As Hurricane Sandy moves towards the coast of the New Jersey Shore, we can’t overlook the tragedy that will inevitably occur. For some, it will be the loss of loved ones, and for others, irreplaceable possessions. For the region, the micro-economic losses can be devastating.

Although it’s a big range at the moment, experts are estimating damages will be anywhere from $2 to $100 billion. While the storm persists, we could be losing out on $10 billion per day thanks to closures of businesses, transportation hubs, schools and other businesses vital to local economies. The cancellation of flights also means that tourism and other businesses will likely be impacted for the near term.

However, some are slightly more optimistic about the storm, noting that more will be spent on supplies and hardware as people prepare to wait out the worst storm to hit the U.S. since Irene, which also did its fair share of damage.

Not that I’m a pessimist, but I can’t see how the people affected would be spending on anything other than the essentials during this time. One analyst rightfully noted that paying for repairs could potentially take out a huge bite of a family’s holiday spending money, which could further dampen the economy.

People just love comparing the best of the best, and I’m really no different when it comes to tech giants like Samsung vs. Apple. For a while now, Apple has been the darling of the tech sector and perhaps even the U.S., but rival electronics manufacturer Samsung isn’t about to let anyone get in the way of its rise to the top.

So who had a bigger Q3 in 2012? It’s actually a lot closer of a fight than you might think.

Apple Wins the Battle, But Samsung Poised to Win the War

In the most recent quarter, Samsung posted a ginormous $7.4 billion in profit! To give you context, they’re up about 91% compared to the same period last year. Wow, talk about making a huge splash.

Most of Samsung’s growth comes from mobile devices, which accounts for roughly half of its revenue. So how much did it pull in total? Try $47.5 billion, on the strength of its Galaxy and note sales. With the Samsung Galaxy SIII already a strong performer and the Note 2 debuting later this month, the company is poised to do some serious challenging to Apple’s crown in the holiday season.

Ouch, that’s gotta hurt. Zynga reportedly just fired 100 people (5% of its workforce) during the Apple iPad Mini event to avoid bad press. Those fired were allegedly given 2 hours to clear out their desks.

I would say it’s poor form, but Zynga CEO Mark Pincus did a good job with his internal memo to his entire staff. He was both realistic and calm about the company’s future, although anyone on the outside can see the writing is on the wall for the social gaming giant. It’s understandable that the company didn’t want a huge negative press campaign about it laying off workers, but it was still badly timed.

Here’s a link to the official memo obtained by Business Insider.

Team,
Earlier today we initiated a number of changes to streamline our operations, focus our resources on our most strategic opportunities, and invest in our future. We waited to share this news with all of you until we had first spoken with the groups impacted.

As part of these changes, we’ve had to make some tough decisions around products, teams and people. I want to fill you in on what’s happened and address any concerns you may have.
Here are the most important details.

Well that’s not entirely accurate, but thanks to the Great Recession, Americans are going to buy fewer NEW cars over our lifetime. Whether we are spending less on accessories and other expenses for our cars in general is yet to be seen.

As a personal finance site, there’s little that frustrates us more than people who are still going out and buying brand new vehicles when you can let some other sucker take the initial depreciation hit. However, the recession has made sure that on the whole we’re spending less than ever on new cars whether we want to or not. According to automotive research firm Polk, Americans are buying about 9.4 new cars by the time they’re 76 years old compared to 13 new cars before the recession hit. That’s about 4 fewer new cars by the time we kick the bucket.

Reasons for Delayed Car Purchases

There are a number of reasons people are delaying new car purchases. For one, cars are a luxury and you really don’t need a new one ever 3 or 4 years. Cars today are built to last much longer than they ever have in the past, where people were replacing older models out of necessity rather than for image reasons. Sounds silly, but it’s true – America really does have an obsession with cars.

How many millionaires does the U.S. currently have? It’s hard to say exactly, but studies put the number at 11 million today. Despite the horrible economy, it seems like we’ll be adding a healthy 5 million more members to the millionaire’s club by 2017.

According to Credit Suisse, they expect the number to be at 16.9 million people, as defined as individuals whose net worth is valued at a million after accounting for debts and other liabilities. Not bad at all. This represents a 53% growth from today.

America’s Millionaires vs. the World

Globally, the U.S. will still carry an impressive number of millionaires by 2017, when an estimated 46 million people will reach that mark. Even if Asia’s millionaire population grows by 70% over the next 5 years, America will still have 50% more on their side. Now that’s some impressive wealth accumulation.

America is expected to stay the number one producer of millionaires in the world, but how long it retains that title, no one knows. In related news, Credit Suisse admits that there are many unknowns in its study. Translation: they made this whole thing up, but it sure sounds good!

Social Media games maker Zynga saw its stock price drop as low as $3 today after debuting at $10 just last December. The stock closed today at $5, leaving many doubting the long-term sustainability of the company.

Social giant Facebook generates as much as 15% of its revenue from Zynga, causing its stock to get dragged down as well.

Zynga is reporting a net loss of $22.8 million for the quarter compared to a net profit of $1.4 million in the same period last year. CEO Mark Pincus now has a controlling stake in the company with ownership of 50.15 percent.

Despite a 23% growth of active users (to 72 million), the company is generating less revenue per customer. Some analysts are calling the games maker a fad, with fierce competition growing from mobile apps. Zynga focuses primarily on web-based applications and receives much of its traffic through Facebook.

The company recently offered a Zynga credit card for fans who could redeem points for virtual goods.