GOOD DAY FOR: Buying that new toy, as companies like TechForward Inc. and NEW Corp. are starting to offer programs to buy back or recycle your old gadgets. TechForward will agree to buy back your iPod, say, for a predetermined price, if you pay a $9 fee up front. “We’ve got the green contingent in the company screaming for this solution,” said NEW’s Dan Hulkower. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

BAD DAY FOR: Landlords, as median rent prices were essentially flat in 2007, rising just 0.5 percent to $1,465 a month, according to a sampling of 10 metro areas from Investment Instruments Corp.’s Rentometer. The stagnation is attributed to excess housing inventory as people are unable to “flip” investment properties. Residential rents in Atlanta and Houston dropped 12.8 percent last year. (CNNMoney.com)