bernie

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Apple's iPhone 5 could add half a percent to U.S. GDP.

- Apple launches iPhone trade in program with competitive prices.

- What is a fiscal cliff?

- Aunt Jill recommends "Bernie," a film starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine.

- Follow Jill Schlesinger on Twitter and check out her podcast, Jill on Money!… Read more

Somebody lucky car collector is going to have a great Christmas this year. An Aston Martin purchased by the late George Harrison in 1965, was sold at auction in London on Wednesday for more than half a million dollars.

According to the auction house, Coys, the winning bid went to an anonymous Beatles and Aston Martin fan from Houston, Texas. The purchaser plans to use the DB5 to raise money for Christian causes, Coys reported in a press release.

The DB5 wasn't the only car formerly owned by a member of the Fab Four this year. In February, John … Read more

Part of Bernie Madoff's punishment for perpetrating an epic investment scandal was the auction of many of his personal belongings. That included some tacky shoes, used underwear, and pants.

Sixteen pairs of those pants ended up in the hands of Frederick James, a site that sells recycled and eco-friendly iPad covers. Now you can swaddle your iPad in cloth that once swaddled Bernie Madoff's butt.

As you might expect from a businessman's clothing collection, most of the iPad sleeves are in shades of brown and khaki. The crooked Madoff also had a more colorful side to his wardrobe. There are some cases available in orange, green, and blue.

The sleeves cost between $250 and $500 each. Think of them as a new kind of Madoff investment, where he still manages to separate people from their money, even though he's in jail.… Read more

It seems that Bernie Madoff, the Fonzi of the Ponzi, had little use for technology for much of his life. He may not have even bothered making any online trades, for example.

However, he (or rather the trustees of whatever there is left of his swindling) has resorted to eBay to sell a couple of rather fine tickets to the New York Mets' opening day game.

These tickets--conveniently situated near the Mets dugout--are not the actual tickets that might have been graced with Madoff's behind. His trustees exchanged his chosen tickets for these in a deal with the Mets. … Read more

So let's see whether I've got this straight. A white collar crook responsible for the biggest fraud in U.S. corporate history wants a presidential pardon. Meanwhile, a head case of a footballer who ran afoul of my native city's handgun laws may very well receive a mandatory prison sentence.

Jupiter is definitely not aligned with Mars.

By now, you're doubtless familiar with the public travail of one Plaxico Burress, the star receiver for (my beloved) New York Giants, who was arraigned for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Last week, Burress was … Read more

WorldCom's former CEO Bernard Ebbers is seeking clemency from George Bush in the final days of his presidency.

Ebbers, who was convicted of helping mastermind an $11 billion accounting fraud, is asking the president to reduce his 25-year sentence. Ebbers has filed a petition for commutation to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. And the petition is under review, a Justice Department spokeswoman told Reuters.

The U.S. Constitution grants the president the power to pardon convicted felons either erasing their convictions or reducing their prison sentences. And it's common in the last days of an administration for … Read more

There are some things you think you know, but never dare to say. Until a very clever scientist says it for you.

First, there was the idea that the Large Hadron Collider experiment might not go off with an instant bang. And now news has emerged this week from the laboratories of the University of Florida that men who have sexist attitudes get paid more.

Every time you think the world has moved forward, it is information such as this that makes you lie down in the fetal position, clutch your favorite Kelly Clarkson CD and sob a little.

The … Read more