simmons

Democrat Chris Dodd, the Connecticut senator who wants to weaken the Fed and name a top financial cop, won't run for reelection in 2010. His popularity has faded with the onset of the financial crisis and voters' perception that Dodd was under the sway of Wall Street.

A big cover story in Monday's New York Times looks at how Simmons Bedding Company, a 133-year-old firm, was driven into bankruptcy by private equity firms. The story is alarming in a number of ways, not least for implication that private equity can be a powerfully destructive force in the "real,"...

It's a tough time to be in the mattress business. The industry's woes began last year when people stopped buying homes, the economy fell into a recession and the stock market tanked. With thinner wallets and no new homes to furnish, consumers became decidedly wary about buying plush mattresses to...