Missouri investors eligible for $2.6 million.

Attorney General Chris Koster announced yesterday that Bank of America will pay $67 million nationally under a multistate settlement for its involvement in a nationwide scheme to rig bids and engage in other anticompetitive conduct that defrauded Missouri municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit entities in the purchase of municipal bond derivatives. The combined multistate settlements will provide eligible entities the opportunity to receive restitution for the wrongdoing. Approximately 50 Missouri entities are eligible to receive more than $2.6 million under the settlement.

As alleged in the states’ settlement agreement, during the period 1998 through 2003, Bank of America and other financial institutions and brokers allegedly rigged bids, received and provided "last looks" on bids, and submitted non-competitive "courtesy" bids on these investments.

Bank of America voluntarily self-reported the wrongdoing to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under the DOJ’s Corporate Leniency Program, Bank of America was granted conditional leniency based on its acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

It’s always interestin’ to see ever’one agree on somethin’, but if it happens too often it makes me a little uneasy.

I was brought up to think that "goin’ along" wasn’t a healthy thing to be doin’. Now that’s different that agreein’ with someone. There is no shame in comin’ to the same conclusion as other’s after thinkin’ it through.

I suppose the key word here is thinkin’. The same can be said about disagreein’. Some folks just seem to want to stir the pot for the fun of it. Nothin’ wrong with a little stirrin’ now and then, as long as ya don’t slop it out on the stove. The thinkin’ part is what makes the difference.

Like Davey Crocket used ta say, make sure your right, then go ahead.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Weekly Columns

HERE’S A TIP

By JoAnn Derson

• To make a bottle of travel nail-polish remover, start with a clean film canister or airtight medicine bottle. Stuff it with a foam hair roller (with a hole in the middle) that’s cut to fit the bottle. Saturate the foam with nail-polish remover. To use, just stick one finger at a time down in the hole in the roller. Move finger up and down to "scrub" the polish off. This works really well.

• "Sew buttons on the top wrist area of gloves or mittens for children (works for adults, too!). They can be buttoned to a coat or pocket. They stay attached, and it’s easier for kids to unbutton gloves than to unpin them. On my children’s jackets that have no buttons, I sewed a small strip of fleece into the pocket with a buttonhole on it." -- G.S. in Canada

• When camping, use this important tip: Store toilet paper in a coffee can with a lid. It’s watertight -- no dampness will ruin your TP.

• "I like pretty buttons, and I use them to keep track of my earrings. I pin a pair of earrings through the holes of a button, and store them all in a bowl. This way, I get to enjoy both the buttons and the earrings." -- C.L. in Virginia

• "I hang a bag of clothespins in our laundry closet. When adding an item to the basket, I (or my family members) clip a clothespin to any areas that need extra attention. We do this if there’s a stain, or if it needs to be dry-cleaned or hand-washed, for example." -- P.L., via e-mail

• Coffee filters are excellent for applying shoe polish.