• Laid Off Fund Worker Arrested for Extortion

  A systems administrator who was laid off on Nov. 5 from an unnamed mutual fund company in New York wasn't happy enough with the severance package the company gave him.

• Florist Fights Rivals' Out-of-State Tax Advantages

  A Charlotte, N.C.-based florist is battling national competitors who market themselves as local merchants but don't charge their customers sales tax.

• Tax Videos Take Prizes

  The Tax Foundation has selected three videos as winners of a contest that aims to draw attention to the high rate of business taxes in the U.S.

• Street Expects Larger Bonuses, Cuomo Probing Optimism

  The market crisis hasn't crimped the mood around year-end bonuses. More than one-third of Wall Street execs expect a larger bonus this year than last, according to a survey of financial services firms.

• JPM Chase Tries Flight-Fee Waiver as Cobrand Boon

  Forget free flights—the next type of frequent-flier reward may be the fee-free flight.

• Bayou Swindler Sam Israel to Undergo 90 Days of Evaluation

  The saga of Samuel Israel continues, with the $450 million Bayou hedge fund swindler now being sent to federal medical prison for psychiatric evaluation.

• Culprits of the Collapse

  Who is to blame for the financial crisis? CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has put together a list of the "10 Most Wanted."

• Shareholder Communications Coalition Launches Proxy Information Website

  The Shareholder Communications Coalition has formed a new website to educate the general public and policymakers in Washington about challenges to the proxy voting system.

• Federal Case Challenges IRS Penalties

  A case pending in a federal court in California could severely limit the Internal Revenue Service's ability to financially penalize bond lawyers and other transaction participants responsible for abuses in municipal bond deals done before 2004.

• Software Company Offers 'Recession Survival Kit'

  Business planning software developer Adaptive Planning has created what it calls a "Recession Survival Kit" to help companies get better control of their financial processes and survive the economic crisis.

• Goldman As Hot Dog Vendor?

  Goldman Sachs and CIC Partners, a Dallas private equity firm, have teamed up with two of the biggest names in sports, the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys, to start up a company that will run catering, concessions and retail merchandising enterprises for major sports facilities.

• JPMorgan, PNC, Principal Financial Take Top Fund Awards Honors

  JPMorgan Investor Services, PNC and Principal Financial take top honors in Money Management Executive's 2008 Fund Operations Awards.

• Scottrade to Open South Dakota Office

  Scottrade Inc. said it will open its first South Dakota branch.

• Kucinich Grills N.Y.C. Officials Over Creative Stadium Financing

  New York City officials claimed Friday that their land appraisal for the new Yankee Stadium was accurate.

• 'Failure-to-File Syndrome' Blamed for Tax Debt

  An attorney for New York Governor David Paterson's chief of staff has attributed his client's neglect in filing tax returns between 2001 and 2005 to "failure-to-file syndrome."

• Undeliverable Tax Checks Total $266 Million

  The Internal Revenue Service said that more than 279,000 economic stimulus checks, totaling about $163 million, and over 104,000 regular refund checks, totaling about $103 million, have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.

• Highest ID Theft in U.S., U.K., Canada

  Identity theft is most common in English-speaking countries, according to a survey PayPal Inc. released Tuesday.

• Wealthy Taxpayers Misreport Income More

  A recent study of unpublished Internal Revenue Service data has found that wealthier people are hiding their income at greater rates than those in lower income brackets.

• Feting Financial Services' Most Powerful Women

  It was a night of restrained optimism, understated New York glitz, and a smattering of angst, but camaraderie trumped competition Monday night at U.S. Banker's 6th annual gala toasting The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking,

• Companies Opt to Settle with IRS on Tax Shelters

  The Internal Revenue Service reported that it has seen a strong response to its settlement offer for two types of tax shelters, with companies agreeing to pay back taxes totaling billions of dollars.

• Execs Indicted for Not Paying Employment Taxes

  Security guard company Superior Protection Inc. and four of its executives were indicted for failing to pay employment taxes and other charges.

• IRS Employee Sentenced for Accessing Friend's Info

  An Internal Revenue Service employee has been sentenced to one year's probation for improperly accessing tax information about one of his acquaintances.

