And here's another surprise: More than one in four gift cards never gets redeemed. That means if half-a-million cards are purchased in Central New York for about $73 million each year, as much as $20 million of that sum will never be used. It may be an unintended windfall for retailers, but it ought to be an eye-opener for consumers.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., compiled those figures as he devised a strategy to change the outcome. His proposed "Fair Gift Card Act" would require that cards remain valid for at least two years and bar service fees unless the cards have less than a $5 balance after two years.

Seems reasonable. Gift cards should mean what they say, with no hidden surprises.

Yankees buying

Major League Baseball players may not build cars or invent murky new financial schemes. But some New York Yankees rank right up there with the Detroit and Wall Street tycoons.

The news that switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira, 28, accepted a $180 million, eight-year contract would be stunning if he weren't joining the three other highest-paid players in the profession: Alex Rodriguez (10 years, $275 million), Derek Jeter (10 years, $189 million) and C.C. Sabathia (seven years, $161 million).

The Yankees are desperately trying to buy their way back into contention. This past year, despite all the high-priced talent, they didn't make it past the regular season. They haven't been in the World Series since 2003.

The more the team spends without showing results, the more it resembles some of those now-hapless Wall Street firms and auto companies. All that's missing is the Steinbrenners going to Congress for a bailout.