ORLANDO, Fla. The Walt Disney Co.‘s newest princess doesn’t arrive in movie theaters for another month, but she is already easy to find at Walt Disney World. Theme-park guests can meet Tiana, an African-American princess, and watch her perform in a musical riverboat show. They can buy Tiana dolls, undergo Tiana makeovers, and eat Tiana’s Magical Kisses—bite-sized, white-chocolate-covered graham crackers. They can even get vouchers for a child’s ticket to Tiana’s movie.

One of the top 10 home sales in September in the Richmond area was for a house with 12,870 square feet that sold for $931,900. It is assessed for $1.845 million. Is this a crazy market or what? Yes and no. The house, at 330 Pembroke Lane in Goochland County, was a foreclosure. It was listed in 2006 for $2.995 million, according to the county assessor’s office.

NEW YORK Some of fashion’s best-known names are playing musical chairs. Faced with a consolidating department store industry and eroding sales, some labels are cutting ties with retailers that sold their clothing and betting their future with one chain. Liz Claiborne Inc.‘s announced last month that it’s moving its namesake line to J.C. Penney Co. from Macy’s Inc. Other stores have made similar moves with other major brands, like Tommy Hilfiger and Dana Buchman.

NEWELL, W.Va. Born of the Great Depression, it was a glossy, color-saturated line of cups, bowls and plates meant to affordably brighten lives and dinner tables. Seven decades later, Fiesta dinnerware is still designed to send a subtle message of optimism, but it’s no longer quite so cheap. Yet Fiesta’s enduring popularity and strong sales even as consumers cut back are helping to keep struggling Homer Laughlin China Co. afloat. It’s the last major dinnerware producer that makes its products in the U.S., as competitors have shut down or moved offshore.

It boasts ocean views, an infamous former owner—and now a buyer willing to pay more than $8.75 million. An unidentified buyer or buyers snapped up Bernard Madoff’s Long Island beach house within days after the U.S. Marshals Service put the seized property up for sale, a spokeswoman for broker The Corcoran Group said yesterday. Spokeswoman Anne Lacombe said the fallen money manager’s Montauk retreat was under contract for more than its $8.75 million asking price. She didn’t have the exact figure, any information on the intended buyer or the closing date.

DALLAS It was a historian’s nightmare. During the change from the Clinton to the Bush administration, Web sites affiliated with the Clinton White House went dark, and an unknown number of online documents and files were forever lost. Such Internet deaths inspired the Cyber Cemetery at the University of North Texas, which preserves government Web sites in their final form. The Cyber Cemetery archives sites when commissions or panels expire, allowing the online work of defunct government bodies to live on and remain accessible to the public.

Whether it’s a matter of ignorance or greed, people are still buying General Motors stock, even though the company and the government have warned that the shares will someday be worthless. Investors are picking up millions of shares every day, thinking they’ll profit from what is really a hodgepodge of outdated factories and a pile of debt left behind when the new General Motors Co. exited bankruptcy court protection.

DALLAS As her husband climbed the corporate ladder, Colette Young noticed that many other executive spouses were looking for advice: What’s appropriate to wear to a corporate function? How should they deal with a spouse who’s tied to a BlackBerry? So Young, the wife of 20 years of Dr Pepper Snapple Group CEO Larry Young, formed a business. As her brochure puts it: “At ExecuMate we strive to help executives be incredibly successful. We believe a supportive, engaged spouse can contribute greatly to that success and ultimately to the overall success of the company, too.“

So you’re looking for an unusual vacation—something where you’ll get to see a lot of sites for not a lot of cash. How about a slow boat to China? (Or Brazil or Europe or Australia.) A number of cargo-ship companies make their freighters available for a limited number of guests traveling to a number of exotic destinations, sometimes for less money than a conventional cruise. And don’t worry, you won’t have to swab the decks.

SAN DIEGO Aluxury resort in San Diego is offering rooms for $19 a night—if you don’t mind sleeping in a tent. The Rancho Bernardo Inn boasts three pools, a spa and golf course. It typically charges more than $200 a room. But business is down. So from Sunday through the end of the month, guests can get a “Survivor Package” that charges them less for each amenity they give up.

WASHINGTON The Poker Players Alliance hopes a hot hand in the nation’s capital this week will help its efforts to legalize online poker. As part of its “National Poker Week,“ the group has set up nearly 100 meetings with members of Congress and their aides, and it plans to present a petition to President Barack Obama today that had more than 350,000 signatures at last count. Famous poker players such as Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Andy Bloch and Greg Raymer are participating as well.

CHARLOTTESVILLE ACharlottesville software developer has built an application for the iPhone that will allow consumers to purchase tickets to local music and arts events over their mobile phone. “I made it for totally selfish reasons,“ Michael J. Prichard said. “This is something that I wanted. I though it’d be cool if I could just pull out my iPhone and buy a ticket to a concert.“

Circuit City. Linens’N Things. Bombay Co. They’re all out of business, their stores shuttered, many employees laid off. But according to their old Web sites, they’re all still selling, or planning to sell, the same stuff they always did—everything from digital picture frames to leopard-print rugs. How can this be? Didn’t these companies shut down?

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. Ho Van Le, who trawls in the Gulf of Mexico aboard his 50-foot vessel Star Light, understands the price squeeze facing shrimpers as this year’s season gets under way amid a global recession. “Diesel high, shrimp go down,“ Le said. Once a trade that kept bayou families afloat for generations, shrimping is beset by imports flooding the market, rising fuel prices and a spate of hurricanes that have kept costs high.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. Fewer corporate hospitality tents are at this year’s U.S. Open, but you wouldn’t know there’s an economic downturn by watching the massive souvenir tent at Bethpage State Park. Business has been brisk as fans have turned out to see early-week practice rounds. “It amazes me that people are willing to spend $500 on this stuff,“ said New Jersey car dealer John Bustard, taking a moment outside the tent Tuesday to grouse about his own financial situation.