I have to admit that I'm a little naïve. While I've long since realized that rich men and pretty girls go together like frat parties and crab lice, I always assumed that the connection was tenuous and unformed. Basically, I imagined that it was a matter of overlapping social circles: bars, nightclubs and restaurants use financial sector employees to boost their bottom line by buying overpriced drinks and over-engineered food. In order to get these socially inept adrenaline junkies in the door, hot spots try to attract models by offering free crudite, well-appointed vomitoria, and... you guessed it, large numbers of financial sector employees. Thus, the models find their money men, the money men get their gold diggers, and the restaurants get a lot of money.

Now, I'm not a total rube. I never thought for a second that this connection was the result of random chance or pure romance. After all, there is nothing like a model to enhance the reputation and self-image of a hedge fund manager. Conversely, after Baywatch went off the air, financial-sector employees became the ultimate means for aging models to parley their looks into long-term financial security. Both groups have something to offer the other; while this may not be the basis for true love, it certainly serves as a stable foundation for a business arrangement.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Something new and something old, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) the large Internet trading platform competes more each day with Craigslist, who's platform continues to unfold. They are very much the same, and oh so different, too. Craigslist has been resisting becoming eBay in too many ways, yet eBay has gone through the back door to acquiring partial ownership and tracking a competitive threat from the inside.

Being public, eBay must disclose its financial information, which is not true for the private Craigslist. Craigslist is not happy about eBay's ownership position, and for its part eBay has sued Craigslist. It says the board diluted its interest in the popular site by more than 10%, and the two have been trading accusations since.

For most of Craigslist's history there has been pressure to become public or sell itself outright or make the pursuit of profit a higher motive. That has been shunned in favor of slowly building a user friendly and practical Internet information trading platform.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that The ServiceMaster Company (NYSE: SVM) has shelved its $1.15B sale of junk bonds that would help to pay for the LBO of the company due to "investor nervousness."
• The Wall Street Journal reported that eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) has quietly opened a classified ad site in the U.S., which would rival Craigslist.
• According to people familiar with the situation, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) has approached several private-equity firms that are involved in the bidding for Cadbury Schweppes plc's (NYSE: CSG) U.S. drinks business, reported the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) has been given clearance to sell its BlackBerry device in China, reported the New York Times.
• Big names like International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Infosys Technologies Limited (NASDAQ: INFY), TCS and The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) are opting out of the bidding race for Citigroup Incorporated's (NYSE: C) BPO arm, reported the Times of India.