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By Wire services
Published March 19, 2006

THERE'S A WHIFF of revolution in the air as U.S. stockholders grow restless and corporate bosses become increasingly nervous. It's the latest phase of shareholder democracy, the Economist says. "Pension fund activists are threatening one of the fiercest proxy seasons ever, spraying companies with resolutions demanding curbs on executive pay and majority voting in board elections," the magazine says. But the Economist says there's little reason to hope that increased shareholder activism will make much difference in how companies and their bosses behave.

ATM CHARGES have hit record highs, and Bankrate.com estimates that Americans paid $4.3-billion in such fees in 2005, up from $3.8-billion in 2004. The average ATM fee is $1.54, and banks are charging their own customers who use a "foreign" ATM an average of $1.37, for a combined total of $2.91 for each withdrawal. To minimize fees, the Web site suggests planning withdrawals carefully so you're not stuck for cash when you can't make it to your own bank. It also suggests taking cash back from debit card purchases at stores that allow the withdrawals.

AS 78-MILLION BABY BOOMERS near retirement, the relatively new field of "antiaging" is racing to keep up with them. There's Botox, Retin-A face creams and medical spas that offer plastic surgery and laser cosmetic procedures. But the new industry goes far beyond trying to make patients look younger, BusinessWeek says. "Antiaging doctors seek to turn back the internal hands of time by prescribing megadoses of supplements that they believe prevent the body's organs from deteriorating and dying," the magazine says.

FATHER BERNARD MCCOY and his brothers are in a 900-year-old business: ink. They are Cistercian monks, Fortune Small Business reports, and McCoy is CEO of LaserMonks.com, an Internet retailer that sells discounted printer cartridges and other office supplies. Customers include churches and individuals, as well as giants such as Morgan Stanley and the U.S. Forest Service. LaserMonks.com is a for-profit subsidiary of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank near Madison, Wis. Ink is just a beginning, McCoy says. "We could develop a franchise system for other abbeys," he says. "I think we could become the Amazon.com of social entrepreneurs."

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified March 19, 2006, 12:58:45]