| On the trail of trader Kerviel
At the age of 31 he is accused of defrauding the Societe Generale bank, leading to a loss of 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; 3.7bn). That tops the work of British trader Nick Leeson who, in 1995, bankrupted Barings bank by losing 860m - then worth $1.38bn - on Asian futures markets. Societe Generale said Mr Kerviel, on a reasonably modest salary of less than 100,000 euros ($147,000, 74,000), appears to have netted no personal financial gain from his alleged schemes. His lawyers say he is not on the run and is ready to talk to the authorities. All the same, he is the Most Wanted of the moment. The media pack and, in this digital age, the cyber community at large, have the scent and have been trying to track him down. If a housewife can beat UK police to tracking down "missing-believed-dead" canoeist John Darwin using the Google search engine, then the right search might just hit the jackpot.
Gift from calendar: spillover holidays
It just sounds nice, doesn't it?" said Amy Montgomery, an account executive at Sparks-based Imre Communications, which is giving workers three extra days off besides Christmas and New Year's this year.
More than 60 percent of employers will provide at least three paid days off during the next few weeks, compared with 48 percent who did so last year when both holidays fell on Mondays, according to a recent survey by the Bureau of National Affairs.
Some companies are making the move in part to save money, saying that it's not efficient to open for business when many of their clients and competitors will be closed.
Others are giving the days off to reward employees for delivering strong results this year even as downsizing pushes practically every worker to do more with less.
Buying postage from your desk
A: Printing your own stamps and shipping labels at home can save plenty of time and frustration. In most cases, you just need a laser printer or high-quality inkjet printer and an online stamp service. Most services work the same: once you pay for your postage by credit card, you are given an indicia to print and stick on a letter or package.
If you are mailing packages along with standard letters, you may also want to get a scale so you can print out the proper amount of postage based on the item's weight. And many online postage services let you use your own photos to make colorful, customized stamps.
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10 Tips: Get the most from your bank
Fees tend to be annoying, but bank fees can be especially galling. ATM fees can hobble the budgets of even the most prudent planners. How can you turn the tables and get the biggest bang for your buck from your bank? By Laura T. Coffey, Times Correspondent Published January 27, 2008 .
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