• Not so tender, not so legal, Ebay bans cash payments, arguing sellers offering this option tend to be involved in scams.
• In a year of Katrina and other catastrophic losses, the insurance industry posted record profits of $44.8-billion. Can’t remember, were those good hands we were in, or clutches?
• Two Vioxx trials concluded this week, one plantiff awarded $4.5 million, the other, forty-five dollars. Two down, 9,650 to go.
• Delta raised its most expensive fares by $46 and nearly every major airline matched. Someone needs to explain to these guys how competitive pricing works.
• 5 Drug makers accused of price fixing in Britain by the “Serious Fraud Office,” a governmental entity. Wasn’t that the basis of a Monty Python sketch?
• Monsanto’s profits on corn seed sales beat expectations, rising 15%. The story behind the story? The genetically modified corn rose from the ground and ripped apart rival corn fields.
• Union accuses Wal-Mart of lobbying against port security measures beacause they would reduce profit. In their defense, Wal-Mart just wanted to make sure smaller, “mom-and-pop,” terrorists in urban areas remained competitive.

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