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Madoff's `Street-Smart' Aide Frank DiPascali Was Go-To Guy for Investors Frank DiPascali Jr. joined Bernard Madoff’s firm a year after graduating from a Catholic high school in Queens, New York. Over a 33-year career, he rose through the ranks, eventually calling himself chief financial officer.

Trichet Vision Unravels as Investors Demand Higher Rates From Spain, Italy European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet’s vision of economies converging behind the shield of a shared currency may be unraveling.

Putin Reaps Plaudits at Home for Freezing Ukraine, EU Through Gas Standoff Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s standoff with Ukraine over supplies of natural gas may have angered European Union leaders and denied heat to millions; at home, it’s winning him plaudits.

Baltic Protesters Take to Streets as EU-Worst Economies Shake Governments The Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are facing unrest and street protests over government austerity measures that may make political leaders casualties of the worst economic collapse in the European Union.

Isle of Man's Safety, Secrecy as U.K. Tax Haven Challenged by Brown, Obama The three-legged emblem on the red Isle of Man flag in Allan Bell’s office has a motto that the British tax haven’s treasury minister hopes stays true.

Film, Porn Shoots Welcomed by Los Angeles Homeowners Squeezed by Recess Jayshree Gupta reclined on an English-style sofa in her Beverly Hills penthouse as crews buzzed around taping protective paper over the hardwood floors and wheeling in crates of camera gear.

Singapore Prescribes Shorter Showers, Less Meat to Counter Economic Slump Until a few months ago, Amit Singh dreamed of buying a car. Now, with S$75,000 ($50,100) in the bank, the lawyer is holding back, saying he’ll continue to make the one-hour commute to work on the Singapore subway.

Murray's Scrabble Shows Australian Open Tennis Ranking: F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E Andy Murray prepared for his first Grand Slam tennis semifinal at the 2008 U.S. Open with a game of Scrabble. After winning three times as many points as his friends, he sent his mother a text to boast.

Steve Jobs May Face Surgery to Remove Pancreas After Cancer, Doctors Say Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs could be facing surgery to remove his pancreas, doctors say.

Apple's `Relentless' Tim Cook Pushes Staff in Lieu of Steve Jobs's Magic Apple Inc. founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is prone to fits of passion, table pounding and screaming.

Nintendo Co.'s Punching Seniors Get Workout, Clear Shelves of Wii Console Blanche Betten, a 76-year-old retired restaurant owner, hammered Bob Warner, 85, with a flurry of punches, sending the World War II and Korean War veteran sprawling to the ground.

Medici's Kohn Says Madoff Wasn't Friend, Pain After Losses Is `Unbearable' Sonja Kohn, chairman of the Austrian private bank that invested $3.2 billion with Bernard Madoff, said the man accused of running what may be the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme wasn’t a personal friend and didn’t confide in her.

Freddie Mac Forecloses on Homeowners, Plans for Evictions Amid Moratorium Freddie Mac continues to pursue legal action to evict tenants living in foreclosed properties, drawing fire from legal aid groups who say the moves violate the spirit of a moratorium the company agreed to in November.

Kushner Finds 666 Fifth Avenue Vacancies Depreciating Record-Setting Tower When Jared Kushner closed on 666 Fifth Avenue, the Manhattan trophy property, for a record $1.8 billion two years ago, little did he know it was the peak for an investment that shows no signs of bottoming.

Nortel's Bankruptcy Filing Is `Blow to the Canadian Psyche,' Investors Say Canadian investor Gavin Graham recalls the time when Nortel Networks Corp. was so big, with a market value of almost $250 billion, that fund managers had to own shares just to keep up with the benchmark index.

UBS, HSBC May Be Liable for Madoff Losses After Serving as Fund Custodians HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG may be liable for as much as $3.2 billion of losses linked to Bernard Madoff in a dispute over the duties of financial custodians at funds in Luxembourg and Ireland.

Greenhouse-Gas Limits Proposed by Industry Would Raise Coal Plant Costs The most detailed proposal yet by industry and environmentalists to reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions will call for raising the costs of new coal plants and rewarding nations for protecting forests.

Billionaires Burn Israeli Retirement Funds on New York, U.K. Real Estate Israeli pension funds helped diamond mogul Lev Leviev snap up Manhattan real estate, including the former New York Times building, in 2007. Now they’re sharing in his losses as property prices plunge, dragging down the value of corporate bonds that backed the deals.

Morgan Stanley-Citi Brokerage May Face `Breakaways' as Independents Beckon Morgan Stanley’s joint venture with Citigroup Inc.’s Smith Barney will create the biggest group of financial advisers at a time when some investors and brokers are seeking independence from Wall Street titans.

Cash-Strapped Technology Small-Caps Hold Patent Fire Sales to Stay Afloat Small-cap technology companies from Silicon Valley to Israel, struggling to raise enough money to survive amid the credit crisis, are selling prized patents to stay in business.