Magna Cum Fraud: Top Schools for Scoundrels

Harvard, Princeton top universities list

(NEWSER) - US News and World Report has released its latest college rankings, and it’s full of the usual suspects, with Harvard, Princeton, and Yale topping the list; not much has changed since last year . Among liberal arts colleges , Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore lead the pack. The magazine also presents its best universities in the world : The UK is on top, with Cambridge at No. 1, followed by Harvard and Yale (don’t ask us why Yale beats Princeton worldwide but not nationally). More»

Liberty Media boss Gregory Maffei rakes in $87.1M

(NEWSER) - Last year was a tough one—but the nation’s top-earning CEOs had little to complain about when it came to pay. The Wall Street Journal lists the bosses with the highest direct compensation at companies whose annual revenue broke $4 billion for the year ending Sept. 30, 2010:

1. Gregory Maffei, Liberty Media, $87.1 million
2. Lawrence Ellison, Oracle, $68.6 million
3. Ray Irani, Occidental Petroleum, $52.2 million
4. Carol Bartz, Yahoo, $44.6 million

Execs may land in court for disguising bad investments

(NEWSER) - Lehman Brothers tried to buy itself time by manipulating accounting gimmicks to disguise its bad investments, according to a court-ordered report on the firm's demise. The exhaustive, 2,200 page report found that execs, including former CEO Richard Fuld, could be held legally liable for the "materially misleading" attempt to disguise the state of its finances ahead of its collapse in 2008, the Guardian reports. More»

Best spots to raise kids boast good schools, low crime

(NEWSER) - BusinessWeek has combed the US for the best places to raise a family and has come up with a Chicago suburb to top the rankings again. The rest of the list, based on factors that include education, crime rate, cultural vitality, and air quality, is broken down by state. A sampling:

• Tinley Park, Ill.: Takes the top spot for its "top-rated schools, low crime, beautiful parks, relatively affordable houses, and easy access to jobs."
• Arcadia, Calif.: The Los Angeles suburb is a back-to-back winner for its "low crime and excellent schools" as well as "a number of peacocks that hang out in the neighborhood near the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Garden."

From private jets to bodyguards, they just keep taking

(NEWSER) - The CEOs of bailed-out banks and financial companies saw their perks and benefits—ranging from private jet use and country club membership to free parking and bodyguards—rise even at the height of the crisis last year. On average, the CEOs of the 29 biggest companies that received federal money got $380,000 worth of perks in 2008, and for half of them, that was an increase over the year before. Meanwhile, non-financial CEOs had their perks cut by 7%. More»