McClatchy : WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd’s sweeping new financial overhaul legislation, which proposes to strip the Federal Reserve of its authority to regulate banks, threatens the central bank’s time-honored independence and its premier international standing, experts warn. Read the whole story: McClatchy

Andy Cobb starred in TV commercials pitching health insurance for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida — until he had a crisis of conscience. “In some gigs, in rare cases, you’re forced to come to terms with the moral content of your commercial,” he told the Huffington Post. To disassociate himself from what he now calls “the worst product in American history,” Cobb wrote and starred in a short video renouncing his former employer (see below)

American shoppers are splitting again: The affluent are finally starting to buy, picking up designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on the lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics. Recent earnings reports from major retailers suggest that the wealthy, who pulled back their spending the hardest during the financial meltdown last fall, are once again being enticed to open their wallets and going back to higher-end outlets.

Lobbyists for the health industry are close to a victory over consumer groups in a dispute about when patients should be told their digital medical records have been lost, stolen or mishandled. The tug-of-war over a little-known federal privacy rule–which has drawn in Congress, regulators and an array of interest groups–highlights the behind-the-scenes activity touched off by the government’s effort to spend some $45 billion in economic stimulus funds to push medical data online. Federal regulators are working against tight deadlines to write all kinds of rules governing the digital system, one that the Obama administration hopes most health care providers will adopt in the next five years.

If only Goldfinger had just waited One of Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous stories was The Gold-Bug. Written in 1843, it dealt with a man, William Legrand, who was deemed to be mentally ill because he was obsessed with finding gold after being bitten by the gold bug. He was likened to somebody who was bitten by a tarantula spider and driven into delirium

“Too big to fail” must die. I am preparing legislation to empower federal regulators to rein in and dismantle financial firms that are so large, inter-connected, or risky that their collapse would put at risk the entire American economic system, even if those firms currently appear to be well-capitalized and healthy. Never again should American taxpayers have to bail out high-flying financiers when their risky bets go sour

By Jason Simpkins Managing Editor Money Morning The Eurozone economy officially emerged from recession in the third quarter, but the uneven growth throughout the region and the lingering dangers of high unemployment continue to pose a threat to the recovery. Comprised of the 16 nations that use the euro currency, the Eurozone saw its economy expand by 0.4% in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, Eurostat reported. However, the economy continued to shrink year-over-year, dropping 4.1% after a 2.8% annualized drop in the second quarter.