333What struck me throughout is what goes into making an Olympic champion -- or for that matter a gold-medal-winning entrepreneur or manager. Here's my short list:

Oil prices drop with demand worries

NEW YORK -- The attorney general of New York is negotiating settlements with eight student loan companies to reform deceptive practices in the industry. A particular focus is the marketing of products so they appear to be federal loans, an official said Friday.

WASHINGTON -- Bank of America Corp. said Friday it is ready to settle federal and state investigations into sales of risky auction-rate securities, joining eight other big investment banks that have agreed to buy back a total of more than $50 billion of the securities.

WASHINGTON -- The source of trouble in the mortgage market has shifted from subprime loans made to borrowers with bad credit to homeowners who had solid credit but took out exotic loans with ballooning monthly payments.

WASHINGTON -- The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

A few university students came by a few weeks ago and interviewed me on what I thought were the best traits of good employees. They asked what I look for when I hire new people and what I think most people seek in a new hire.

NEW YORK -- Conventional wisdom had long held that some industries would collapse if oil topped $100 a barrel. As oil neared $150, sending costs higher for everything from jet fuel to plastic jars, the question was how many companies would succumb.