2009
Avatar opens today with what some estimate to be a budget of half a billion dollars -- with $150 million going to marketing alone. With that kind of push, some experts guarantee a mega-opening. Jennifer Collins reports.
Characters from Avatar
avatarmovie.com

How will Tiger's scandal impact brands?

Dec 14, 2009
The Tiger Woods scandal has hurt his billion-dollar brand. Companies from Nike to Gillette have invested big in Tiger. Where do they go from here? Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
A Nike Golf display featuring Tiger Woods is shown at a golf shop in Orlando, Fla.
Getty Images

Employee benefits start to come back

Dec 11, 2009
This time last year, companies laid off millions of people and a lot of workers saw their benefits dry up. Now some companies are resurrecting the benefits they scrapped a year ago. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
A FedEx employee delivers packages in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Imagesfe

AT&T to iPhone users: Cut back on data!

Dec 10, 2009
Many people who use iPhones in dense cities like New York or San Francisco have experienced dropped calls. So AT&T has a plan to tackle the problem. You could call it the pretty-please approach to customer service. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
A man displays his iPhone
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

AOL hopes relaunch hits the right spot

Dec 9, 2009
Nearly a decade after merging with Time Warner, AOL is spinning off and relaunching its stock and Web site. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports on how the company plans to get back on the radar.
A screen shot from AOL's relaunch
Courtesy of AOL

OMG, you're still using AOL for e-mail?

Dec 9, 2009
Like the brand of shirt you wear, your preferred e-mail address can send a message about who you are. Stacey Vanek-Smith explores why many of her friends and colleagues recently started switching e-mail accounts.
AOL sign
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

TARP money could reduce the deficit

Dec 7, 2009
A lot of the money that was slated for TARP now is probably going to go to funding job creation. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks with Senator Judd Gregg from New Hampshire, who explains why the money would be better used paying off the national debt.

Alaska: Did we get what we paid for?

Dec 7, 2009
The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for about $7 million, or 2 cents an acre. But Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to Professor David Barker of the University of Iowa about why it wasn't such a good deal in the long run.
A map of Alaska
wwp.greenwichmeantime.com

What a bad holiday means for retailers

Dec 4, 2009
The latest consumer-spending numbers have been pretty dismal, which is bad news considering retailers make nearly half their money this time of year. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
An after-Christmas sale sign on Broadway in New York City. Deep discounts were being offered nationwide by retailers on the day after Christmas during a holiday season that has been slower than expected.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Retailers tie holiday shopping to giving

Dec 2, 2009
Even though a lot of people are spending less this year, the holidays will go on and gifts will be bought. So retailers and charities are teaming up to make shopping itself a gift that gives more than once. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
A customer coming out of a Wal-Mart store donates to the Salvation Army as a bell ringer watches.
David McNew/Getty Images