The latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary introduces some new words to our lexicon, including Norovirus, soju and pescatarian.

How about "greenspanned"? Those clever lads over at Conde Nast Portfolio are making merry with these unhappy times via their Who Killed the Economy game. Among the parties named in the NCAA tournament-style "blame game" bracket: hedge funds, China, Ben Bernanke, Angelo Mozilo--and Alan Greenspan.

Funny, but the economy's no laughing matter, with speculative talk of $200 per barrel oil and stocks dropping again--U.S. financial companies have lost more than $1 trillion in value this year. The play's getting pretty rough in some boardrooms, too.

Update 2 on the TNK-BP oil joint venture: the Russian billionaire TNK team tried to oust chief executive Robert Dudley at a board meeting on Monday, but were outvoted by Dudley-nominated directors from the British side. At stake--an extremely valuable oil asset that the Kremlin may just want for itself. The matter has moved to the G8 Summit as a sidebar.

InBev CEO Carlos Brito wants "constructive dialog" with $65 per share takeover target Anheuser-Busch, but the boys in St. Louis--and Washington--want no part of it. Hostilities now loom, as InBev prepares to file its board removal intentions with the SEC.

Some agreement at last in the ongoing Yahoo saga--between Carl Icahn and Microsoft. Is this the tipping point? Is a Yahoo board purge finally taking shape? Mr. Icahn isn't yet talking about Yahoo on his blog--SEC rules, naturally--but with his finger now well and truly in, the pressure's building on the dam. Next date to watch, says BoomTown's Kara Swisher, is Yahoo's July 22 Q2 earnings report.

And the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly have been secretly shopped to potential buyers amid continuing division within the Rooney family.

Is nothing sacred?

Jeff Heilman

7/8/08