• Cindy McCain Releases 2007 Tax Information

  Cindy McCain has released the summary pages of her recently filed 2007 federal tax return.

• Survey: Companies Can Avert Future Financial Turmoil

  Eighty percent of board members of U.S. financial services firms feel they could do more to reduce the chance of future industry instability.

• Social Security Recipients to Get a Raise in 2009

  More than 50 million U.S. seniors will see a 5.8% cost-of-living increase in their Social Security benefits starting in 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced.

• Jury Awards $31.8 Million in KPMG Audit Case

  A New Jersey jury has awarded a company nearly $32 million after it sued KPMG for negligence; with interest, the verdict amounts to over $41 million.

• Former Duane Reade Executives Indicted for Fraud

  The former CEO and CFO of drug store chain Duane Reade were indicted on fraud charges for allegedly inflating the company's income.

• Study: Sprint Nextel Has Most Overpaid Execs

  Executives from Sprint Nextel employed the most overpaid executives relative to company performance, with top managers earning nearly $74 million in 2007 despite the company posting a loss of $29 billion.

• N.J. Tax System Ranked Least Friendly to Business

  New Jersey made the bottom of the list in a ranking of business-friendly state tax systems, while Wyoming ranked as the most friendly.

• Vegas Broker Admits He Impersonated IRS Agent

  A Las Vegas man who worked as a real estate broker in Nevada since the late 1970s has pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion and impersonating an IRS agent.

• 'Speculative Orgy': Bogle's Take on Market Crisis

  John Bogle lay the crux of the financial crisis at the feet of collateralized debt obligations that firms created to eke more yield out of the market.

• Retirement Savings Plunge $2 Trillion

  American workers have lost as much as $2 trillion in their pensions and retirement savings in the past 15 months, witnesses told a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee.

• A Deposit Strike?

  The Nintendo Wii has been credited with encouraging family game nights and keeping senior citizens' minds and bodies sharp, but can it help a banking company gather core deposits?

• Palin Releases Tax Returns

  Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin has released her 2006 and 2007 tax returns.

• Mutual Funds Battling Looming Depression Talk

  With financial pundits repeatedly talking about a return to the Great Depression, how to find a sound bank with FDIC backing and now, even, how to stretch food budgets, national news media, advertisers and entertainment programs, are coming up just short of instilling wholesale investor hysteria.

• Wall of Shame

  As Wachovia Corp.'s struggling banking arm fled into the arms of Citigroup Inc. this week, CNBC personality Jim Cramer felt compelled to issue a mea culpa.

• Volunteer Tax Preparers Make Mistakes

  Nearly a third of the income tax returns prepared by volunteer preparers for an IRS program were incorrect.

• The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking

  U.S. Banker's annual tribute to the professional achievements, personal tenacity and influence of top-performing female financial executives.

• Buffett to Inject $3B into GE

  Once again, the Oracle of Omaha demonstrates his confidence in Wall Street.

• Lawmakers: ARS a Financial 'Roach Motel,' Problems Remain

  Last week's standing-room-only House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Treasury Department's bailout plan stood in marked contrast to one held days earlier on auction rate securities (ARS).

• Specter of Fraud Concerns PE Execs

  New findings indicate buyout executives rely on traditional measures to combat fraud.

• Shot Through the Heart

  If the recent temporary ban on short-selling of the financial services sector implemented by the SEC and other regulatory bodies around the world has affected any group for the worse, it has been the hedge fund community.

• Block Matches Intuit with Free Electronic Tax Filing

  Under pressure from Congress and the IRS, H&R Block has decided that 100 percent of its tax products and services, including its TaxCut software, will now include free federal electronic filing.

• Amsouth to Pay $11 Million for Improper Use of Mutual Funds

  The SEC issued an enforcement action Tuesday against AmSouth Bank and AmSouth Asset Managers for defrauding the AmSouth mutual funds.

• Headhunters Impersonate AICPA Reps

  Unscrupulous headhunters have been calling accounting firms pretending to be representatives of the American Institute of CPAs in order to steal lists of employees, warned the AICPA.

