Two seemingly unrelated investment stories roused the press and the public this week.

In what was a generally good Election Day nationwide for Republicans and conservatives, Democrats prevailed in a special election in New York’s sprawling 23rd Congressional District.

For rich politicians wanting to hold onto their jobs, Election Night 2009 was unnerving.

Is reporter John Stossel objective? Well, no. Nor does he claim to be.

Geoffrey Canada, the CEO of the not-for-profit Harlem Children’s Zone, may be wondering about the cost of connections.

Despite the Obama administration’s position against the undue influence of lobbying, a good number of lobbyists and trade group execs have been stopping by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Half of the members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense are being investigated by congressional ethics panels.

Is Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg trying to wreak revenge upon AIG, the company he once led?

A barrier was broken in golf; can basketball be far behind?

Chalk up another tragic ending connected to Bernard Madoff’s con - and another door likely nailed shut for investigators.

Recent events in Afghanistan haven’t returned Peter Galbraith to his old job, but they have brought affirmation.

When Michael Jackson died in June, the words “RIP Michael Jackson” on Twitter and Facebook broke the news to millions of people.

Wealthy Republican fundraiser Mel Sembler has a new cause.

When Dick Cheney took the podium Wednesday to criticize the Obama administration and its Afghanistan strategy, he knew his audience.

After a successful 2007 and 2008, Marc Shmuger and David Linde, the co-chairmen of Universal Pictures, oversaw a series of flops this year.

When American tycoons get tangled up with royalty, it rarely ends happily.

Indications are that the gay rights movement is on the threshold of major gains.

Muckety’s list of 50 of the most influential gay movers and shakers in the country.

As president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger has quietly - and sometimes not so quietly - taken on a broader role as ambassador.

Rush Limbaugh’s attempt to be part-owner of a football team ended last week when he was asked to leave a group that wants to buy the St. Louis Rams.

Describing it as the “largest hedge fund insider trading case” ever, federal authorities charged billionaire Raj Rajaratnam with conspiracy and securities fraud.

The aftershocks of Bruce Wasserstein’s death this week are just beginning to be felt.

Singer Carly Simon has sued Starbucks Corporation for $5 million to $10 million.

Yet again, a behind-the-scenes email exchange is causing public discomfort.

When you’re suspected of having granted favors to a future employer while still in government office, you’re apt to become the focus of a grand jury investigation.

Wealthy financier Lionel Pincus died Saturday, ending a chapter in a rancorous legal battle between his family and his love interest, Princess Firyal of Jordan.

Obit isn’t dead, though it could use more readers.

Readers here and abroad waited this week to see if the Nobel literature jury considered Yanks too “ignorant” and “isolated” to deserve the prize.

Not since Woodrow Wilson has a sitting American president been awarded the Nobel peace prize.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined a rising number of GOP voices to back the Democrats’ current reform bill.

The lobbyist who wasn’t a lobbyist during last year’s presidential campaign will head up a newly created Washington lobbying firm.

Saturday was a good day for Ruth Reichl, and she let the tweeting world know it.

Three Americans have won the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine for a discovery that has been likened to the tip of a shoelace.

If Irving H. Picard has his way, Jeffry Picower may no longer be among the super rich.

Gerald L. Shargel continues to get work.

For Texas banker D. Andrew Beal, holding on to his money in boom times and spending it when things go bust has paid off in a big way.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has turned up the heat on a major Republican fundraiser Elliott B. Broidy.

Despite the Obama administration’s alleged aversion to lobbyists, it turns out, surprise, that lobbying may have continued unabated in Washington.

Darwin Deason’s persistence paid off in a big way.

Give Rick Scott this much: He may have reinvented himself shamelessly, but he’s done it in full public view.