Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture has an entertaining/disturbing infographic about Glenn Beck’s relationship with precious metal investment company Goldline International, and how he manipulates customers. In effect, by buying a numismatic coin through Goldline, customers would instantly lose 42% of their investment, thanks to an insane markup. Infographic by The Big Picture  Read More →

Image: Geekologie  Read More →

Since March, Department of Justice officials have arrested a 485 people for mortgage fraud in a massive crackdown. Bloomberg BusinessWeek has more on the crackdown, called Operation Broken Dreams : During the enforcement effort, 1,215 criminal defendants responsible for $2.3 billion in losses faced some type of legal action, the department said. The crackdown…also included 191 civil cases resulting in the recovery of more than $147 million.... 

One way to be against doping: Dopers Suck coffee . After 8 years of keeping his doping a secret , Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour de France, confessed to taking performance-enhancing drugs. He also accused US racers Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, and Dave Zabriskie of doping. The New York Times reports : After four years of maintaining his innocence about doping charges that ruined his reputation and caused him to be... 

Companies have been quietly embracing sustainability for years. Organic Valley ditched Wal-Mart as a customer in 2004 to maintain a livable wage for its farmers. Nike welcomes criticism of its offshore factories–and uses it as a catalyst to change factory conditions. IBM uses online crowdsourcing for its innovations. The Responsibility Revolution: How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win is full of engaging case studies like the... 

Daimler has settled with the SEC for $185 million after being charged with bribery in 22 countries between 1998-2008. The BBC has the story : (Daimler employees) were said to have given money and lavish gifts to help win contracts in countries including China, Russia, Thailand, Greece, and Iraq. The Justice Department said that by “using offshore bank accounts, third-party agents and deceptive pricing practices, these companies saw foreign... 

In a 2,200-page report released yesterday , a court examiner said that Lehman Bros.’ former CEO Dick Fuld, three CFOs, and auditor may be held liable for certain aspects of the company’s collapse, thanks to some artistic accounting. MarketWatch sums up the report’s most important findings: The report cited a practice known internally as “Repo 105,” in which Lehman allegedly used repurchase agreements — the... 

Every leader must also follow. Those who show no accountability to others–in business, non-profits, or government–may hold a position of leadership but won’t hold on to it without some version of brute and/or “political” force, overt or covert. (If that kind of leadership appeals to you, you may want to check Craigslist for the “Dictators Wanted” ads). Be selective about who you allow to influence your... 

“Corporate America” hardly has a good ring to it. In the wake of the Haiti quake, however, a number of big US companies are standing up and donating to relief efforts. We want to recognize those companies in the list below. Keep up the good deeds, folks. Most of the information below is from Reuters : Standouts (these companies are donating the most): – Coca-Cola Fund: $1 million to the Red Cross. – United Parcel Service... 

The travel industry is reacting to the Haiti earthquake by incentivizing customers to donate. USA Today has a roundup of what these companies are doing: American Airlines: Flew three relief flights to Haiti. (Each) carried 10,000 pounds of supplies for the airline’s 100 employees in Haiti as well as materials for local hospitals. American has scheduled another three relief flights for Thursday, the company said. (American) says it will give... 

If you have $10-20 to give this season, a foundation called Modest Needs lets you find an individual or organization for whom that amount could make a positive difference. The cool thing about Modest Needs, which was just featured in CNN, is that it crowdsources small donations to make big changes for a person or charity whose cause means a lot to you. I’m excited that somebody made it so easy to help people stuck in a personal financial... 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Intel Corp. for abusing its market position to build a monopoly and repress competition. The Wall Street Journal reports : The administrative complaint says Intel used exclusive and restrictive deals with the world’s largest computer manufacturers, including Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., and IBM Corp., to coerce them not to buy rival computer central-processing-unit chips. Intel, based in Santa... 

Today is World AIDS Day, a day reserved to increase global awareness of HIV, AIDS, and people living with the diseases. A few facts about HIV and AIDS that you might not know (from Twitter ): –10% of the world’s populations lives in Africa, yet 67% of all HIV cases occur there. –It only costs around 40 cents a day for the 2 pills that are needed to help keep someone with HIV alive. Join the campaign by shopping for certain products... 

Many years ago, when the idea of women in professional roles in business was much more novel that it is today, magazines were eager to profile female pioneers. As a very young managing director in one of the then-prominent management consulting companies, I received lots of requests for interviews. One of the first was from a major, serious business magazine. The writer conducted a lengthy interview on … Go here to see the original:  Newsweek’s... 

But thanks for changing your mind. Here’s the story:  Read More →