Paul Sullivan The New York Times

If there is a holiday gift almost guaranteed to make a recipient swoon with joy, it is a diamond. But while such stones remain appealing as jewelry, the value of certain colored diamonds has increased while traditional white diamonds have fallen.

Dov Charney, founder of the now-bankrupt retailer American Apparel, and Sam Wyly, who has bought and sold a dozen companies over the decades, from computer companies to steak houses, were both larger-than-life characters with checkbooks to match.

A new site called Upstart pairs investors and people who finished college or graduate school after 2008.

If there is a holiday gift almost guaranteed to make a recipient swoon with joy, it is a diamond. But while such stones remain appealing as jewelry, the value of certain colored diamonds has increased while traditional white diamonds have fallen.

Dov Charney, founder of the now-bankrupt retailer American Apparel, and Sam Wyly, who has bought and sold a dozen companies over the decades, from computer companies to steak houses, were both larger-than-life characters with checkbooks to match.

A new site called Upstart pairs investors and people who finished college or graduate school after 2008.