• KPMG Loses $17.6 Million Verdict in Tax Advice Case

  KPMG was on the losing side of a $17.6 million verdict in a case involving an investor who claimed the firm gave him bad tax advice.

• Intuit to Offer Free 1040 E-Filing Next Year

  Intuit plans to provide free electronic filing for its TurboTax desktop software products for individuals for tax year 2008, in response to a request from Congress and the IRS.

• SEC Charges Pasta Execs with Accounting Fraud

  The SEC charged American Italian Pasta Co. and its former senior executives with participating in a fraudulent accounting scheme to artificially increase the company's stock price, and the company agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle the charges.

• Rangel to Hire Forensic Accountant

  Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., plans to hire a forensic accountant to sort through his tax liabilities as he comes under increasing pressure to step down from his chairmanship of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

• Former Prudential Broker Pleads Guilty to Market Timing

  Justin F. Ficken, a former broker with Prudential Securities, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris on Monday to deceptively market timing mutual funds for seven hedge funds between January 2001 and September 2003.

• Women Give More to Heirs than Men

  Women gave nearly $5 billion more to their heirs than men did in 2005, according to an analysis of Internal Revenue Service data by Grant Thornton.

• Washingtonian's Best and Worst of Congress

  A look at Washingtonian magazine's annual feature on the Best and Worst of Congress.

• Biden Reveals Tax Returns

  Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., revealed a decade's worth of his tax returns Friday, putting pressure on his Republican rival, Alaska governor Sarah Palin, to release her own returns.

• Senate Probes Offshore Dividend Tax Dodges

  The Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on how foreign investors dodge taxes on U.S. stock dividends with the help of U.S. banks and investment houses.

• SEC Charges LPL with Failing to Protect Customer Privacy

  The move follows a series of hacking incidents on LPL's trading platform; the firm agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty without admitting or denying the findings.

• Tax Protestor's Sentence Extended 11 Months

  Influential tax protestor Irwin Schiff had his 151-month prison sentence extended by an additional 11 months after he was sentenced for criminal contempt.

• 'Citizen of Heaven' Claims IRS Can't Tax Him

  An Iowa man has been indicted for claiming a $240,009 refund of all the taxes he has paid, contending the IRS has no jurisdiction over him because the U.S. is a "fictional entity" and he is a "citizen of heaven."

• IRS Seizes $97,000 from Kentucky Town

  The mayor of Raceland, Ky., informed a startled city council at an emergency meeting that close to $100,000 was seized from city coffers because of non-payment of taxes.

• Your Grandfather's Bank and Darn Proud of It

  What's old is new again at Sterling National Bank. Continued success in troubled financial times validates the wisdom of this New York City bank's steadfast approach to the business.

• Former IRS Employee Sued for Tax Scam

  The Justice Department has accused a former Internal Revenue Service secretary of cheating her tax prep clients and the government out of approximately $850,000.

• Mandatory IRA Withdrawal Confuses Seniors

  Millions of retirees who are turning 70-1/2 are forced to take money out of their tax-deferred IRAs or 401(k)s each year, or pay a stiff penalty to the government.

• Distraught Taxpayer Rams Car into IRS Building

  A man threatening to kill himself over his finances instead rammed his car into an Internal Revenue Service building.

• How Would the Supreme Court Rule on the PCAOB?

  Members of the PCAO Board may be breathing a sigh of relief that their organization has been ruled constitutional, but their opponents could decide to take their case to the Supreme Court.

• Points for Debit? More Seek a New Way

  Debit issuers are increasingly rethinking the points-for-spending approach to rewards in favor of models that can generate more loyalty from cardholders and expand their customer base.

• IRS Celebrity Snoop Gets Three Years' Probation

  An IRS employee who improperly accessed the financial information of 200 celebrities and sports figures was sentenced.

• Visa, Issuers Test System to Warn of Fishy Transactions

  Taking a page from the online banking security playbook, Visa Inc. and eight issuers are testing a system that uses e-mail and text messages to notify cardholders of suspicious transactions.

• Inventor Wins $388M Jury Award in Tax Case

  Inventor Gilbert P. Hyatt received a jury award of more than $388 million after suing California's Franchise Tax Board for its conduct in auditing him more than a decade ago.

