Mr. Whalen, who manages a multibillion-dollar mortgage-bond portfolio at Los Angeles-based Metropolitan West Asset Management, stands to gain if Mr. Spirou, a financially stretched homeowner in New York City, reneges on his mortgage loan. That's because Mr. Spirou's $360,000 loan was packaged with thousands of others into a bond, and Mr. Whalen has entered a newfangled derivative contract -- similar to an insurance policy -- that will pay off if enough loans in the bond go bad.

Mr. Whalen, who manages a multibillion-dollar mortgage-bond portfolio at Los Angeles-based Metropolitan West Asset Management, stands to gain if Mr. Spirou, a financially stretched homeowner in New York City, reneges on his mortgage loan. That's because Mr. Spirou's $360,000 loan was packaged with thousands of others into a bond, and Mr. Whalen has entered a newfangled derivative contract -- similar to an insurance policy -- that will pay off if enough loans in the bond go bad.

Great athletes, picked specifically for Lovie Smith's scheme, have helped the Bears' ultraquick defense grow into one of the NFL's best

This is the sermon from the Sunday in which I led worship at Bethany. Great sermon of what to do when you find your life at the "crossroads."

Great Sermon by John Chase at Bethany Presbytarian Church.

Do you remember the joyful times?

Yes. I was with you.

Do you remember those dry seasons?

Yes, I remember. “You were thirsty and you came to me for drink. Even in the most barren seasons, you came to me. Even in seasons of sorrow and struggle. You showed up.

And yes, I was with you.

The loss in unique visitors comes on top of several months of slower growth for both sites. Traffic to MySpace inched up 3.1% in the most recent three-month period ended in September, compared with a 45% jump in the same three-month period a year ago, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Facebook's traffic fell 1.7% in that period, compared with 11% growth a year ago.

obscured under the pile on top of Grossman is another alarming fact: The Bears couldn't run either. This

might be even more alarming than Grossman's awful night

In a sign of the heightened tensions over sharing the financial misery in the U.S. auto industry, parts maker Collins & Aikman Corp. last weekend took the rare step of cutting off deliveries to Ford Motor Co., a move that caused Ford to temporarily shut down production at an assembly plant in Mexico.

He imposed his will on a professional game like no Chicago-based sportsman since Michael Jordan.