Plundering the Amazon
Alcoa and Cargill have bypassed laws designed to prevent destruction of the world's largest rain forest, Brazilian prosecutors say. The damage wrought by scores of companies is robbing the earth of its best shield against global warming. (Sept 2009)

Washington's Other Handout
While taxpayers and lawmakers fret about the $700 billion bank bailout, the Treasury and Commerce departments are among a list of agencies that waste as much as $100 billion a year on contracts, often managed in secret. (March 2009)

China in Africa: Young Workers,
Deadly Mines
Children in Congo risk their lives digging cobalt and copper ore with their bare hands for Chinese companies. (Sept 2008)

Busting the Chip Cartel
U.S. antitrust prosecutors sent 15 executives from four companies to jail for price fixing of memory chips. There was a rub: The collusion failed. (June 2008)

The Subprime in the Schoolhouse
The mortgage contagion has hit state-run investment pools that handle $200 billion in funds for schools and cities. Taxpayers are in the dark. (Jan 2008)

Ethanol's Deadly Brew
Thousands of Brazilian sugar cane workers are injured and scores die each year in the rush to produce a fuel that Presidents Bush and Lula celebrate as a path to energy independence. (Nov 2007)

Unsafe Havens
U.S. money market funds have invested $11 billion in subprime debt, much of it managed by Bear Stearns. (Oct 2007)

The Insurance Hoax
Property insurers use secret tactics to cheat customers out of payments—as profits break records. McKinsey's advice to Allstate: Use "boxing gloves" instead of "good hands."
(Sept 2007)

The Secret World of Modern Slavery
Steel used to build cars and appliances in the U.S. starts with forced labor in Brazil. (Dec 2006)

Surviving the Storm
After his funds lost 55 percent of their value last year, Citadel's Ken Griffin is making his boldest bet-starting an investment bank to rival Goldman Sachs.

Phil Duff's Hollow Hedge Fund
The Morgan Stanley veteran spent $100 million on staff and offices-and shut down without making any investments.

Topshop's Billionaire Eyes the U.S.
Philip Green, Britain's richest fashion retailer, is betting his Topshop can succeed in a U.S. market that has brought down bigger rivals.

The Fiat Dynasty's Burdens
As heir John Elkann works with management to try to revive Chrysler, two Agnelli family companies face market manipulation charges.

Betting the Bank on Asia
After decades of blunders, London-based Standard Chartered has put its chips on the Far East-and has become the best-performing British bank.