The phrase "a cold business" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a situation or environment that is emotionally detached or lacks warmth, often in a professional context.
Example: "In the world of finance, it can often feel like a cold business where personal relationships take a backseat to profit margins."
Alternatives: "a ruthless industry" or "an unfeeling enterprise".
When someone sells their home, it is not always just a cold business transaction.
"The day you lose sight of the fact that this is a cold business -- which it is -- and it doesn't matter to you, it's wrong, because this is huge to these guys," said Giants Coach Jim Fassel, who is responsible for making the cuts.
Still, it was a cold business transaction that shook many of Slauson's teammates and raised questions going forward.
I figured it'd be best if she got the bad news from me, a comforting friend, rather than through a cold business call.
"Deciding on a subject is mostly a cold-blooded business of weighing the subject against potential markets, timeliness, the availability of material, and the likelihood of getting the story, the kinds of factors publishers have to worry about," she explains.
Clemens was treated like hired help at Yankee Stadium: appropriate applause when he won, vociferous boos when he struggled, a simple and cold business arrangement.
That the law allows people walk away in your situation, that the market sells private mortgage insurance for such situations (and lenders often require that you buy it) and that some states have rules limiting the lender's recovery to only the value of the home it issued a mortgage on all suggest that that a cold-blooded business decision to walk away is legal and reasonable.
Ken Berger writes on CBSSports.com that what James did was explode the last of the myth that this is anything but a cold-blooded business.
He should start by telling them that for all the giddiness of draft weekend, professional football can be a cold-blooded business.
"Business is business, a cold and calculating business, cutthroat at times, and there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it.
Inevitably, a warm afterglow gives way to cold business.
