Feat beats Clinton, but UN wonders if he's doing his peace job

Times (UK) Oct 29, 08 2:05 PM CDT
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Tony Blair took in around $20 million since stepping aside as British PM last October, the Times of London reports, six times what he’d made in his entire life and more than double Bill Clinton’s take in his first year out of office. Some at the UN have questioned whether Blair is spending enough time in his unpaid role as Middle East peace envoy, however.
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MARKETS
3-day streak of gains broken on weak computer profits, lower income figures

MarketWatch Aug 29, 08 3:24 PM CDT
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Stocks lost value today on disappointing second-quarter earnings from computer maker Dell and news of declining personal incomes, MarketWatch reports. Trading remained light ahead of the Labor Day weekend as the Dow lost 171.22 to close at 11,543.96. The Nasdaq dropped 44.12, to 2,367.52, while the S&P 500 fell 17.85 to settle at 1,282.83.
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Shrek, Kutcher pic helped bring in $50M

Forbes Aug 12, 08 10:17 AM CDT
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Hollywood's leading ladies earn big bucks for delivering box office gold, and rake in even more with lucrative product endorsements. Together, the top 10 best-paid actresses made more than $244 million in the last 12 months, reports Forbes . Here's how the stars stack up: Cameron Diaz, $50 million Keira Knightley, $32 million Jennifer Aniston, $27 million
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Marriage has physical, emotional and financial benefits
Macleans Aug 3, 08 6:55 PM CDT
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If you're considering getting married—or divorced—it may be time to mull over Maclean's reasons why matrimony is healthy: Married people have less chance of dying from car accidents, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, heart attacks, and homicide. Men who divorce or separate are six times more likely to be depressed than those who stick with it; women, 3.5 times more likely. Two words: combined income. Married people usually have more money when they retire, too.
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Take that English degree to Wall Street and you'll still cash in

Wall Street Journal Aug 1, 08 12:35 PM CDT
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How much you make correlates with where you went to school, a new study finds. Bachelor’s degree holders’ salaries grow at the same rate over the first decade of their careers regardless of the school, the Wall Street Journal reports, but Ivy League graduates’ median starting salary is 32% higher than that of liberal arts grads, a disparity sustained at 34% 10 years into their careers.
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Stock belonging to McCain's wife worth up to $5.6M in takeover

Reuters Jul 15, 08 2:20 PM CDT
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The $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch means Cindy McCain's stock in the brewing giant is worth between $2.8 million and $5.6 million, Reuters calculates. Though the presidential campaign of her husband, Republican John McCain, didn't say how many shares Cindy owns, it appears she and her dependents have between 40,000 and 80,000 shares—for which InBev's bid offers $70 apiece.
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Economists debate impact, as inflation outpaces wage growth

New York Times Jun 27, 08 2:22 PM CDT
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The government's stimulus package has worked—for now at least, the New York Times reports. Spending rose 0.4% last month, the Commerce Department said today, buoyed by the $50 billion in checks sent to consumers. But subtract the stimulus, and income levels rose only modestly, and wage growth lagged well behind inflation.
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analysis
Economist compares direct-benefit to direct-contribution plans

Economist Jun 16, 08 5:21 PM CDT
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Many employees will enter retirement with a much smaller income than they expect, the Economist reports. By 2014, the amount of money saved in direct-contribution retirement plans—ie 401Ks—will outpace than the amount saved in old-fashioned direct-benefit plans. But workers set contributions to their DC schemes at lower levels than might have been set aside in DC schemes. Add poor investment decisions, and many pensioners could end up with half the retirement income they would’ve drawn under DB.
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More cut back on
doctor visits to save much-needed bucks

New York Times May 4, 08 2:31 PM CDT
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Even Americans with health insurance are ducking the doctor these days as health costs rise and the economy stays queasy, the New York Times reports. Family premiums have doubled in recent years, and out-of-pocket costs have gone up, too: “It just keeps eating into people’s income,” said a utility worker in Tucson whose medical bills have risen by about $4,000 a year.
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Critics hammer 24-hour privacy breach as residents check up on neighbors, celebs

BBC May 1, 08 4:12 PM CDT
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The outgoing Italian government posted all citizens’ earnings and tax information, briefly, on the Internet yesterday, sparking outrage over lost privacy, the BBC reports. The site was quickly clogged by Italians checking up on neighbors’ and celebrities’ financial status. The information went offline after about 24 hours in response to a complaint from the country’s privacy overseers.
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Inflation cooling, but consumer confidence is down

Wall Street Journal Mar 28, 08 11:37 AM CDT
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Personal spending—a major force in the health of the economy— rose just 0.1% in February, its smallest increase in 16 months, the Wall Street Journal reports. The increase, which actually beat analysts' estimate of a 0.1% decrease, came despite a bump in personal income and signs that inflation is easing, the Journal notes.
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Earnings Report
Giant brokerage writes off $2.1 billion, sees revenues fall 35%

Bloomberg Mar 18, 08 7:54 AM CDT
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Goldman Sachs today beat analysts' dire predictions even though it reported a 53% drop in first-quarter profits—the worst falloff since 1999—after a $2.1 billion writeoff, reports Bloomberg. Analysts had expected the Wall Street brokerage to see profits drop more than 60%. Goldman said net income was $1.51 billion, down from $3.2 billion a year earlier.
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Guatemalan kids given supplement earn 50% more as grown-ups

BBC Feb 1, 08 4:20 PM CST
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Eating a nutritious diet as an infant has a significant effect on income later in life, a study published in the Lancet finds. Researchers looked at Guatemalan males over a three-decade period and found that those who had received a nutritious food supplement were earning close to 50% more per hour as grown men than those who had not.
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Sometimes the government can get downright clever when it comes to taking your hard-earned money.

Forbes Sep 1, 07 4:01 AM CDT
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You don't have to be a fool to part with your money. Forbes gives you the 10 hidden taxes that cost you the most. Gasoline tax Cigarette tax Sugar "tax"
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