Weird Financial News

Lest you focus just on more serious financial issues, such as learning about the riskiest dividend stocks, or whether we're looking at one of history's best buying opportunities, or how Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN  ) is riding Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) coattails, here's a brief recap of some of the more unusual financial news out there:

• For starters, there are some lessons to learn from Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ  ) , which recently gave away 11,000 free pizzas by mistake. It seems that the company had created, considered, and discarded an online coupon concept -- but later, someone tried out "bailout" as a promotion code on the company website and found it worked. Word then quickly spread online, until the company yanked the coupon. Among other lessons, this demonstrates the power of the Internet and how quickly excited customers can communicate with one another. Domino's or Yum! Brands' (NYSE: YUM  ) Pizza Hut division might want to see if they can come up with a profitable version of this promotion.
• America is not the only nation facing a financial crisis. We can learn from others in similar straits. For example, the Congo government is raising much-needed funds by going after politicians who have failed to pay taxes. We can do the same, targeting all kinds of tax avoiders. If an IRS employee manages to collect just $200,000 or $300,000 in an entire year, it'll more than make up for the cost of his or her salary. And odds are, the employee can bring in more. (Here's how you can control your fear of getting audited.)
• Heads up, Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) and other shoemakers! A craze is developing among protesters: throwing shoes. In India, for example, a Sikh journalist recently threw a shoe at India's home minister during a news conference. If this becomes more widespread, people would need to buy new sets of shoes more often. Nike might want to develop ads promoting shoe-throwing.
• Phone service providers such as Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) and AT&T (NYSE: T  ) might start worrying about an imminent drop in usage: In Austria, a woman was fined for calling her son too often -- up to 49 times per day. If governments start restricting how much we can call one another, telecommunications profits will be in jeopardy.

Enough silliness, though. We at the Fool aim "to educate, amuse, and enrich." I invite you to read any other article in Fooldom for at least a little education and perhaps some enrichment, as well. Maybe start with these thoughts on whether we're looking at a market bottom.