TMZ reports that a Playboy (PLA) shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that majority shareholder and chief creative officer Hugh Hefner has intentionally sabotaged multiple deal possibilities in an effort to hold onto his own lifestyle.

"If you were Hugh Hefner, 81, would you give up the parade of busty blonds, the fancy mansion and the reality TV show for a payout?" the lawsuit asks. "Hefner has continued to live the good life and make sure everyone knows it. Hefner remains in the limelight, showing up at media events and at the Playboy mansion ... with his girlfriends by his side."

Best Buy (BBY) has done great things in recent years, even amid the economic downturn and a crunch in consumer spending. It has basically pushed Circuit City out of the market forever, held its own against the likes of Walmart (WMT) in flat-panel televisions and consumer electronics, and has launched various initiatives for the future.

Why keep itself to the consumer electronics space, then? At some point, could the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. carry electric vehicles alongside those LCD televisions? Best Buy's recent push into individual "green" transportation indicates that the passenger vehicle of the future may not be something you visit a traditional automobile dealer for.

It sometimes is a small, unpredicted event that moves markets. Today it was Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank. He unexpectedly left a meeting in Australia to attend special meeting of European leaders to address the region's economy.

That was the trigger that shot off a turnaround in world markets. Stocks and commodities are trading higher in anticipation that the Greek sovereign debt problem will be dealt with. The U.S. market, just opened, did it with a bang as the Dow industrials more than recovered its triple digit loss from Monday to be back above the 10,000 mark.

As the number four wireless carrier, the situation is grim for T-Mobile USA. In this industry, size does matter in terms of network coverage and access to phone options. Plus, there is downward pressure on pricing, such as from prepaid operators like Leap (LEAP) and MetroPCS (PCS).

Now, it looks like shareholders are losing their patience with T-Mobile, which is actually owned by German giant Deutsche Telekom AG (DT).

Just when you have had enough of hearing about Apple's (AAPL) iPad, I have something else for you. It seems Steve Jobs may have issued a bit of a surprise at yesterday's iPad unveiling. The surprise? The price. According to the ValleyWag blog, some Apple bigwigs were told that the price of the iPad was pegged at $399 -- not the $499 that Steve Jobs revealed.

Is this true? It wouldn't be the first time that a rumor like this circulated. The first comment brings up the rumor that the Macintosh was set to carry a price tag of $999, but that Steve Jobs pulled a fast one -- doubling the price thanks to the marketing of the computer. Is this a substantiated story? No, it ranks up in the pantheon of lore like the cocaine in Coca-Cola.

It seems that you can't swing a dead iPod in the financial media lately without hitting an article about Apple's (AAPL) hotly anticipated "iSlate" (and yes, I realize I am part of the problem right now). The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is unveiling its latest gadget in San Francisco next week, and just about everyone is predicting that it will be a touch-screen tablet computer.

Shares of Cadbury (CBY) are moving slightly higher today, on news that Hershey (HSY) could be announcing a solo bid for the company as early as next week.

It was just a couple days ago that Cadbury rejected another bid, for $16.91 billion from Kraft Foods (KFT).

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the FBI is looking into a potential computer-security breach that resulted in the theft of tens of millions of dollars from Citibank by computer hackers.

These hackers appear to be linked to a Russian cyber gang who targeted Citigroup's (C) Citibank subsidiary, including its North American retail bank and other businesses. This attack was detected over the summer, but there is a chance that it could have happened as much as a year earlier.

In an unusual move, Russia's Finance Ministry sold 30 metric tons of gold to the Russian Central Bank for $1 billion dollars.

A Finance Minister who declined to be identified said the proceeds would be used to ease the crisis in Russia's budget. By way of contradiction, bank representatives said they were unaware of the deal.

Digital Sky Technologies may be looking to grow its online empire a little bit. The Russian investment firm is said to be making a play for Aol's (AOL) ICQ instant messaging service. A report in the Wall Street Journal, which cites sources familiar with the talks, says that the discussions are still in early stages. And, in case Digital Sky doesn't bite, Aol is exploring options with other companies. The WSJ puts the possible sale price at $200 million to $300 million.

Back in July, Digital Sky pumped another $100 million into Facebook, paying $14.77 a share for the privilege of investing in the white-hot social media company which could be setting the stage for an initial public offering next year.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has not yet joined the netbook PC race, even though that segment of the personal computer industry has been on fire in the last year in terms of overall sales. Apple, as usual, has derided the category as older machines with cramped keyboards and limited usefulness. Consumers apparently are not listening, as netbook PCs continue flying off the shelves.

The Dubai crisis is not going away. Government owned Dubai World has scheduled a meeting with creditors to discuss the possible settlements.

What is most troubling is that the government of Dubai has refused to guarantee Dubai World's debt. That creates an international situation. While it has not been confirmed, it is believed that Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and local lenders Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank are key creditors.

Apple's (AAPL) iPhone has been the biggest feather in the cap of U.S. partner AT&T (T), which has recruited millions of new wireless customers every quarter just based on the iPhone handset alone. Without it, AT&T could have slipped far behind larger rival Verizon Wireless in the last few years. In part due to the iPhone's incredible success, Verizon Wireless had to buy rival Alltel earlier this year just to keep up (and surpass) AT&T's wireless subscriber numbers. But what would happen if the iPhone went to another wireless carrier?

A Financial Times report indicates that American International Group (AIG) could soon receive an offer on its aircraft leasing unit, known as International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC). The newspaper claims that a consortium of private equity investors, led by current ILFC CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy, "is close to making a bid for about half of the aviation-leasing business."

The consortium reportedly includes Onex, Greenbriar and Canada Pension Plan. An offer could be made as early as this week, according to FT's sources. AIG set a deadline of Dec. 3 for bids on the unit, in hopes of making a decision by Dec. 15.

First brewed in 1873, Beck's beer is crisp, fresh, and "full of character." It's also still part of the growing AB InBev family. Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is of course the Belgian-based parent of Anheuser-Busch (BUD), has abandoned plans to sell the German beer brand to Bain Capital.

According to a German magazine, citing financial sources, this was really an eleventh-hour decision, as the contracts were already drawn up and Bain had secured $2.54 billion in financing.