Financial Innovations

Wall St. Said to Finance Dinallo for Attorney General - NYTimes.com

The onetime lieutenant of Eliot Spitzer is now being backed by financiers as the next attorney general of New York, The Financial Times reports, citing an analysis of campaign contributions.

State finance director says contractor has right to public office ...

MONTGOMERY - A private contractor who uses a state office and public resources does so under the terms of her contract, acting state Finance Director Bill Newton said today.

Ignore Your Personal Finance Guru

This couple that I'm friends with related an interesting story to me the other day. They decided that their current bank no longer suited their needs and it.

Grice withdraws campaign finance complaint against Buck « Colorado ...

Charles “Rick” Grice, the man who translated long rumors into print by filing a campaign finance complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck, withdrew that complaint Monday. ...

Friday Finance Findings for September 3rd

It's been a while since posting a roundup of great finance links, but things have been pretty busy around here. Between trying to get the new website design.

Wind, rain from Hurricane Earl arrive in N.Y., New England

Hurricane Earl held on to its Category 1 status as it spread wind and rain over Long Island and southeastern New England. The storm weakened during the day.

Powerful quake strikes New Zealand

A powerful predawn earthquake hit New Zealand, causing water mains to break and some buildings to crumble, though there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Mistrial in soap star's marriage case

The sham marriage trial of actress Fernanda Romero, which the judge has likened to a soap opera, appeared threatened with a mistrial Friday after a dramatic turn a day earlier.

Feds bust huge human-trafficking ring

Six job recruiters have been indicted in federal court in what the FBI has called the largest human-trafficking operation ever to result in charges in the United States.

UPS plane crashes near Dubai, kills 2

A cargo plane has crashed in an uninhabited area near the Dubai airport, according to the official WAM news agency in the United Arab Emirates.

Obama's economy boost - just don't call it stimulus

President Obama is pledging to propose a new package of job-boosting ideas next week -- just don't call it stimulus.

Dollar slips on return to risk

As better-than-expected economic data boosted investor morale this week, the greenback lost some of its luster, falling against a basket of currencies.

Where the jobs are now, and where they'll be next

U.S. companies modestly added jobs in August, easing concerns that the nation might slip back into a recession. The latest jobs report released by the Labor Department today is better than expected. Employment in the private sector rose by 67,000 payrolls, after a revised 107,000 increase in July that was more than originally estimated. The report immediately sent stocks rallying, despite the fact that overall employment dropped and the unemployment rate climbed to 9.6% from 9.5%, as more people actively searched for jobs.

What went wrong at Burger King

It's not yet clear what Burger King's new owner, the Brazilian-backed private equity firm 3G Capital, has in mind for the troubled No. 2 fast-food chain. But a total strategic revamp is in order.

Dow back in the black for 2010

Stocks closed near session highs Friday, with the Dow erasing its losses for the year, as investors welcomed a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market.

Bake Sale Murder

List Price: $5.59Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life just hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy's lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat... (read more)

The Grand Design

List Price: $28.00Price: $15.12You Save: $12.88 (46%)1 used & new from $15.12Stephen Hawking on The Grand Design How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? Over twenty years ago I wrote A Brief History of Time, to try to explain where the universe came from, and where it is going. But that book left some important questions unanswered. Why is there a universe--why is(read more)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name(read more)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

List Price: $27.95Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2010 As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. A familiar evil (read more)

The Girl Who Played with Fire

List Price: $15.95Amazon Best of the Month, July 2009: The girl with the dragon tattoo is back. Stieg Larsson's seething heroine, Lisbeth Salander, once again finds herself paired with journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the trail of a sinister criminal enterprise. Only this time, Lisbeth must return to the darkness of her own past (more specifically, an event coldly known as "All the Evil") if she is to stay one step ahead--and alive. The Girl Who Played with Fire is a break-out-in-a-cold-swea(read more)