New York Times : It certainly sounded good. Hoping, perhaps, to persuade a dubious public that curbing reckless business practices is indeed a Washington priority, the Obama administration and Congress produced a hat trick of financial reforms last week. The outlines of a consumer financial protection agency emerged from the House Financial Services Committee.

I’m speaking at the Maria Shriver Women’s Conference in LA this week. Very exciting.

In the media/entertainment business these days, so many qualified applicants are chasing so few good jobs it’s enough to drive you into selling real estate. Oh, wait, there aren’t any jobs there, either. This week the New York Times laid off more than a hundred editorial staffers, Conde Nast — in the wake of closing four titles last week — announced cuts at Architectural Digest and Bon Apetit and the LA Times lurched through its umpteenth round of firings

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Jeffry Picower, a philanthropist accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of his longtime friend Bernard Madoff, was found at the bottom of the pool at his oceanside mansion and died Sunday, police said. He was 67.

The American Bankers Association’s annual convention in Chicago has become the scene for a series of major protests, which are set to continue through Tuesday. Dubbed ” the Showdown in Chicago.

Minnesota Star Tribune : Mary Lloyd’s husband was lying in the intensive care unit of an Arizona hospital when she got a good look at their new health insurance card for the first time. Then she got the shock of her life. The card read: “This is NOT an insurance card.” Read the whole story: Minnesota Star Tribune

New York Times : DAYS after Michael Jackson died last summer, an executive at Sony Music phoned Amy Pascal, the co-head of the company’s movie studio, to tell her that the pop singer had left hours upon hours of rehearsal tapes for his planned run of 50 concerts in London. The Jackson deal was just the latest coup from a pair who are putting on a leadership display that is rare in any industry, outside of family-run businesses: a man and woman, equal partners, at the helm, and operating in sync.