The Bottom Line

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In 2006, American purchased 10.9 million life insurance policies, down from 14.7 million just four years earlier.

USA Today

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TTT

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With retailers' bankruptcies soaring, store vacancy rates have jumped to about 8 percent,up from 5 percent late last year.

Associated Press

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Foreign investors are losing their appetite for U.S. Bonds. Foreigners represented only 5.8 percent of bidders at last week's auction of 10-years Treasury notes, down from an average of 25 percent over the last eight weekly auctions.

London Daily Telegraph

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U.S. sales of Irish whiskey grew 20 percent last year, to 860,000 nine-liter cases. To meet demand,whiskey distiller Bushmills is running three shifts a day, seven days a week.

Marketwatch

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Ousted Bear Steans Chairman James Cayne sold his shares in his former firm last week for $61.3 million, or $10.84 a share. Last summer those shares were worth almost $1 billion.

Financial Times

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The Internet domain name Pizza.com pulled in $2.6 million at auction. Software entrepreur Chris Clark registered the name 14 years ago for $20.

CNET

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Municipal zoos have found a new revenue source: paintings by animals. two painting by Towan, a 40-year-old orangutan at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, recently fetched more than $1,300 at auction.

The Atanta Journal-Constitution

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The income of the poorest 20 percent of the U.S. population have fallen by 2.5 percent since the late 1990s, according to the liberal Economic Policy Institute. over the same period, the income of the top 20 percent have grown by 9 percent.

CNN/money

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Of the 100 top-grossing films of all time, 13 were made by Steven Spielberg or George Lucas.

Conde nast Portfolio

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Almost 20 percent of Xcel Energy's 1.4 million customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin are behind on their heating bills, as customers struggle with high energy prices and low temperatures. Xcel disconnects 600 to 650 customers daily.

USA Today

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As they have for the past several years, immigrant workers marched through Los Angeles on May 1, calling for an end to what they call harassment. This year they had a new ally; business leaders. The L.A. Chamber of Commerce wants an end to workplace raids by federal immigration agents.

L.A. Times

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Playboy Enterprises last week posted a $3.1 million quarterly loss on an 8 percent drop in revenues. The company's sales are suffering as consumers find their adult entertainment online for free.

Crain's Chicago Business

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Prices for used SUVs are plummeting, as soaring oil prices crimp demand for the gas-guzzlers. Wholesales prices for used Chevrolet Tahoes, Ford Expeditions, Toyota Sequoias, and other large SUVs are down 17 percent from a year ago, says car auctioneer Manheim, Inc.

USA Today

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following an explosion that destroyed 20 fireworks warehouses in the port of Sanshui, China's export of fireworks are down 35 percent to 40 percent. Scarcities of bottle rocket, lady fingers, and Roman candles will make for a quirter Fourth of July this Year.

The New York Times

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Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles in March 2008 than they did in March 2007. The 4.3 percent decline is the largest since records were first kept, in 1942.

CNN

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Is Oprah losing her Midas touch? ratings for The Oprah Winfrey Show are off 7 percent this year, and the circulation of O magazine is down 10 percent in three years.

The New York Times

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General Motors said that 19,000 hourly workers. or 24 percent of its unionized U.S. workforce, accepted buyouts and will leave in the next month. That's triple the rate of buyouts accepted in a similar deal at Ford.

The New York Times

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Wal-Mart last week reported surprisingly strong second quarter sales. One reason: The retailer has cashed $350 million in federal economic stimulus checks for customers, who spend at least some of the money at Wal-Mart.

Marketwatch

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Companies with active political-lobbying departments return 8 percent more to investors than companies that spend little time or money courting politicians.

BusinessWeek