The List

Hip-hop can be a lucrative business, what with the music, endorsements and side projects. Here are hip-hop’s biggest earners of the year, according to Forbes.com:

1. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson: $150 million

2. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter: $82 million

3. Sean "Diddy" Combs: $35 million

4. Kanye West: $30 million

5. Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley: $22 million

6. Pharrell Williams: $20 million

7. Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean: $17 million

8. Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus: $16 million

9. André "Dr. Dre" Young: $15 million

10. Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges: $14 million

Tip of the Week: Women, boost your financial confidence

According to a new survey, while overall women tend to have clear financial priorities, many are experiencing a confidence gap. Here's some advice from www.prudential.com/women on gaining financial confidence:

- Invest in some user-friendly financial planning software and start reviewing your records. Know where your money is invested, how much debt and insurance you have. Next, make a list of areas of interest that you'd like to learn more about, such as annuities, stocks and bonds, insurance and IRAs.

- Meet with a financial planner. Ask friends and colleagues for referrals and look for someone that you feel comfortable with who specializes in financial planning for women.

- Carefully review your life and disability insurance needs, especially if you are the primary breadwinner. Life insurance can help protect a family from the devastating loss of a wage earner. Be sure to ask your financial planner if long-term care insurance is right for you.

- Max out your 401(k). This is one of the easiest, smartest things you can do to help prepare for retirement.

- Make a will or estate plan. (ARA)

Tech Tip: Customize your Web experience

Tired of all the ads, banners or images on a Web page? Thanks to a new add-on from Firefox, you can now get rid of them. The RIP (Remove It Permanently) program lets you take almost any item off a Web page. For more information, go to http://rip.mozdev.org.

In the News

Looking for a Chevy pickup with 1 million miles? Head to eBay and check out Frank Oresnik’s Silverado. His first attempt at selling the truck on eBay failed to produce results (the minimum bid was $30,000), so he’s trying again, this time without a minimum. 

Quote of Note

"Quite frankly, the results were pretty dismal."

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said at a news conference announcing that the number of troubled banks has climbed to the highest number in five years.

Number to Know: $40 million

Amount of money Mattel was awarded by a federal jury in a hearing over copyright infringement of MGA’s Bratz dolls. The popular dolls were conceptualized at Mattel by a designer who then went to MGA, which made Bratz. 

GateHouse News Service