If all goes well Tuesday, Andrew Perlmutter will sell his 9,000-square-foot home in an exclusive gated community outside Atlanta in less than 15 minutes.

Perlmutter is part of an increasing number of luxury homeowners choosing to forgo the traditional Multiple Listing Service, months of walk-throughs and back-and-forth deals with real estate agents, instead letting an auction house do all the work in selling their homes.

According to the National Auctioneers Association, sales of residential real estate at auction grew by more than 47% from 2003 to 2008.

While auctioneers have existed for over 2,000 years ... consumers today are growing more and more familiar with everyday auctions due to the popularity of websites like eBay, and the fact the speed, transparency and the ability to set your price points at an auction meets the needs of today's buyers and sellers, says Chris Longly, deputy executive director for the NAA. [Read the full article]

The greenback has gained about 8% against the euro so far this year. Many experts said a lot of this rally had to do with the notion that the dollar was now a much safer haven than the euro in light of the debt problems facing Greece, which is one of the nations that uses the euro currency.

So it would be reasonable to think that the euro may finally get back on solid footing. Not so fast.

The dollar gained more ground against the euro Monday morning, the first day after the $146 billion Greek bailout was announced. And the dollar's strong run may not be over yet.

After all, even though it looks like Greece may be able to avoid actually defaulting on its debt, it's not as if the country is now fiscally fit. Plus, the bailout news was not a surprise. There's been speculation about an IMF/EU deal for months.

The reaction to the Greek bailout for the euro has been less than enthralling. [Read the full article]

A particularly telling moment came when Senator Levin questioned a deposition statement Mr. Blankfein had made in earlier testimony. In that statement, Mr. Blankfein had said he did not realize how important a AAA rating is. Senator Levin found that admission unbelievable. Most anyone selling financial products would recognize the importance of the AAA rating to specific kinds of clients.

Mr. Blankfein's statement is believable, however, when you recognize the fact that his career was straight-lined through the investment bank's trading arm, according to Goldman's own proxy. He had no rotation to other areas and no real exposure in the trenches to the different aspects of the bank's business. [Read the full article]

Shares of Nalco Holding Company rose Monday after the chemical manufacturer confirmed it was providing a solvent that disperses oil to help BP clean up the massive spill spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.

The Naperville, Ill.-based company's stock was up $1.85, or 7%, to $27.49 a share. Earlier, the stock rose more than 18% to a high of $29.25.

Erik Fyrwald, Nalco's chief executive, said in a statement that the company will continue to provide the oil-dispersing solvent for as long as necessary.

We all are committed to helping the people and environment of the Gulf Coast recover as rapidly as possible, said Fyrwald.

Nalco makes a range of chemical products for the energy industry, including an oil spill dispersant" called Corexit 9500.

Corexit 9500 is used to disperse oil spilled on the sea, thereby minimizing its environmental impact, according to a Nalco product bulletin. [Read the full article]