Greenspan launches learning campaign

Take it from Alan Greenspan: “There’s a lot to learn about money.”

That’s the slogan for a new Federal Reserve financial literacy campaign designed to help people manage their money.

“No matter who you are, making informed decisions about what to do with your money will help build a more stable financial future for you and your family,” Greenspan says in a public service television ad produced to promote the campaign.

The ad provides the address of the Fed’s new educational Web site and a telephone number, (800) 411-5435, that consumers can call to get a free brochure with tips.

Auto Industry: Ford wins lawsuit involving rollovers

Ford Motor Co. won a Supreme Court victory Monday in its effort to avoid paying a record $290 million for a sport utility vehicle rollover accident that killed three family members a decade ago.

The justices ordered a California court to consider whether the damage award was out-of-line. The court also told Kentucky judges to decide whether Ford owed $18 million to the family of a miner killed when a Ford truck slipped into reverse and crushed him.

The amounts could be reduced under a recent Supreme Court ruling setting limits on punitive damages. The high court did not give a formula for determining what punishment is reasonable but said in April that juries should not consider a company’s wealth in making the decision.

That ruling is especially important for large companies like Ford that can face multiple lawsuits over their products.

Health Care: Colon cancer treatment sends stock soaring

Genentech stock soared nearly 45 percent on Monday after the company said an experimental drug previously written off as a failure dramatically extended the lives of some of the sickest colon cancer patients.

Called Avastin, it is the most advanced of a new class of drugs that aim to shut off the blood supply to cancer tumors. Genentech is also testing Avastin in patients with kidney and other cancers.

South San Francisco-based Genentech offered few other details Monday, saying it would release the results of its experiment that involved more than 900 colon cancer patients at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago next month.

“This has the potential of being a blockbuster,” said Adam Walsh, an analyst with Jeffries & Co. Inc.

Manufacturing: Steel company files for Chapter 11 protection

Weirton Steel Corp., the nation’s sixth-largest integrated steel maker and No. 2 producer of tin, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday.

The small, employee-owned company held on while an import crisis took down dozens of competitors, but racked up more than $700 million in losses over five years.

President and CEO John Walker said the company has obtained a $225 million financing package that will allow it to keep operating while it reorganizes.

Walker had been in the middle of a plan to cut costs by $120 million when Weirton Steel’s board of directors voted Monday to file for bankruptcy.