Money in a Minute: Headlines for March 30, 2011

GOVERNMENT: Auditor: Financial overhaul law cost $1B per year

Remember the financial regulatory reform enacted last year? “It will cost 11 agencies an estimated $974 million to hire employees and for other costs carrying out the new statute,” Yahoo! reports. “The agency spending the most money on the law will be the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the auditors estimated will need $329 million.”

SPORTS: NFL quarterbacks seek court order ending league’s player lockout

While NFL owners and players are deadlocked over contract negotiations – and the players are locked out by the owners – three of the sport’s biggest names have filed a lawsuit so they can get back on the field. Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning “are seeking an injunction ending the lockout,” Bloomberg reports. A hearing is set for next week.

RECALL: 34,000 Tylenol bottles recalled for musty smell

If you bought a bottle of Tylenol 8 Hour (150 count), you might be part of a recall. “The smell was caused by trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, which is applied to wooden pallets that are used to transport and store packaging materials,” CNN Money reports.

ENVIRONMENT: U.S. drops to 3rd in clean-energy investment

The United States dropped from second to third last year in “clean-energy investment” – after falling from the top spot the year before. “China came in first and Germany second,” Reuters reports. “The United States did show some bright spots. It led the world in energy efficiency with $3.3 billion in investment.”

RIP-OFFS: “Impostor scam” complaints rising

Be wary of scammers posing as friends, family, companies, or government agencies. The Federal Trade Commission announced that such scams made its top 10 list for the first time. “Someone calls the FTC at least once a day asking about its non-existent sweepstakes,” USA Today reports. “The problem isn’t showing much sign of abating, despite prosecutions.”