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P. Diddy sued over Notorious B.I.G. rights

According to the Associated Press, Sean "Diddy" Combs is being sued for more than $19 million by a former consultant to his Bad Boy Entertainment Inc. company.

James Sabatino, who is currently incarcerated for an unrelated crime, says he flew the late Notorious B.I.G. to Miami in 1994 to do a show and record tracks. Diddy agreed to pay Sabatino $200,000 for the 17 minutes of vocals and a video recording of the session in the wake of B.I.G.'s murder.

Diddy paid him $25,000, according to the suit, and promised to pay him the rest within 60 days. But when Sabatino was named a "person of interest" in Biggy's murder, Diddy decided to delay payment for fear of guilt by association, according to the suit.

Regardless of the outcome of the suit, it will not be the first time Diddy has come under scrutiny for his handling of Notorious B.I.G.'s music after his death. He came under fire last year for the release of a "duets" album called Duets: The Final Chapter, which was widely seen as a cynical exploitation of the artist's legacy, featuring collaborations with artists he never would have worked with.

Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett

It's been three weeks since our Money Face-Off feature ran here at BloggingStocks and on AOL, offering you the opportunity to share who you though had the financial edge in a series of twenty head-to-head match-ups. So I thought I'd take another look and see how things have worked out.

It's hard to pick just one big winner. In terms of the largest lead over a rival, Ivanka Trump easily beats Paris Hilton with 89% of the vote. Others holding big leads over their opponents include Tiger Woods, Warren Buffett, Steven Spielberg, and Rupert Murdoch.

In terms of receiving the most votes, the clear leader is the Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart match-up, with just short of 150,000 votes. Other big vote getters were Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham, Rudy Giuliani vs. Michael Bloomberg, and Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs. In terms of the liveliest discussions in the comments, the winners are Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart, Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo, and Bono vs. Angelina Jolie. Also check out the comments for the J.K. Rowling vs. J.R.R Tolkien, Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham, and Ivanka Trump vs. Paris Hilton posts.

As for the face-off posts here that got the most attention, the clear winner is Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo, with more than 13,000 hits. Lindsay Lohan vs. Britney Spears and Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart also attracted lots of readers.

Results for all the face-offs follow below, but keep in mind that the voting is still open. It's not too late to add your vote or let us know what you think.

Continue reading Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett

Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too

It's been a week since our Money Face-Off posts ran here on BloggingStocks and less than a week since the Money Face-Offs were featured on the AOL welcome page, and the response has been terrific. Many of the face-off polls have more than 50,000 votes thus far, and some of the match-ups are very close.

The closest of all is the face-off of CNBC anchors Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo: 50/50 with more than 61,000 votes so far. And the post has garnered 39 comments so far. The commenters have strong opinions, whether defending Bartiromo or Burnett, wishing other anchors had been included, complaining about the photos, or even questioning the Money Face-Off feature itself. Be sure to check it out.

The face-off between the former and current New York City mayors, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, garnered more than 67,000 votes. While Bloomberg has his defenders, presidential candidate Giuliani currently has a small lead in this match-up, with a little over half the votes. Can he hold on to that lead, though?

The match-up of supermodels turned businesswomen, Tyra Banks vs. Heidi Klum, also has more than 50,000 votes so far. In this case, it's Klum in the lead with about 55 percent of the vote. Only one reader, a Tyra Banks fan, has commented so far. Feel free to add your thoughts about which former supermodel you think is more successful.

Continue reading Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too

Money Face-Off: P. Diddy vs. Jay-Z

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

It's small wonder hip-hop stars and brand empire builders Diddy and Jay-Z are known as much for their rap sheets as their balance sheets; after all, they have more AKA's than most mafiosos.

P. Diddy is only "P." in New Zealand and the U.K., and I'll always know him as "Puffy" (and "Puff Daddy," "Sean Combs," and "Sean John"). He's gone through more name changes than Prince and all those formerly-known-as such.

Jay-Z, whose given name was also "Shawn" (though spelled differently from Diddy/Daddy/Puffy's "Sean"), also goes by "Jiggy," "Jazzy," and "Jay Hova." While it seems obvious that Jay-Z would win in a battle of the boys from the block (after all, he's dating Beyonce), and he is, after all, officially richer, still there is controversy. Whose business empire is more diverse and eclectic? Whose criminal record is more sordid? Whose clothing line is more inappropriate for the toddlers they market toward?

Putting criminal records aside for the time being (and for the record, I think Jay-Z, with a stabbing incident on his rap sheet, beats Diddy, whose gun controversy ended with an acquittal and -- most importantly -- zero bullets actually connecting with human flesh), let's compare the rappers' empires:

Continue reading Money Face-Off: P. Diddy vs. Jay-Z

Macy's (M) hooks up with Trump, Martha, and others

After reporting a disappointing decline in second-quarter earnings and sales last week, Macy's (NYSE: M) is pulling out the big guns. Donald Trump and Martha Stewart are just two among a coterie of celebrities being employed in the department-store company's $100 million advertising blitz.

New television spots for Macy's - one of which will debut on September's Emmy-Award broadcast - will also feature R&B singer Usher, Tim Gunn from Project Runway, chef Emeril Lagasse, and hip-hop mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" "P. Diddy" "Diddy" Combs.

Also on the roster as a celebrity endorser for the Cincinnati-based retailer is Jessica Simpson. Seems like a bit of a slap in the face to hometown boy (and erstwhile Simpson paramour) Nick Lachey.

Stewart, figurehead of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO), also is working with Macy's on an exclusive line of Stewart-branded home products, which will launch this fall only in Macy's stores.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The richest ... rap mogul?

If you're like many Americans you view rappers as negatively as thugs or gangsters, you're going to be surprised with the amounts of money some "gangsta rappers" are puling in.

A video recently appeared on Forbes.com which broke down the earnings situation among rappers. According to Forbes, Sean Carter (AKA Jay-Z) pulled in about $34 million last year due to his latest album, Kingdom Come, and his entrepreneurial pursuits.

According to the Associated Press, rapper 50 Cent earned roughly $32 million last year with his G-Unit record label and clothing line. 50 Cent should top the list next year as he cashes out of VitaminWater for $400 million -- a topic covered by our own Zac Bissonnette here.

Other prominent rappers on the list included Diddy ($28 million), Dr. Dre ($20 million), and Eminem ($18 million).

One has to begin wondering if rapping about the ghetto will grow old. It seems like many of the well-known rappers makes 500-10,000 times what the average American makes. Not so ghetto anymore, yo.

More Vitamin Water news

Beth Gaston Moon:
High school vending machines getting more eclectic
Zac Bissonnette: PepsiCo plans a lower-calorie Gatorade
Jonathan Berr: Coke, Pepsi thirst for profits from bottled water
Zac Bissonnette: Experts doubt Snapple will satisfy Coke
Zac Bissonnette: Will Coca-Cola gulp down Snapple?
Joseph Lazzaro: Coke's catching up in the health drink segment
Zac Bissonnette: Coke swallows Vitaminwater
Zac Bissonnette: Coke wants vitamin water
Zac Bissonnette: Coke Zero is no zero, it's a big hit
Sarah Gilbert: Fuze acquisition pits Coke v. Pepsi in ritzy juice war

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S&P 500-1.201,091.88

Last updated: November 10, 2009: 11:56 AM

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