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Wall St. Finds Profits Again, Now by Reducing Mortgages
By LOUISE STORY
Investment funds are buying mortgages, trimming some of them to the benefit of homeowners, and shifting any risk to the federal government.
Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times
Ken Mayer, an engineer at Ford, in a simulator used to monitor drivers distracted by cellphones.
Which is safer: technology that disables a cellphone in a moving car, or that makes the conversation completely hands-free?
Graphic: Making Money From a Pool of Mortgages
Best Soup Ever? Suits Over Ads Demand Proof
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Companies that were once content to fight in store aisles and on commercials are choosing a different route — formal grievances challenging their competitors’ claims.
Video: Advertising Foes Meet in Court
Go Ahead and Yell. He’s Everyone’s Punching Bag.
By DEVIN LEONARD
Day in, day out, Norman Radow deals with the unpleasantries of the real estate mess. He works for lenders to revive developments gone awry.
At a Software Powerhouse, the Good Life Is Under Siege
By STEVE LOHR
SAS, the giant private company that specializes in business intelligence software, is facing new rivals, as well as free alternatives to some of its products.
Slide Show: At SAS, Taking Care of Employees Is Good Business
Glenn Beck Stakes Out a More Activist Role in Politics
By BRIAN STELTER
The conservative firebrand Glenn Beck is planning voter registration drives and rallies, but he is cautious about how he might directly support particular candidates.
The Forest, the Trees and Your Portfolio
By JEFF SOMMER
Many investors take wrong turns because they are swayed by emotion and assume that recent performance will predict the future.
The Haggler
The Great Unknowns of Credit Card Bills
By DAVID SEGAL
The Haggler confronts card issuers over his own unmarked bill and a reader’s unexpected finance charge.
Ping
A Friend’s Tweet Could Be an Ad
By BRAD STONE
A group of start-up marketers see value in getting regular people to send a sentence or two of text to their friends and admirers.
Economic View
What if a Recovery Is All in Your Head?
By ROBERT J. SHILLER
There may be credibility in the idea that rebounds from recessions are attributable mainly to public psychology.
Novelties
From the Lab, a New Weapon Against Cholesterol
By ANNE EISENBERG
Tiny particles containing gold and other metals may someday help keep cholesterol from building up in blood vessels.
Business Headlines
Scene Stealer: Ad Budget Tight? Call the P.R. Machine
The Count: When a Coin Doesn’t Pull Its Own Weight
Career Couch: Expecting a Baby, but Not the Stereotypes
The Boss: The Business Must Go On
Square Feet | The 30-Minute Interview: K. Thomas Elghanayan
Open & Shut: Chronicle of a Changing City
Letters: A Break for Builders
Letters: Examining Doctors’ Pay
From the Magazine and Week in Review
Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?
By ANDREW RICE
Fearing food shortages, investors from wealthy countries are snapping up land in poor countries to grow food there. Is this development or exploitation?
Wall Street’s Spin Game
By GRAHAM BOWLEY
Big profits are back, and we’re about to learn what happens when the banks try to make nice with the public. It’ll be no bed of roses.
More Multimedia
Video: Distracted Drivers
Most people are aware of the dangers of trying to multitask while driving, but most continue to do it anyway.
Interactive Feature: C.E.O. Compensation: The Pay at the Top
A look at 2008 compensation for chief executives at 198 major companies.
Interactive Feature: A Timeline of the Madoff Fraud
Key dates in the Ponzi scheme and case of Bernard L. Madoff.
Interactive Graphic: The Jobless Rate for People Like You
Not all groups have felt the recession equally.
Interactive Map: Geography of a Recession
Updated: A map of unemployment rates across the United States, now through May.
Interactive Feature: How the Government Dealt With Past Recessions
Since the Great Depression, presidents have tried many methods to fight recessions. Three economists explain what worked and what didn’t.
Interactive Feature: Milestones in the Carmakers’ Crisis
Major events in the automakers’ decline and rescue efforts.
Interactive Feature: G.M.’s Road From Prosperity to Crisis
Major events in the history of General Motors.
Weekend Business
This week: Jeff Sommer with David Barboza on U.S.-China economic relations; Tim O’Brien and Devin Leonard on distressed real estate; David Segal on credit card hassles; Stephanie Rosenbloom on retail sales; and investors who buy high and sell low.
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Today's Columnist
Fair Game
Revisiting a Fed Waltz With A.I.G.
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
A government report on the bailout of A.I.G. is must reading for taxpayers looking to know why the $182 billion “rescue†is the most troubling episode of the financial disaster.
Corner Office
68 Rules? No, Just 3 Are Enough
William D. Green, the chairman and chief executive of Accenture, says it is crucial for new managers to exude competence, confidence and caring.
Special Section
Business of Green
Storm Over the Chamber
By JOHN M. BRODER
Debate has flared in the United States Chamber of Commerce over climate legislation.
Costly Free Credit Reports
Federal law guarantees free credit reports each year, but many consumers who got theirs from FreeCreditReport.com unintentionally paid for an expensive credit monitoring service.
Times Topics in Business
Credit Crisis — The Essentials
A continuously updated summary of credit crisis developments.
- More From Times Topics:
- Economic Stimulus »
- Bailout Plan »
- Automotive Industry Crisis »
A new blog about what changes in the health care system might mean for Americans.
BofA’s Ideal Chief: The One Who Is Leaving?
Richard X. Bove, the outspoken bank analyst, believes the best person to lead Bank of America is Kenneth D. Lewis, the current chief, who plans to leave the bank.
Citi’s EMI burden may not be so painful
November 19, 2009
Cazenove puts bygone UK brokers to shame
November 19, 2009
Available: the best job in financial services
November 18, 2009
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