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Our new daily look at legal news and the business of law: Vivendi lost the biggest securities class action suit ever to go trial; the man who created the Obama "Hope" poster faces criminal charges; and layoffs are abating at big law firms.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's plan to give employees breaks on health insurance for lower blood pressure and body mass index is ruffling feathers. Has this notorious "right-wing hippie" gone too far?

As investments, municipal bonds have been traditionally seen as safe, stodgy and boring. None of those terms describe Jim Lebenthal, one of "munis" biggest fans. Now 81, Lebenthal gave up a promising career as a Hollywood correspondent to join the family business of investing in muni bonds.

When the left needed a forceful voice to rally around, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann became so popular that MSNBC reoriented its primetime lineup around it. But today, creeping indications suggest that viewers might have lost some patience with Olbermann's shenanigans.

An additional stimulus package will be required if the nation is going to avoid a double-dip recession, said both Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com and former Congressional Budget Office Director Rudolph Penner at a conference Friday.

Below are some of the best reads for investors from the Web:

The Good News Economist has some good news! Real estate prices are firming.
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Wall Street II is going to be bigger than Avatar. Watch the trailer in that link and I dare you to tell me otherwise.
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Howard Lindzon chews the fat with friend-of-shortsellers columnist Herb Greenberg, talking about news, thestreet.com, research, shorts, etc.
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Casey Johnson, found dead Jan. 4 at age 30, and Ruth Lilly, who died Dec. 31 at age 94, were both heirs to huge family fortunes -- and both died right around the moment when a U.S. tax loophole took effect, with the potential to cost billions in revenue and to drive estate-planning lawyers crazy.

It happens all the time: An author/musician/actor dies, and sales of his most famous book/album/film immediately go through the roof. In the case of J.D. Salinger's passing Thursday, we were able to quantify and track the "death effect" in real time thanks to the sales rank feature on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

J.D Salinger died Wednesday at 91. As tributes flow in, publishers still wonder why he stopped publishing more than 45 years ago -- and whether publishable manuscripts might be waiting in the wings.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke won Senate confirmation to a second term atop the nation's central bank. First he had to clear a key procedural vote that prevented a Republican filibuster. In the final confirmation tally, lawmakers supported Bernanke 70 to 30.