• So Much for the Feminine Mystique

  The stark savings gap between men and women is going to continue at least into 2050.

• Wall Street Shuffle

  Investment bankers find shelter in boutique, mid-market firms as bulge brackets tighten belts.

• Banc of America Ordered to Pay $2.1 Million for Wrongful Termination

  Two former Banc of America brokers accused the broker-dealer of intentionally damaging their reputations with current and potential clients.

• Fortress Persuades Star Trader to Stay With Generous Grant

  The $300 million share grant puts Levinson in group of shareholders that owns 77% of the company.

• Confessions of a Subprime Lender

  Former mortgage lender, Richard Bitner, bares everything in tell-all book.

• IRS Places Tax Lien on Former Salomon Chief

  The former CEO of investment bank Salomon Brothers is facing a lien of over $430,000 from the Internal Revenue Service on his 16-room Fifth Avenue apartment.

• IRS Loses Paperwork on Return Preparer Program

  An audit of the IRS' program for examining and penalizing tax return preparers by the Treasury Department's inspector general could not be completed.

• Wall Street Goes Shopping in the Frozen Pension Aisle?

  Numerous financial firms are pushing for legislation that would allow them to buy and manage the estimated $500 billion currently in "frozen" defined benefit pension plans.

• Baucus Slams IRS Response to ID Theft

  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., accused the Internal Revenue Service of falling short on efforts to combat taxpayer identity theft.

• Social Networking Tools Meet Personal Finance on Web Sites

  Two financial management Web site operators are rolling out services that expand on their efforts to combine elements of banking and social networking.

• Comic Book Gets Smart about Movie Tax Deductions

  An Ernst & Young partner has teamed up with a movie studio accountant to produce an online comic book based on the TV series and recent movie Get Smart.

• Report Faults IRS Sales of Seized Property

  The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job of managing its sales of seized property, recommends a report by the Treasury Department's inspector general.

• Saving Has Two Meanings in Michigan Bank's Ads

  Chemical Financial Corp. of Midland, Mich., is taking on quite a challenge: saving Michigan.

• Household 'CFOs' Ill-Prepared for Financial Crises, Retirement

  A survey of people who are in charge of the finances in their household, "Household CFOs" has found that two out of three are ill prepared to a sudden financial crisis.

• Exchanges Agree to Consolidate Insider-Trading Programs Under SROs

  The surveillance, investigation and enforcement of insider trading at ten U.S. equities exchanges is being consolidated under NYSE Regulation and FINRA.

• SEC Distributes $48M to Vivendi Universal Investors

  The SEC said it would distribute over $48 million to more than 12,000 investors who had been affected by Vivendi Universal's fraudulent financial reporting.

• Goldman Expanding HF Footprint Via Canada

  The company just opened an office in Toronto for its Goldman Sachs Administration Services, the entity that provides fund accounting and investor servicing for its hedge fund administration operations.

• Could South Dakota Bring an End to Short Selling?

  A lobbying firm that has supported efforts to curb so-called naked shorting in multiple states has placed an initiative on the general election ballot in South Dakota that could outlaw short selling across the country.

• Facebooks for Financial Services

  Professional investors who want to post questions, share information, debate issues and find jobs are finding an array of Web-based communities comprised of like-minded individuals.

• Monitoring Social Networks for Market-Moving Info

  Some traders are turning their attention to online communities not to communicate with their peers but to gather market-moving information from industry experts.

• Same Shirt, Different Heist

  Thieves ripped off Citibank, WaMu and First Bank of St. Louis for more than $6 million in recent months; some lessons can be learned from the spree.

• Bank Tied to McCain's Son Fails

  A Nevada bank with ties to Sen. John McCain's son became the latest victim of the real estate downturn.

• QuickBooks Creates Rock Jingles for Small Business

  Intuit has introduced a light-hearted online rock-and-roll jingle generator for small businesses, featuring an Austin Powers look-alike named Tommy Silk.

• Ernst & Young Embroiled in Trademark Lawsuits

  Ernst & Young is engaged in lawsuits with Entrepreneur Media Inc. over the use of the term "entrepreneur of the year" by Entrepreneur Magazine.

