Blog Posts by CNBC

By Colleen Kane, CNBC.com

The less than down-to-earth celebrities out there have been known to surround themselves with helpers, minions, a posse, and/or "yes men." These can be official employees, friends, or a combination of both.

Some obvious entourage functions include personal assistant, bodyguard, driver, child-care provider, chef, and trainer. A newer task for aspiring hangers-on is social media specialist - someone to ghost-tweet the superstar's comings and goings.

As you'll see in the following examples, members of an entourage can be essential, or they can be exploitative. The 10 entourage examples start with a king's relatively reasonable gang of associates and work up into the celebrity stratosphere with a lady, a prince, a queen, and concluding with one celebrity who is said to act like the biggest diva of them all. Where possible, we've provided an idea of these special crew members' earnings or compensation.

See the full list of 10 Odd Celebrity Entourage Jobs

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By Paul Toscano, CNBC.com

From its first issue featuring Marilyn Monroe, Playboy magazine has sought well-known women to pose on its pages, a strategy that has made it one of the most iconic American magazines in history.

Securing some of the world's most recognizable sex symbols to pose for photo shoots has been a key strategy of Playboy,allowing it to sell millions of copies - sometimes with the allure of a single model. Many of the most in-demand women are also reluctant to appear in the magazine, however, leading Playboy to make big offers - some reportedly in excess of $1 million - to encourage well-known celebrities to pose for featured spreads.

When contacted, Playboy would not comment on offers made to prospective celebrity models, but many have confirmed through news outlets and celebrity publications that they have been offered large sums to appear in the magazine.

So, which celebrities have reportedly been offered huge sums to appear in Playboy?


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By Antonia van de Velde, CNBC.com

Takeaway Gems
Indian jewelry retailer Gitanjali has launched the world's first gold and diamond ATM machine, adding the gems to its offering of precious metals vending machines as it seeks to capitalize on the craze for jewelry in India.

Gitanjali Launches India's first Gold and Diamond ATM at Mumbai Machine to dispense coins, bars and jewelry. The first ATM, inaugurated in Mumbai by two Bollywood stars, will dispense gold and silver bars, coins, and pendants with religious motifs as well as a range of diamond-studded jewelry.

"The machine is a first of its kind anywhere in the world and will further revolutionize the processes by which precious metals and jewelry is bought," Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO, Gitanjali Export Corporation said in a statement.

Customers at the ATM will be able to choose from options displayed on a touch screen. They will then be able to make payments using a credit or debit card or cash, Gitanjali, which also cuts, polishes and distributes diamonds, said.


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By Antonya Allen, CNBC.com

Impressive European Hotels

With the euro zone in crisis and the U.S. economy sluggish at best, luxury breaks in some of the world's best hotels might not be at the top of everyone's priority list, but premium hotels are doing surprisingly well, according to research by American Express Business Insights.

Looking at hotel sector trends in Europe from the 2008 downturn to the first quarter of 2011, Sujata Bhatia, vice president of AMEX Business Insights for Europe and Asia, found that luxury accommodation is rebounding more quickly than premium or mid-range hotels, and visitors from the U.S. and BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - are driving the growth.

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"Luxury spending is back," Bhatia said. "If you talk to people in the industry, they're really starting to feel that there are a lot of people from outside Europe coming in and

By Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC.com

The limited-edition Barbie from Tokidoki has several tattoos on her body. Source: Mattel

It's time to cue the Barbie outrage.

Let's face it, Barbie likes buzz and she's gotten herself into another media frenzy just in time for the holidays.

No doubt, there are plenty of people who will object to the doll, but this is not a mainstream Barbie product intended for young girls. The $50 doll is being marketed to adult collectors. Only 7,400 were made and, according to the Tokidoki Website, they are all sold out.

Tattooed Barbie Causing Media Frenzy

The doll is Mattel's latest in a series of dolls it has done with designers over the years. Other examples on the Barbie Collector website include the Countess Dracula doll designed by Bob Mackie, the Bob Mackie Circus doll and a Barbie dressed in a catsuit

By Jesse Bergman and Gennine Kelly, CNBC.com

Setting the Internet A' Twitter

Twitter, the micro-blogging site started in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, sees roughly 5 billion tweets every month, according to the company.

It's a social circle that has advertisers giddy with possibility, sparking talk of sky-high valuations on Wall Street and in secondary market circles.

What makes Twitter so popular is simple: people tweeting.



So what makes a moment worth tweeting about? The most tweeted moment in recent memory occurred earlier this month, when Apple Chairman and cultural icon Steve Jobs passed away. The site experienced traffic of more than 6,000 tweets per second, causing many users to notice system delays and slowness.

Even so, such a news-making event, especially within social networking circles, was not the most tweeted moment of all time. So what was?

The following is the top 5 most recent record-breaking moments on Twitter, as measured in tweets per second.

Check out the full list of the

By Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC.com

Halloween dates back to Celtic celebrations in the 5th century BC, but the tradition of handing out treats has a shorter history. Most likely it originated with the "All Souls' Day" parades in England, where poor citizens would beg for food and families would hand out pastries called "soul cakes" in return for prayers for their dead relatives.

Today, kids are more likely to receive a bite-sized chocolate candy - that's the most popular treat for Halloween, according to the trade group the National Confectioners Association (NCA).



Overall, Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.86 billion this year, according to research from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Only part of that total will be spent on candy, with consumers spending about $21.05 each on treats. That's a bit higher than last year's average, when consumers spent about $20.29 each on treats.

Still, it is enough to make Halloween the biggest candy holiday of the year, with

By Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC.com


Merry Christmas to me!


Holiday shoppers plan to take advantage of the discounts that come along with the Christmas holiday season to stock up on items for themselves, according to the findings a new survey.
Holiday shoppers plan to spend less on holiday gifts and seasonal merchandise this year - about $704 per person, compared to $719 last year. But they will spend more money on non-gift items for themselves and their family, according to the findings of a survey conducted by BigResearch on behalf of retail industry trade group, the National Retail Federation.
The average person will spend about $130.43 on such items this holiday season, that's up from $112.20 in 2010.
This trend speaks to the desire consumers have to stretch their money in this tough economy, where unemployment remains high and income stagnant. Consumers know the deals are coming, and they want to take advantage of them.
It is also in keeping with the NRF's holiday forecast,