GOOD DAY FOR: Persistence, after hedge fund manager William Ackman said he spent $109,000 to photocopy 725,000 pages of financial documents to prove that MBIA is not worthy of its AAA credit rating. His research, and bets against MBIA, could pay off soon, as the bond insurer faces a possible downgrade. “People are obsessive about stupid things,” Ackman says. “They are persistent about important things.” (Bloomberg)
BAD DAY FOR: Losing the receipt, after 40 percent of stores surveyed by the National Retail Federation said they have tighened the rules for returning merchandise. That commonly means a 90-day return window, and only with a receipt. The federation estimates that return fraud cost retailers $3.7 billion last holiday season. (USA Today)
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