60 Greg Labows is one of 600 IBMers worldwide chosen to serve as a diplomat and aid worker in poor countries, a sort of Peace Corps for capitalism. The aim is for IBM employees to help nonprofit groups provide loans, business training and technology to small and rural businesses. Longer term, it's a corporate bet on emerging-market growth and perhaps a foot in the door in key nations. www.newsobserver.com/1068473 Every month, Phil Davis receives a deposit of American money in his Czech bank account. And every month, he sees that deposit shrink. www.newsobserver.com/1068467 Despite countless warnings that nothing in life is free, many of us continue to fall for the promise of something for nothing. With money tight in many households, offers of free laptops, iPods, gift cards and even medication sound even more alluring. But the reality is far from the promise. www.newsobserver.com/1068463 Manners matter. Imagine that, Mom was right. Listen more, talk less, be polite, consider others, work hard, team play, show up on time, shine your shoes and don't slouch. Think before you speak. www.newsobserver.com/1068448 Highlights for May 12 to 17. www.newsobserver.com/1068446 Given current economic conditions, "Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning Americans in Debt" is a timely choice as the May selection for the Color of Money Book Club. The title alone will start a debate that could go on for hours. www.newsobserver.com/1068433 Last week I answered one of two questions from a 20-something married couple with a new baby. They don't have a lot of extra money and a financial planner suggested they purchase a life insurance policy within which they would invest in mutual funds. www.newsobserver.com/1068432 Confession: I've never balanced a checkbook or devised a realistic budget. I'm too impatient to follow through with manual record-keeping when all the transactions are digital. www.newsobserver.com/1068431 An Atlanta biotechnology company is planning to market a drug within a few years that's been shown to extinguish such fears, or at least make them easier to handle. www.newsobserver.com/1068421 Imagine a stock market for all your stuff: a place for buying, selling and figuring the value of your car, cell phone, designer handbag or dusty bottle of wine. Add an online community, product reviews and ambition and you get Wigix. www.newsobserver.com/1068386 About 84,000 children's storage bins made in Taiwan by Magus Industry and imported by L G Sourcing, because the bins' surface paint has high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by children. www.newsobserver.com/1068384 Demand for eye shadow, lipstick and blush won't be smudged by an economic slump. At least that's the belief of a growing number of beauty-product chains moving into the Triangle. www.newsobserver.com/1067567 Is Mom recession-proof? Step into a restaurant on Mother's Day and see for yourself. From local diners to the white-tablecloth crowd, Mom is expected trump the struggling economy this weekend. www.newsobserver.com/1067564 Waste Industries has officially turned its back on Wall Street. www.newsobserver.com/1067562 The price of postage stamps ticks up again for the second time in two years, adding one more, albeit small, straw to the burdensome cost of doing business. www.newsobserver.com/1067560 Finding the perfect name for your business can be a daunting task, and once you've found the right one, being forced to give it up can be a nightmare. www.newsobserver.com/1067557 Guinness beer owner Diageo rattled an Irish icon, announcing plans to lay off more than half of its brewery workers, close two breweries and shift most production to a new, high-tech plant in the Dublin suburbs by 2013. www.newsobserver.com/1067551 There's hope among the striking workers outside of American Axle's hulking Detroit factory complex, but along with it come skepticism and fear. www.newsobserver.com/1067549 UPS thinks Big Brown is the complete package. www.newsobserver.com/1067548 Oil jumps to $126 a barrel on worries over Venezuela-U.S. relations. www.newsobserver.com/1067547 Greg Labows is one of 600 IBMers worldwide chosen to serve as a diplomat and aid worker in poor countries, a sort of Peace Corps for capitalism. The aim is for IBM employees to help nonprofit groups provide loans, business training and technology to small and rural businesses. Longer term, it's a corporate bet on emerging-market growth and perhaps a foot in the door in key nations. www.newsobserver.com/1068473 Every month, Phil Davis receives a deposit of American money in his Czech bank account. And every month, he sees that deposit shrink. www.newsobserver.com/1068467 Despite countless warnings that nothing in life is free, many of us continue to fall for the promise of something for nothing. With money tight in many households, offers of free laptops, iPods, gift cards and even medication sound even more alluring. But the reality is far from the promise. www.newsobserver.com/1068463 Manners matter. Imagine that, Mom was right. Listen more, talk less, be polite, consider others, work hard, team play, show up on time, shine your shoes and don't slouch. Think before you speak. www.newsobserver.com/1068448 Highlights for May 12 to 17. www.newsobserver.com/1068446 Given current economic conditions, "Up to Our Eyeballs: How Shady Lenders and Failed Economic Policies Are Drowning Americans in Debt" is a timely choice as the May selection for the Color of Money Book Club. The title alone will start a debate that could go on for hours. www.newsobserver.com/1068433 Last week I answered one of two questions from a 20-something married couple with a new baby. They don't have a lot of extra money and a financial planner suggested they purchase a life insurance policy within which they would invest in mutual funds. www.newsobserver.com/1068432 Confession: I've never balanced a checkbook or devised a realistic budget. I'm too impatient to follow through with manual record-keeping when all the transactions are digital. www.newsobserver.com/1068431 An Atlanta biotechnology company is planning to market a drug within a few years that's been shown to extinguish such fears, or at least make them easier to handle. www.newsobserver.com/1068421 Imagine a stock market for all your stuff: a place for buying, selling and figuring the value of your car, cell phone, designer handbag or dusty bottle of wine. Add an online community, product reviews and ambition and you get Wigix. www.newsobserver.com/1068386 About 84,000 children's storage bins made in Taiwan by Magus Industry and imported by L G Sourcing, because the bins' surface paint has high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by children. www.newsobserver.com/1068384 Demand for eye shadow, lipstick and blush won't be smudged by an economic slump. At least that's the belief of a growing number of beauty-product chains moving into the Triangle. www.newsobserver.com/1067567 Is Mom recession-proof? Step into a restaurant on Mother's Day and see for yourself. From local diners to the white-tablecloth crowd, Mom is expected trump the struggling economy this weekend. www.newsobserver.com/1067564 Waste Industries has officially turned its back on Wall Street. www.newsobserver.com/1067562 The price of postage stamps ticks up again for the second time in two years, adding one more, albeit small, straw to the burdensome cost of doing business. www.newsobserver.com/1067560 Finding the perfect name for your business can be a daunting task, and once you've found the right one, being forced to give it up can be a nightmare. www.newsobserver.com/1067557 Guinness beer owner Diageo rattled an Irish icon, announcing plans to lay off more than half of its brewery workers, close two breweries and shift most production to a new, high-tech plant in the Dublin suburbs by 2013. www.newsobserver.com/1067551 There's hope among the striking workers outside of American Axle's hulking Detroit factory complex, but along with it come skepticism and fear. www.newsobserver.com/1067549 UPS thinks Big Brown is the complete package. www.newsobserver.com/1067548 Oil jumps to $126 a barrel on worries over Venezuela-U.S. relations. www.newsobserver.com/1067547