Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

Yahoo!'s big changes

Yahoo! announced a sweeping management and organizational shake-up in an effort to boost its flagging fortunes. (BusinessWeek.com) In a recent memo dubbed "The Peanut Butter Manifesto," one top executive warned that the Internet giant's resources were spread too thin. He urged cutting staff by up to 20 percent. CEO Terry Semel said the changes would speed decision-making. Analysts said streamlining Yahoo!'s bureaucracy could help the company gain ground lost to nimbler Google and News Corp's MySpace. "They needed to do something bold," said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence. (Bloomberg)

Spam returns

Worldwide spam traffic has doubled this year despite a broad push to stamp out junk e-mails. It now accounts for 9 of every 10 e-mails sent over the Internet. Three years ago, Microsoft's Bill Gates said the problem would be "solved by 2006." Spammers have sidestepped software that spots suspect senders by routing messages through computers infected with rogue programs so they will relay spam without their owners' knowledge. "Imagine an archvillain who has a new thumbprint every time he puts his thumb down," said Patrick Peterson, vice president of technology for Ironport. (The New York Times, free registration required)

Executives cash in

Top executives sold $63.18 worth of stock in their companies for every $1 they bought in November -- the widest margin since 1987. Analysts said the numbers suggested that corporate chieftains -- including Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google's Eric Schmidt -- didn't share the investor confidence that has pushed markets to new heights. "They're pretty savvy market guys," said Wayne Wilbanks, chief investment officer of Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas Asset Management. "They see things are slowing down and they're like, ‘Man, I'm taking some money off the table.'" (Bloomberg)

Out of the frying pan

New York City has become the first city in the nation to ban local restaurants from using artificial trans fats, which have been blamed for pushing cholesterol levels dangerously high. City health officials said that the ban and another rule forcing hundreds of restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus would help combat the twin epidemics of obesity and heart disease. Fast-food companies said the changes were unfair. "This isn't over," said Dan Fleshler, a National Restaurant Association spokesman. (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

Shaking off Pfizer's bad news

Don't let Pfizer's "flop" scare you, says Michael Sivy in Money. The basic case for investing in health care "remains as compelling as ever." Pharmaceutical companies will make plenty of money as the Baby Boom generation ages and snaps up drugs to soothe chronic ailments. If you don't like Pfizer now that its latest cholesterol drug has failed, try investing in makers of generic drugs, or health-sector funds, or a widely diversified company such as Johnson & Johnson.

A tax runs amok

Congress is promising to fix the alternative minimum tax, says Thomas Kostigen in MarketWatch.com, but all we'll get is another "patch." Lawmakers really want to protect the growing number of middle-class taxpayers threatened with the tax. It was meant to keep the wealthy from using "loopholes to skip out on their taxes." But real reform would cost billions that the government can't afford to lose. What a pity. The AMT needs "long-term revision, not a short-term bandage."

GOOD DAY FOR: Going blonde, as Britney Spears topped Yahoo!'s list of search terms for the fifth time in six years. She was followed by fellow blondes Shakira at No. 3, Jessica Simpson at No. 4, and Paris Hilton at No. 5. World Wrestling Entertainment was No. 2. (Associated Press)

BAD DAY FOR: Catering to high rollers, as the buyer of Boston's most expensive condo is suing the developer to get out of the deal. Buyer Pritam Singh said his $14.3-million penthouse under construction at the ritzy Residences at Mandarin doesn't have enough light -- something he claims the builder should have warned him about. (The Boston Globe, free registration required) 

NOTED: Women outspend men on electronics by a 3-to-2 margin, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. (The Washington Post, free registration required)