A United States District Court judge in Manhattan has thrown a wrench into the way the Security and Exchange Commission has been enforcing its fraud cases.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff threw out a $285 million settlement deal between the S.E.C. and Citigroup in which the bank would not admit nor deny wrongdoing in a mortgage derivatives deal.

Rakoff said he would not OK the settlement because he did not know the facts of the case and it was "neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest" for him to do so.

Shoppers stormed retail stores this past weekend, and now on Cyber Monday, many are clicking their way to more purchases.

"I am definitely a price-based shopper," said Sarah Kelly, a 28-year-old Washington, D.C., resident who bought a KitchenAid mixer Monday morning as a holiday gift. She also bought shoes, clothes and other presents after waking early to search for online coupons and shipping offers. "I only purchase if the shipping is free," she said.

Bloomberg ran quite a story, yesterday. It stems from a Freedom of Information Act Request that yielded the details of previously secret borrowing from the federal government to the biggest banks.

The bottom line, reports Bloomberg, by March of 2009, the Fed had committed $7.77 trillion "to rescuing the financial system, more than half the value of everything produced in the U.S. that year." The lending began in August of 2007.

Federal authorities announced Monday that they have seized the domain names of 150 websites accused of selling counterfeit or pirated merchandise.

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI coordinated the effort for "Cyber Monday," the day that for many shoppers kicks off the online holiday shopping season.

The acclaimed, eccentric, and very polarizing British film director Ken Russell has died, after a series of strokes at the age of 84.

The director of Tommy, Women In Love and Altered States, Russell was known for a florid style and fascination with sadomasochism that earned him condemnations and a cult following. His adaptations of classic literature and over-the-top biopics ranged from perverse to merely provocative — and an indelible nickname: "Kinky Ken Russell."

At point today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.9 percent to 11,554. The rally comes after news that European leaders had made progress on a solution to the sovereign debt crisis and record sales this past Friday.

It also comes after a 4.8 percent downturn last week, the worst Thanksgiving week since the markets started observing the holiday in 1942.

It's funny how the birthplace of one little bean can stir up a world of passions. But when it's the soybean, maybe it's not such a shocker.

Soy plays an outsized role in human history, serving as the primary source of protein in Asia for millennia. That can slip by people in the United States, where — until very recently — the super-nutritious bean was relegated to animal feed.

Anxious parents sometimes ask the pediatrician if they can postpone vaccines for young children. And a new survey suggests quite a few doctors go along with the requests, despite standing recommendations they stick to a strict schedule.