A new study compiled by PayScale.com has ranked top 20 US colleges on the basis of the income of their alumni. Graduates of Dartmouth College topped the list with a median compensation of $134,000 while those of Princeton College came a close second with a median salary of $131,000.

The list ranked colleges based on the pay of graduates with ten to twenty years of work experience. Top performers of the 2008 graduating class at Dartmouth were bagged by frontline companies like McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and Bain as well as by non-profit organizations like Teach for America and the Peace Corps. The study included only those colleges with at least 1000 people enrolled. The only public college to feature in the top 20 list was University of California at Berkeley.

Even though Dartmouth’s graduates do best with 10 to 20 years of work experience, the highest paid 10 percent of Yale University alumni far exceed the top performers of Dartmouth in their total earnings. Again if less than five years of work experience are counted, then Dartmouth College comes after 18 colleges with a median pay of $58,000. The two best in this measure are Massachusetts Institute of Technology where recent graduates get a median compensation of $72,200 and Stanford University whose graduates earn $70,400.

Troubles facing two of the largest US housing finance providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac show not signs of easing just yet. Last week ended with Moody’s Investor Service downgrading both the preferred stock and bank financial strength ratings of the two mortgage finance companies

The preferred stock ratings of Fannie and Freddie fell as much as by five notches from an earlier “A1” to “Baa3”, which is just one level above junk status. Moody’s also lowered the companies’ financial strength ratings from “B-“to “D+”. The ratings agency moreover revealed that the ratings of the two beleaguered companies will remain on review and may be downgraded even further.

A financial strength rating of D+ signifies that the companies are only moderately financially stable and potentially need some type of outside support like infusion of capital. The downgrade of preferred stock in case of Fannie and Freddie means that the companies will probably have to suspend the payment of a preferred dividend. It also reflects concern about the treatment of its preferred securities in case the government decides to bail them out.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two of the biggest mortgage providers in the US and between them own or back almost half of the county’s mortgage debt. Ever since the housing market crisis, the companies have been tottering on the edge of a major crash, giving rise to expectations of government intervention.

Giant leaps in modern technology have ensured that the business traveler of today remains connected to his work from practically everyplace on Earth and at all times.

Mobile phone network has expanded all over the globe at an unprecedented rate. Currently, around eighty percent of the world has mobile network coverage of some kind. According to figures released by Wireless Intelligence, a data research service, by 2010 the coverage will increase to ninety percent of the globe.

Business convention centers all over the world are increasing offering wireless internet access at their hotels and resorts. Currently the Blackberry is supported in 135 countries and available from more than 350 channels and carriers.

This expansion of digital technology has made it possible for continent-hopping executives to stay connected. In fact a company CEO holidaying at the Yosemite Valley, Galapagos Islands and even on Mount Everest may be surprised to hear his cell phone ring as all these remote destinations are now covered by basic mobile networks.

While it is now much easier to stay connected with one’s workplace, the knife also cuts the other way. There is now greater pressure on executives to stay in touch even while on vacations. In fact, a Deloitte survey conducted in 2007 revealed that of 2000 business travelers on vacations, almost a third responded to e-mails and voice-mails related to work. At the same time, travel agents say that it is the traveler who wants to be sure that the destination is well-connected to the outside world.

British Airways boss Willie Walsh has denied that the airlines is ready to surrender its runway slots at Heathrow airport in order to seal its proposed alliance with American Airlines.

The proposed merger of British Airways and American Airlines would combine transatlantic operations as joint venture and would capture the lion’s share of the inter-continental flights. However the alliance will have to first meet the approval of competition regulators who are expected to demand that the two airlines give up as many as ten pairs of runway slots a day.

However Walsh told The Sunday Times, London that he has no intentions of surrendering the highly-prized runway slots at the Heathrow airport. Across the Atlantic, Walsh’s defiance was backed by the American chief executive Gerard Arpey who claimed that there was no rational basis of such a surrender.

The proposed alliance of American Airlines and British Airways is expected to add to the latter’s bottom line by 2 million sterling pounds within three years. This is a significant amount considering that BA has been struggling with high fuel costs and declining demand and is just on its way to break even this year.

Winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games seems to form the pinnacle of success for every athlete. Yet most of the medal-winning sports personalities have been unable to translate their on-field star status into long term business success.

Successful international players from sports like basketball, football, golf and cricket not only enjoy multi-million dollar contracts but are lavished with equally lucrative endorsement deals. Olympic stars, on the contrary, seem to enjoy a limited success in business ventures and quickly slip away from public memory.

Dean Baim, professor of economics and finance at Pepperdine University has been studying the business of Olympics Games for some time. He points out that for all their dedication and tenacity, the athletes enjoy limited celebrity experience and seem to lack a keen entrepreneurial edge.

However there have been major exceptions. One of the most successful Olympian businessmen is the current Chinese sensation Liu Ning. In the past there has been Bruce Jenner, 1976 decathlon winner, who has earned millions from endorsements and sports commentaries. Others like rower Mary Mazzio, medalists like Bart Connor, Nadia Comaneci, Furniss and athletes like John Morton, Dick Dreissingacker have built businesses related to the Games like coaching, equipments and other training aids.

According to Baim, the strength of focus and motivation ingrained in Olympians can work wonders when correctly channeled into business ventures. With more professional financial guidance available now and greater exposure in global media, hopefully the current generation of Olympic stars will leave a lasting impression in sports and business.