• New Jersey Ranks as Most-Taxed State

  New Jersey taxpayers are stuck with the heaviest burden in state and local taxes, while Alaska taxpayers pay the least, according to a new study.

• Legal Team Helps Investors Sue Schwab

  A Florida-based law team is working to help investors of the failed Charles Schwab YieldPlus Fund recuperate some of their losses.

• Moody's: Gas Prices May Lead to Toll Increases

  Gasoline prices at $4.00 or more per gallon for a prolonged period could depress toll road traffic and revenue, and compel governments to increase tolls to prevent credit rating downgrades.

• Janus Investors Finally Get $100 Million in Settlement Checks

  Janus investors will finally receive $100 million worth of restitution.

• Tax Court Gives Widow of Ex-SF Mayor a Break

  The Tax Court has granted innocent spouse relief to the widow of former San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, saving her $1.9 million in taxes and penalties.

• Insurance Man Bites Dog

  The editors of SmartMoney magazine recently cast variable annuities and guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits in the worst light possible.

• Man Arrested in Attempted Murder of IRS Employee

  A Florida man was arrested for trying to hire a hit man to kill an Internal Revenue Service employee who had been investigating his personal and business tax liabilities.

• KPMG Ranks Best Cities for Business Taxes

  Find out which cities took the top spots, with the most favorable tax structures for business.

• Senate Aging Committee Challenges TIAA-CREF, Fidelity Ads

  TIAA-CREF's ads for its IRAs inferred that government and military employees who contributed to their Thrift Savings Plan were up against a time clock because the TSPs "retire."

• Ex-Wachovia Broker Barred, Gets $2.2M Fine

  Guy P. Riordan was barred from the securities industry and ordered to pay $2.2 million for giving cash kickbacks to former New Mexico Treasurer Michael Montoya in return for obtaining state investment business.

• IRS Employee Pleads Guilty to Celebrity Snooping

  John Snyder pleaded guilty to illegally accessing the personal information of more than 200 celebrities and sports figures.

• 401(k) Debit Cards: Dumb and Dangerous

  A CMI survey found that 40% of workers in their 20s and 30s cash out their 401(k)s when they switch jobs, even though taxes and penalties decimate the balances to almost half.

• SEC Issues Emergency Order to Curtail Calif.-Based Advisor

  Robert C. Brown is accused of taking clients' money to pay for what is described as a "lavish" lifestyle; the complaint notes he blamed the Patriot Act as an excuse.

• Lotto Fever Linked to Low Valuation of Salary

  When it comes to purchasing lottery tickets, making people feel poor will prompt them to spend more money on a chance to become rich.

• Reserve Your Tee Time at AXA-Sponsored Website

  AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company has launched a new retirement lifestyle website for people near or at retirement.

• Prosecutors Drop Tax Probe of Sharpton

  Rev. Al Sharpton and his National Action Network have settled tax charges with federal prosecutors and agreed to pay between $2 million and $9 million to the IRS.

• Save Our Starbucks Campaign Takes Root

  Faced with 600 store closings, consumer loyalists have launched a campaign to save their local Starbucks.

• Freddie Mac Pays for Syron's Financial Planning Expenses

  Last year, shares of Freddie Mac lost nearly 50% of their value; this did not impact Syron's near $20 million payout.

• Rip-Offsville

  Inflation at its highest levels in 27 years, screams one headline. Manufacturers pass price increases along to consumers, screams another.

• Tax-Free Shopping Coming in August

  Back-to-school shopping will be tax-free for a few days next month in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

• Hey, Boomers, Surf's Up!

  AXA Equitable Life Insurance launched MyRetirementShop.com, a new, all-in-one website for the "at retirement" generation.

• Channeling Martha: S.C. Mayor Charged with Insider Trading

  The SEC successfully charged the mayor of Beaufort, S.C. with insider trader over a biotechnology company.

• IRS Tax Collection Process Too Cumbersome

  The Internal Revenue Service's process for collecting unpaid taxes is overly complicated and delayed, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

• Consumer Taxes Trending Higher

  The taxes paid by U.S. consumers are rising higher overall at gas pumps, retail stores and cigarette counters.

