COVER STORY

What's Your House Really Worth?, by Jeffrey M. O'Brien, page 56

If you haven't heard of Zillow by now, it's probably because you don't own a home.  With 52 million house valuations across the U.S., the site attracts as many as four million visitors a month. In less than a year since launch, the Seattle company has become one of the Internet's biggest real estate destinations. Zillow makes money by selling ads to brokers, banks, contractors, appliance retailers, and anyone else interested in reaching data-obsessed homeowners and -buyers. And now the company is trying to create something even more ambitious: a perfect market for real estate. Mix E*Trade, Craigslist, and the Multiple Listing Service together, and you begin to get the idea.  By giving consumers real-time updates on the value of their homes, Zillow intends to improve the dynamic between homeowners and real estate agents.  “ We're going to change the nature of the communication ,” says Lloyd Frink, President of Zillow.com . “ When real estate agents are talking to clients, it's going to be more of a two-way conversation .”

A Texas Coal Rush, by Marc Gunther, page 70

TXU, a $10.4-billion-a-year energy company based in Dallas, is staking its future on coal—the dirtiest of all fuels used to generate electricity. Last spring the company announced plans to build 11 new coal-fired power plants in Texas at a cost of nearly $1 billion apiece. That has set off a firestorm of opposition.  One environmental group calculated that the new plants would generate 78 million tons of CO 2 each year—more than the emissions of Sweden, Denmark, or Portugal.  But TXU is just getting started. The company says it will soon unveil plans to build another eight to 15 coal-burning plants outside Texas, counting on economies of scale to hold costs down.  “ TXU is becoming the poster child for why we need mandatory federal legislation ,” says Jim Marston, who runs Environmental Defense's Texas operations.  Maybe so, but until the U.S. or Texas regulates greenhouse gases, TXU's big bet on coal looks like a sure thing. John Wilder, TXU's chief executive,  has said that the new plants could generate an additional $700 million in annual profits; in the past four quarters, the company earned $2.4 billion.

Diary of a Mad Businessman , by Nadira A. Hira, Page 76

Tyler Perry, 37, is building a maverick media company by translating “urban theater”— the often melodramatic, revival-style stage plays that tour the country catering to black audiences—into mainstream movies and television shows. It's a niche he has come to dominate so thoroughly that he is able to do things in Hollywood that most others—especially newcomers—simply can't.  In September, Perry opened Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, one of the first movie studios in this country owned by an African American. He made his first two films—2005's Diary of a Mad Black Woman and 2006's Madea's Family Reunion —with Lions Gate Entertainment for a total of just $11 million.  They both opened at No. 1, and together they grossed over $110 million. Since 1998 his 11 touring stage plays have brought in over $150 million. And DVDs of the movies and plays have sold more than 11 million copies .  “ I'll always serve the niche ,” Perry says, “ because they are me. They held me up and walked me through and brought me to this point. But with each film, each play, we're trying to pull it a little higher, and we'll just keep stretching and see how far they're willing to go .”

Sulzberger's Revenge, by Tim Arango, page 23

Arthur Sulzberger Jr. survived the Jayson Blair scandal and Judith Miller's jailing, but as proxy season beckons, the publisher and chairman of the New York Times faces a new challenge. This one is from Hassan Elmasry, a London-based managing director of Morgan Stanley Investment Management who has been trying to incite a shareholder revolt against Sulzberger. Unfortunately for Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Elmasry's campaign is turning into a high-priced headache.  FORTUNE has learned from a New York Times source and others close to the matter that the Ochs-Sulzberger family recently put in a request to pull the majority of its assets from the bank.  (Morgan Stanley had been the longtime custodian of the family's assets, including its stake in the Times company—which, based on recent share prices, is worth close to $640 million.)  For his part, Sulzberger has tried to keep the Morgan Stanley gadfly at arm's length.  Elmasry first raised his gripes in a June 2005 letter, but it wasn't until nine months later, in March 2006, that he got a sit-down with Sulzberger.

Saving the World With a Cup of Yogurt, by Sheridan Prasso, page 96

Along a dirt road in Bangladesh 's green, fertile heartland, 140 miles northwest of Dhaka , workers in flip-flops are hauling bricks, pouring cement, and hammering boards.  The object of their labor: a small yogurt factory being built by Danone, the French food company, on the outskirts of Bogra.  It may not look like much, but the one-story building behind the wrought-iron gate is the epicenter of a Big New Idea—one that Muhammad Yunus, the winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work on microcredit, thinks can revolutionize a world still being transformed by his first big idea.  But microcredit is only half of what Yunus wants to leave as his legacy.  Social business enterprise, he says, is next.  The idea marries the interests of corporations with economic development in a way that has never been tried before.  Companies would draw on microcredit-funded businesses to incorporate nonprofit models into their bottom-line operations, seeking not just revenue but social returns, and returning the profits to the communities where they operate.  “If we can create this,” Yunus says, “the world will be a much better place.”

 

DEPARTMENTS

FIRST The IPO Gets Edgy What's trendy on Wall Street?  Shell “companies” that go public solely to buy an existing brand with shareholders' money.  How to Buy an HDTV Now that prices and technology have stabilized, HD is officially a no-brainer.  So take this guide and pick your set.  DISPATCHES Out of Africa DNA analysis offers black Americans a genetic link to their African ancestors.  FORTUNE's John Simons takes the test.  COLUMNS Media Bubble Heroes to the rescue!  But will NBC's moguls spoil the momentum of this quirky hit?  Q&A: Jim Collins The bestselling author answers our readers' questions about business, leadership—and mountain climbing.  INVESTING Five Bargain Stocks Sophisticated screens, like private market value (PMV) analysis, help us find solid companies selling for much less than they're really worth.  This Club Is Hot Amenities (rock climbing, child care, even water slides) at Life Time Fitness's exercise clubs are attracting members and pumping profits.  A Fresh Take on Tech Nina Hughes is posting great numbers at RiverSource Global Technology.  Here are the stocks she likes now.  ETFs: A User's Guide Do popular exchange-traded funds make sense for you?  Bodies in Motion Manpower is riding the economic growth wave in Europe and the U.S. , helping companies fill jobs quickly with no strings attached.  BUSINESS LIFE Office Space Forget mahogany paneling and dot-com gimmickry.  Here are four spaces that redefine the workplace.  Joy Ride Which cars from the Detroit auto show will go the distance? (Hint: hell-raisers and hybrids.)

 

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