GOOD DAY FOR: Black gold, after oil giant Exxon Mobil took the No. 1 spot on the Fortune 500 list from Wal-Mart, which slipped to No. 2 amid the slump in retail sales. Exxon earned $45.2 billion on $442.85 billion in revenue, a 19 percent annual jump; Wal-Mart earned $13.4 billion on $405.6 billion in revenue, a 7 percent rise. Overall earnings for the top 500 U.S. companies plummeted 85 percent last year, the biggest drop in the Fortune 500 list’s 55-year history. (AP in USA Today)
BAD DAY FOR: Fatherhood, after police in Mumbai started an investigation into allegations that the father of “Slumdog Millionaire” child star Rubina Ali tried to sell the girl for about $290,000. Rubina’s mom reported the accusation after seeing a report on TV that her ex-husband was shopping the 8-year-old around. Rubina’s dad denies the report, based on a sting operation by British tabloid News of the World. (Reuters)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
