Archive for March 24th, 2008

Dear FSB: I read your recent column on collecting bad debts ("How to Make a Client Pay Up"), and have a related problem. Some customers bounce checks, which are returned for insufficient funds on amounts such as $100 or $300. These are too small to call for small-claims court or collection agencies, but add up to big money over time. What can I do?

Dear FSB: My store sells a line of goods such as potholders and tote bags made by a local artisan from ethnic cloth she buys. They're popular, but the artisan is a hobbyist with no desire to patent or copyright them. I plan to start selling the items online, and hope to keep rivals from copying them. But can I patent or copyright someone else's work?

Can Bear Stearns shareholders do even better? Hopes may be running high after Joseph Lewis, a major Bear Stearns shareholder, has squeezed a higher offer out of JPMorgan Chase.

Read full story for latest details.

Stocks rallied Monday as news that JP Morgan Chase is boosting its bid for Bear Stearns reassured investors, giving a lift to the financial sector and broader market.

A record plunge in prices of existing homes produced only a modest increase in sales in February, according to the latest reading on the battered housing market by an industry trade group released Monday.

A record plunge in prices of existing homes produced only a modest increase in sales in February, according to the latest reading on the battered housing market by an industry trade group released Monday.

Tax rebates are the centerpiece of the government's plan to stimulate the economy, but many Americans are planning to put the money in the bank or use it to pay off debt, according to a survey released Monday.

Tax rebates are the centerpiece of the government's plan to stimulate the economy, but many Americans are planning to put the money in the bank or use it to pay off debt, according to a survey released Monday.