The first Amendment protects speech from government restriction, but it doesn't force companies to employ those who speak freely about them. Private employers in most states are free to fire their employees at will, as long as the firing is not discriminatory or in retaliation for whistle-blowing or union organizing.

With the popularity of web journals, or blogs, the number of employees being fired for comments made about their employers is on the rise.

For some investors, one way to make money is to find a company that is the target of a buyout and purchase its stock before the merger is announced.

It's a risky strategy, but one telltale sign is often movement at the top of the corporate organizational chart. After a merger, only one of the CEOs involved in the deal can maintain the top position with the new company. That often leads the "losing" CEO to leave the company prior to the announcement.

For 20 years, David Roth was what he calls a "Sunday Christian." On Sundays, the sales and marketing executive went to church. On Mondays, he went to war.

"I didn't lie, cheat, or steal at work, but for me, the workplace was a battlefield and the war was to be won or lost," said Mr. Roth, 47, of Fayetteville, Ark. "It was about getting a promotion, making money. I didn't have my faith on the radar when I was at work."

In the high-tech business world, Carly Fiorina is one of the biggest stars. So why is the first woman to hold the titles of president, CEO, and chairman of a major computer company-all at the same time-now looking for work?

Ever wonder what it would be like to hold the key to the entire U.S. money supply?

That's the role Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues share as members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the group that sets the nation's monetary policy.

Associated Press writer Jeannine Aversa recently detailed the inner workings of the committee, which boosted short-term interest rates to 2.5 percent last week, the sixth increase since June.

Headlining business pages across the nation this past week were the mega-mergers of some of the nation's largest companies.

Leading the way was Proctor & Gamble's $57 billion deal to buy Gillette. With combined revenues of more than $60 billion, analysts say the new company would have greater clout against mass-market retailers like Wal-Mart.

Proctor & Gamble, already the nation's largest producer of household products, would add Gillette's Duracell battery, Right Guard deodorant, and line of razors to its collection of more than 300 consumer brands.

While many major airlines struggle to survive, the world's largest aircraft manufacturers are busy debating which type of planes will fly tomorrow's passengers and cargo.

France's Airbus recently unveiled the world's largest passenger jet, the double-decker A380 "superjumbo," capable of seating as many as 800 passengers. The company spent more than $13 billion to develop the plane, which has a list price of $280 million and is scheduled for its first commercial flight in 2006.