The New York Times

Current Sale to Al Jazeera May Earn Al Gore $100 Million

Al Gore already has won a Nobel Peace Prize, an Oscar and a presidential popular vote. Now, he's won the mergers-and-acquisitions lottery, too. When Al Jazeera cuts its check to buy failed progressive media outlet Current TV, Gore's 20 percent stake looks like it'll be worth $100 million.

The New York Times Gets a British Accent

America's flagship newspaper reaches across the pond for a chief executive who can engineer its turnaround. Will the former head of the BBC be able to make the Timesturn a profit?

9 Great American Companies That Will Never Recover

Sometimes, companies that were once leaders fall hopelessly behind. They may struggle on for years, but their chances to engineer turnarounds have passed. 24/7 Wall St. has found nine of these companies -- names you know well, but that will never be great again.

Analyst Dumps Wells Fargo for Bad Service, Rates Stock a Buy

When influential bank analyst Richard X. Bove got fed up with Wells Fargo as a customer, he moved his money over to Chase, then turned the experience into a research note. His startling conclusion: "[T]he service is so bad, and yet the company is so good."

Oh, Canada! Americans' Northern Neighbors Are Now Richer

The U.S. may be the "land of opportunity," but Canadians are making out better. In the past five years, the net worth of Canadian households has surpassed that of their American counterparts for the first time. And the reasons why will be as depressing for Americans as the news itself.

The $849,000 Penalty for Being Born Female

No matter how many times you read about the numerous financial challenges women face, nothing drives a point home like putting it into black-and-white dollar terms. Shocked by that $849,000 number? Here's a rundown of the details.

Stock Market Cuts Its Losses with a Late Rally

A late recovery on Wall Street wiped out most of the stock market's losses Thursday, leaving the Dow Jones industrial average down just 25 points. The Dow had been down as much as 177 points but came back sharply at the end of the day.

JPMorgan's 'London Whale' Losses May Hit $9 Billion

JPMorgan Chase & Co is under renewed scrutiny in the wake of a The New York Times report that losses from a bungled credit-derivatives trade could be as much as $9 billion, much more than earlier estimated.

Twisted Tax Laws Let Private Schools Rob the Poor to Aid the Rich

In theory, private school scholarship laws in Georgia and several other states let people redirect their tax dollars to help educate poor children. Instead, some private schools are just using the money to discount tuition for their current privileged students.

Credit Default Swaps: Still Here, Still Able to Wreak Havoc

JPMorgan Chase's rapid $2 billion trading loss reportedly involved credit default swaps -- the same investments that played such a large role in the financial crisis. Here's why credit default swaps still pose such a threat to the U.S. economy.

Many Fortune 500 Firms Pay Less in Income Taxes Than You

It's widely known that millionaires and billionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than those of us who make much less. But did you know that Americans collectively pay far higher income tax rates than many U.S. companies with billions of dollars in profits?

2 Ways Walmart Is Making You Pay for Its Mexican Corruption

First, executives at Walmart de Mexico facilitated more than $24 million in bribes; then the parent company covered it up. Obviously, now that the crimes have come out, it's bad news for Walmart. Here's why they were bad news for consumers.

Why Gen Y Can't Get a Job: No Gumption, No Get Up and Go

You could just as well call them "Generation Why Bother." Amid our current hard times, the risk-averse and sedentary Gen Y-ers exhibit little of the gumption that helped prior generations survive their own periods of economic trouble.

Another Ex-Goldman Banker Confesses: Firm Is 'Toxic'

The fallout is still evolving from Greg Smith's public resignation from Goldman Sachs, a firm he called "toxic and destructive," where clients were mocked and their interests sidelined. In a DailyFinance exclusive, we have a response from another ex-employee who backs his claims -- and defends her former colleagues.

3 Simple Tax Terms That Have Been Redefined to Confuse Us

Is the U.S. tax code designed to be confusing? At more than 70,000 pages, its complexity is hard to overstate. But forget its size: Even in its most basic terms, the IRS seems determined to muddy the waters. To help you out, we've unpacked a few of the most weaselly weasel words.

A Free E-Reader? Yes ... But With a Pricy Catch

Want a free $99 Nook? It'll cost you. Barnes & Noble is offering its entry-level Nook Simple Touch free to people willing to pay $19.99 a month for a year's digital subscription to The New York Times. So is this a good deal, or not?

Why the NY Times Co. Will Never Be Great Again

New York Times is a survivor, but it's bleeding internally. Its stock has floundered in the single digits since March. It hasn't dished out a dividend in three years. Revenue has fallen every year since 2006. And its unclear if its Internet plans can sustain a traditional publisher.

Lean Bonus Season Ahead for Wall Street Bankers

With unemployment still high, late mortgage payments rising, and the number of Americans in poverty at record levels, it seems that Main Street is headed for a hard, cold holiday season. But, somewhat surprisingly, so too are the fat cats of Wall Street -- relatively speaking.

Save Your Sole and Your Budget: Run Barefoot

Want to save $500 a year, be as fit as a lion, and stick it to big corporations? If you're a runner, it's easy. Give up running shoes and go barefoot. Your gait will improve, you'll suffer fewer injuries, and you'll be making great strides toward easing your budget, devotees insist.

Halloween's Eerie Evolution Into a $6 Billion Industry

Looking for a last-minute costume is easy these days. In strip malls across the country, temporary Halloween stores have popped up like an orange-spotted rash. But not so long ago, it was a very different holiday.

The Financial Landscape: Are the Unemployed Against Their Benefits?

The New York Times has found some unemployed people to argue against an extension of jobless benefits: "In a recent survey of the unemployed by Rutgers University, more than one in four respondents was opposed to renewing the current extended unemployment benefits.

Was Dr. Oz's Apple Juice 'Crisis' a Ratings Ploy?

Last week, TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz took on apple juice, declaring that the classic drink may be slowly poisoning America's children with arsenic. But the FDA and the juice companies have credibly refuted his claims. So was Dr. Oz's announcement meant to be a legitimate health warning, or just a cynical attempt to boost ratings?

Is Your Doctor on Big Pharma's Payroll?

Drug companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to influence doctors' prescribing habits -- money that often goes directly into physicians' pockets for "consulting fees" and "educational presentations." Wondering if your doc is one of them? The nonprofit journalists at ProPublica can tell you.

Starbucks CEO Invites Concerned Citizens to Chat

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has grand plans to cut through the partisan noise and remind our country's politicians of their problem-solving duties: On Tuesday, he's hosting a gigantic, public telephone town hall, and asking all "concerned Americans" to join his movement and participate.

Irene's Aftermath: Economic Boost or Partisan Battlefield?

Now that Hurricane Irene has passed, it's time to get back to discussing the country's biggest unnatural disaster: the economy. But here, too, Irene is making her impact felt, as economists and pundits across the country debate whether the hurricane will help or hurt America's bottom line.