• Financial Planner Job Satisfaction Is High

  Job satisfaction among financial planners remains high, with 96 percent of financial planners saying they are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their career choice.

• Businessman Pleads Guilty in Tax Shelter Case

  A Chicago businessman has pleaded guilty to tax fraud conspiracy charges.

• Ten-A-Gallon Blues

  Dave Maney, chairman and co-founder of middle-market investment bank Headwaters MB, penned the lyrics and music to this humorous country song about high gas prices.

• IRS Warns of New Email Scams

  The Internal Revenue Service issued an alert about a new wave of e-mail scams that use the IRS name to commit identity theft.

• New Pay Options, Old Criticism

  The weak economy is prompting consumers to use their credit cards for more of their regular expenses, opening a door for third-party companies that can process card payments on behalf of billers that do not accept them.

• Private Bank Advisors Top Wealth Management List

  Of II's top 20 "Rising Stars of Wealth Management," the average age is 37.

• Drivers Not Keen to Hit the Roads This Summer

  Demand for gasoline in the U.S. sunk to a 5-year low during the 4th of July holiday weekend.

• Crocodile Dundee Snarls at Aussie Tax Authorities

  Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan has told Australian tax authorities to "come and get me."

• Fidelity Gives Elementary Kids a Head Start on Investing

  Elementary school students will learn how to trade and analyze stocks and bonds this summer.

• Hackers Steal Passwords of 18 LPL Advisors, Assistants

  LPL Financial notified authorities that the security of 18 employees in nine of its branches around the world had been compromised.

• It Pays to Be Dick Grasso

  A state appeals court rules that the former NYSE Chairman does not have to return any of his controversial comp package.

• Latest Lunch with Buffett Costs 224% More

  Zhao Danyang placed the winning bid of $2.11 million in a charity auction for the chance to dine with Warren Buffett.

• And to My Dear Woofy...

  Setting up trusts to pay for pet care isn't just for eccentric millionaires.

• Samuel Israel III: The Great Hedge Fund Escape Artist

  A look at the dramatic life of Samuel Israel III, the erstwhile Bayou Capital hedge fund manager.

• Traveling Abroad? Be Prepared For Laptop Inspections, Seizures

  If you're at any of the U.S. border crossings, your laptop can be searched, copied and sized via "suspicionless" searches.

• (Some) Work on a BlackBerry Counts Towards Pay

  Reportedly, staffers at ABC have told management that they deserve pay for the work conducted on BlackBerrys after office hours.

• Legg Mason Cuts CEO Salary

  In light of Legg Mason Inc.'s recent struggles and dropping stock price, the company has slashed the pay of CEO Mark Fetting and its founder Raymond "Chip" Mason.

• What Would Carlin Say About Subprime?

  The word "subprime" means nothing because the over-used phrase masks the true dangers of sloppy underwriting and aggressive lending.

• IRS May Have Goofed on 385,000 Stimulus Payments

  Calculations of economic stimulus payments by the Internal Revenue Service may have been wrong in nearly 400,000 cases.

• Leap Year's Extra Date, Spent in Court

  Florida cardholder files lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. for overcharging her in daily interest charges, without adding an extra day for the leap year.

• What Advisors Do Online

  Advisors are routinely using non-industry websites, particularly YouTube, and bank online in larger numbers than expected, says a new study tracking e-business habits.

• MBAs Pick Goldman Over Google

  The investment bank is chosen as the corporate employer of choice in a recent survey.

• Lower Pay for Wall Street New Hires

  A survey of recruiters shows lower pay is in store for new hires on Wall Street.

• Goldman: Layoff Report Inaccurate

  Goldman Sachs did not lay off 25% of vice presidents in its investment banking division, a firm spokesman said.

• Omaha Oracle Takes on Hedge Fund Wager

  Buffett has engaged in a $640,000 wager with Protégé Partners that they cannot beat the S&P 500.

• Salaries up 67% for Top HF Managers

  Salaries for the top 25 hedge fund managers in the industry skyrocketed to an average of $892 million in 2007 from $532 million the year prior, according to industry magazine Alpha.