Investment

Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down? This controversy has been flaring up — sometimes literally, in the form of book burnings — ever since Plato tried to ban fiction from his ideal republic.

The head of Germany's central bank says there is no quick fix for Europe's problems, calling appeals for more support from the European Central Bank and plans for investment in infrastructure a distraction from the hard work of reform. In an interview with Le Monde newspaper Friday, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann added that it was an "illusion" to think allowing eurozone countries to borrow money jointly would solve the crisis. He said countries that use the euro would need to combine their budgets before turning to "eurobonds.

Facebook was supposed to soar. Instead, it plunged. After the social network's stock fizzled on Friday in its long-awaited debut, its stock fell 11 percent on Monday, even as the rest of the stock market rallied. The downward spiral has left some people sitting on big losses, and others scratching their heads. After all, nothing fundamental has changed at Facebook in the days since the much-hyped company came to the stock market — Facebook still has more than 900 million users, its 28-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg controls the company, and it is still one of the few...

Blueprint Medicines, a Cambridge company developing targeted therapies for cancer, said Thursday that new investor Fidelity Biosciences joined founding investor Third Rock Ventures in the $40 million Series A financing that Blueprint Medicines announced last year. Third Rock is a venture capital firm with offices in Boston. Fidelity Biosciences is a subsidiary of Boston-based FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments. Stephen C. Knight, M.D., president and managing partner of Fidelity Biosciences, will join the board of directors of Blueprint Medicines.

When the head of JPMorgan Chase met with shareholders to answer for a trading loss of more than $2 billion Tuesday, it was against an evolving political backdrop: Donors from big banks are betting on Mitt Romney to defeat President Obama and repeal new restraints on risky, large-scale investments. "There's no doubt that there's been a big diminution of support for the president," said William M. Daley, Obama's former chief of staff and a former top JPMorgan Chase executive. "People in the financial services sector are saying, ‘The president has been too tough on us, both in policy and on...

In the final months of two mostly unmemorable terms in office, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri boasted about his little state's big splash - stealing former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and his nascent video game company from Massachusetts. "This is a risk worth taking," said Carcieri, a Republican, announcing the 2010 deal that lured Schilling's company, 38 Studios, to Providence, and put Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook for up to $75 million in guaranteed loans to an athlete who liked video games but had never developed one. "I think the governor...

Mitt Romney has long called himself a venture capitalist, experience he says helps him understand the economy better than other candidates for president. But he spent much more of his career in leveraged buyouts than in the investments in start-up companies known as venture capital. Romney's one true venture deal was Staples Inc., the office supply superstore, two years after he started Bain Capital. He wasn't the first to discover Staples; another Boston venture firm introduced him to Staples founder Tom Stemberg.

The burgeoning movement to put more college classes online, which attracted the support of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology earlier this month, is getting another endorsement that may have an even greater impact: rigorous evidence that the computer can be as effective as the classroom. A new study compared two versions of an introductory statistics course, one taught face to face by professors and one mostly taught online with only an hour a week of face time.

Newcastle Investment Corp. soared after the New York-based real estate investment trust said it would pay a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share. Newcastle had discontinued dividends in December 2008. Chief executive Kenneth Riis said the company’s recent investments have been successful and it is in a good position to generate stable earnings and cash flows.

WASHINGTON -- The Boston investment executive President Bush lauds while selling his Social Security overhaul suggested yesterday that White House drop its insistence on private investment accounts funded with payroll taxes if that prevents Democrats from supporting the effort. Robert C. Pozen, whose concept of "progressive indexing" for future benefits has become an administration favorite, said lawmakers should instead focus on so-called add-on accounts, which are funded with other revenues.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would ease the ban on investments in Myanmar, rewarding the country's political and economic opening over the last year. The move would allow the first significant US trade with Myanmar in decades, a step that worries human rights advocates who say the United States is moving too quickly to help a repressive country that is still far from free. Relations between the United States and Myanmar, also known as Burma, have warmed with startling speed in the last year, after two decades of Cold-War-like tensions and a raft of sanctions...

In asking, " Do we finally have a solution to the obesity epidemic? " (Daily dose, Boston.com, May 8) Deborah Kotz wonders whether the nation's obesity problem has become intractable. The United States can and must lead the world in finding and implementing effective solutions to the obesity epidemic. But to do so, it is critical to view obesity from a different perspective than we are often apt to do. Obesity is a progressive condition. People with this disorder tend to become sicker over time, incurring increasing economic costs to themselves and society.

A Maryland-based investment firm has been ordered to pay more than $1 million to a client after an employee allegedly took advantage of an elderly widow who is probably suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Secretary of State William F. Galvin also levied a $90,000 fine, as well as several other financial sanctions, against H. Beck Inc. after the company allegedly failed to supervise Paul Dumouchel of Wellesley. Galvin said that "for several years no one from H. Beck was supervising him and making themselves aware of his outside activities.

A venture arm of Raptor Group, based in Boston, said it led a $3.5 million investment in Ticket Evolution, a New Jersey company that sells event-ticketing systems. Ticket Evolution sells such systems to brokers who resell tickets to concerts and other events online, often at large markups. The Jersey City company said it currently works with more than 475 brokerages nationwide, and intends to double that number by the end of 2013. The venture group, Raptor Accelerator, is part of hedge fund manager James Pallotta's Raptor Group.

General Motors Co. rose the most since April 17 after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed it bought a stake in the largest US automaker. Buffett's company held 10 million shares on March 31. "Seems like GM's low valuation is just too good for Warren to resist," Adam Jonas, of Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note to investors.

A Maryland-based investment firm has been ordered to return more than $1 million after an employee allegedly took advantage of an elderly widow likely suffering from dementia. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin also levied a $90,000 fine, as well as several other financial sanctions, against H. Beck Inc. after the company allegedly failed to supervise Paul Dumouchel of Wellesley. Galvin said that "for several years no one from H. Beck was supervising him and making themselves aware of his outside activities.

Aside from professional traders, speculators, and hobbyists, I think most people invest only when they have to. But for many of us with disappearing or nonexistent pensions, or "self-directed" retirement accounts, it has been necessary to take a more active role in saving and allocating funds to either supplement our current earnings or help us get through the days when we will be unable (or unwilling) to work. Here are three new books that offer general investment advice.

Union Pacific plans to invest $1 billion in railroad projects in Nebraska over the next several years. Railroad CEO Jim Young announced the spending plan Friday at a news conference with Gov. Dave Heineman. Young says he expects the rail upgrades will create at least 1,000 jobs. UP plans to invest the money over about seven years, but the projects could be accelerated if the economy improves quicker than expected. Heineman says he is thrilled about Union Pacific's plans to invest in Nebraska.

Noble Investment Group , an Atlanta-based lodging and hospitality investment organization, announced the acquisition of the Hilton Garden Inn Boston Waltham. The company's press release did not include financial details of the transaction. The 148-room hotel will undergo a comprehensive renovation, the company added. Part of the Waltham hotel's appeal is its proximity to major high-tech companies, including IBM, Raytheon, Thermo Fisher, and AstraZeneca, Noble Investment Group said.

NEW YORK (AP) — The executive responsible for trading strategy at JPMorgan Chase, one of the highest-ranking women in Wall Street, on Monday became the first casualty of the bank's stunning $2 billion loss. Ina Drew, 55, the chief investment officer for the bank and a 30-year veteran of the company, will retire, the bank said. She was replaced by Matt Zames, an executive in JPMorgan's investment bank. CEO Jamie Dimon said Drew's ‘‘vast contributions to our company should not be overshadowed by these events.