BRUSA's Weekly News Roundup: June 29th Edition

Forbes put together a list of the best US cities for business and careers. Top of the list? Provo, Utah, believe it or not… – Forbes

The real estate market isn’t exactly booming, but demand for new US homes rose more than forecast and mortgage rates dropped in May. – Bloomberg

New research shows that most Americans don’t have enough money saved for emergencies. What’s worse: more than one-in-four Americans don’t even have a penny saved. – CNN

The final steel beam was placed on New York’s new World Trade Center this week. The skyscraper, the first to be placed on the site since 9/11, will open next year. – Associated Press

Morgan Stanley downgraded Research In Motion stock, citing the BlackBerry manufacturer’s “rapidly deteriorating fundamentals.” – Bloomberg

A server at a Chilli’s restaurant in California was fired after posting an angry rant about bad tippers on her personal Facebook page. – Huffington Post

Microsoft purchased online social network firm Yammer for $1.2 billion cash, opening up an opportunity to launch a Facebook-esque corporate social network. – MSNBC

Victims of Bernie Madoff’s infamous investment scam will be awarded a $405 million settlement. – MSNBC

Comic Louis C.K. made a remarkable move to sell tickets to his upcoming standup tour on his own website, sans extraneous ticketing fees, at one fixed price. – Wall Street Journal

Google scientists created a computer simulation of the human brain. The Google neural network taught itself to recognize cats on YouTube. – NY Times

Travel site Orbitz.com has implemented an online tracking system to offer Mac computer users more expensive travel options than those normally offered to PC users. – Wall Street Journal

T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm has left the company. COO Jim Alling will take over Humm’s duties until another CEO is appointed. – Reuters

For the first time in 13 years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved an anti-obesity weight loss drug, called Belviq. – Time

Google’s new Chrome browser for Apple’s iOS became available for download late yesterday and is already the top free app for both the iPad and the iPhone. – CNET

A forecast shows that President Obama is still on track for electoral victory in November, but his lead is narrowing and may shift if the economy doesn’t improve. – CNN