In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday withdrew its plan to end Saturday mail delivery, arguing that it's prohibited under the stopgap budget Congress passed recently, according to the Washington Post.

Some businesses, such as banks and insurance companies, that need to keep customers informed, postal unions and members of Congress opposed the move, which was proposed in February and was expected to save the cash-strapped USPS $2 billion annually. Parcel service would not have been affected.

The postal service's board of governors decided Tuesday to change course because Congress left it no other choice, according to the paper. 

A case study in disaster recovery is playing out before our eyes as Carnival (CCL) takes aggressive action to woo consumers who might have been put off by pictures of and reports about the infamous Triumph "poop cruise."

The company is offering a Caribbean cruise at bargain-basement rates, offering berths for as little as $38 a night, Bloomberg reports. The lowest nightly rate at the Motel 6 budget chain is $39.99. 

The big question for Carnival and its investors is whether the cut-rate prices will help persuade vacationers to return. Early signs point to some success with the strategy, with chief executive Micky Arison noting on March 15 that "attractive pricing promotions" were helping to spur bookings. Carnival declined to comment on its pricing, Bloomberg notes. 

 

Social Security might be viewed as one of working Americans' unassailable rights, but President Barack Obama's new proposal is taking aim at how those payments are doled out. 

Under his budget proposal, released Wednesday, Social Security benefits  would shrink by having their annual cost-of-living adjustments linked to the chained CPI, a version of the consumer price index that's used as a way to keep federal benefits on track with inflation. 

But the chained CPI grows more slowly than the calculation that's currently used, according to AARP.

In effect, the change to a chained-CPI adjustment would serve as "a stealth tax on the middle class and a cut in benefits for Grandma," according to Business Insider.

 

CEOs are generally given a pretty long leash when they start a new job. But when they start to choke themselves with said leash, companies react quickly.

Such was the case with Ron Johnson of J.C. Penney (JCP), who stepped down Monday after his board turned on him. Johnson was only on the job for about 18 months, and the fact that he lost the gig so quickly means that either the board lost patience unusually fast or that Johnson simply went about it all wrong.

It was probably both.

Johnson had a pretty good plan. But it was the way he executed that plan that seemed to imperil him. With the clearer vision that hindsight usually provides, here's a look at Johnson's five biggest mistakes at J.C. Penney: 

When we last checked in on housing prices, the median price of an existing home had risen by 11.6% in February from last year to $173,000, while the median price of a new home had jumped by 3% to $246,800.

Are housing prices rising too fast?

Not really. While Americans were told throughout the housing crisis that a glut of homes on the market would keep things cheap for a long time, the number of existing homes available now has shrunk to a 4.7-month supply and new homes to a 4.4-month supply. The ideal balance between supply and demand is a six-month stockpile, so the market is now looking at a slight housing shortage.

 

Think your home theater setup is pretty sweet? Then you might get a bit jealous or even upset when you hear about the latest, high-price perk the ultra-rich are getting for their insanely palatial viewing chambers: first-run movies.

The Hollywood Reporter says a relatively new company called Prima Cinema is offering a just-released film service to anyone with a home theater and the financial wherewithal to pay for it. According to the newspaper, Prima charges $35,000 "for a special digital box that allows films to be delivered safely over the Internet, then $500 for each title (a movie can only be viewed once over the course of a 24-hour period)."

 

Prima was set up in 2010 and began its service last year. It's backed by Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast (CMCSA), Syncom Venture Partners and the investment arm of Best Buy (BBY).

 

So, what is America great at exporting these days?

 

Cars? Toyota (TM) just reclaimed its No. 1 spot in global sales from General Motors (GM). Beer? That assumes MolsonCoors (TAP) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) don't have headquarters in Canada and Belgium. Gadgets? Please.

 

Fortunately, the rest of the world still wants our cash, and the higher the denomination the better. Former Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration staffer Bruce Bartlett points out on The New York Times' Economix blog that a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco says U.S. cash is not only flourishing against global competition but thriving in the world market.

 

Currently, 42% more cash is in circulation than five years ago, and the dollar's anonymity is a big reason why.

 

Well, young American workforce, there's no way of putting this nicely: You're hosed.

 

According to public policy organization Demos, about 45% of the nation's unemployed are between 18 and 34. That's 5.6 million young people who don’t have a job, not to mention 4.7 million more who are underemployed or working in jobs for which they're overqualified.

Even if you do manage to find some kind of gainful employment, don't plan on sticking around very long. A Labor Department study found that the average 25-year-old has already worked 6.3 jobs since he or she turned 18. That's beating mom and dad's pace, as the same study found that young baby boomers between 50 and 55 worked 5.5 jobs by the time they hit 25.

The news isn't getting better anytime soon, either.