* Has 45 million usersOct 18 (Reuters) - Dropbox, the company behind the virtual file cabinet that allows users to access documents, photos and videos from different devices, said it had raised $250 million in funding.Index Ventures led the series B round from participants that also included Benchmark Capital, Goldman Sachs , Greylock Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, RIT Capital Partners, and Valiant Capital Partners.Dropbox plans to tap the money for expansion —through acquisitions and partnerships — as well as for new hires.The San Francisco-based company said it had 45 million users who access 1 billion files every three days. It provides a certain amount of storage for free before charging people for extra capacity.Dropbox, which has not disclosed its revenue, competes with other services like Google Inc’s free Docs.So far, Dropbox raised $257.2 million that includes early investors Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Hadi and Ali Partovi.

“I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights,” Swank said in a statement.Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him “people are better dressed here than in New York.” When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov’s birthday, she said: “I do my research, I study what is going on here.”The “Million Dollar Baby” actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.She added she was unaware of Kadyrov’s policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya’s Islamist insurgency.”I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights,” Swank said.Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov “I love you with all my heart.” Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby” and also starred in romantic drama “P.S. I Love You” and “Amelia”.

Students managed to break into the hall of the Goldman Sachs building in the heart of Milan’s financial district, a few steps away from La Scala opera house, police said.The protests were quickly dispersed by police and security was restored to the elegant building, though red graffiti was daubed on its walls expressing anger at Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and proclaiming “Give us money.”Protesters in Italy’s financial capital also hurled eggs at the headquarters of UniCredit , the country’s biggest bank.As part of the global rally on Saturday, a demostration is scheduled to start at 1200 GMT in Rome, where peaceful protests in front of the Bank of Italy continued on Friday for a third straight day.

* “We are the 99 percent” is the rallying cry of protesters, who believe the top 1 percent of Americans hold too much of the country’s wealth and should face higher taxes.The top 1 percent of the population held 35.6 percent of the nation’s wealth in 2009, according to a study released in March by the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The same report showed that more than a decade earlier, in 1998, the top 1 percent held more than 38 percent of the wealth — a few percentage points more.A similar study by the nonpartisan Levy Institute of Economics at Bard College found the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans held 34.6 percent of the wealth in 2007.* There is too much income inequality in the United States, dividing the country into a small number of haves and many have nots.The gap between rich and poor has been gradually widening for decades. The top five percent of families by income accounted for 21.7 percent of total aggregate income in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The top 20 percent of families accounted for 50.3 percent of total income. Whereas in 1970, the top five percent held 16.6 percent of income, and the top 20 percent held 43.3 percent of income.The bottom 20 percent of households by income accounted for 3.4 percent of income in 2009, down from 4.1 percent in 1970.A United Nations report showed income inequality was greater in the United States than in some other major developed economies such as Japan and Germany, but inequality was not as great as in some less-developed countries such as Brazil.The percentage of Americans living in poverty reached 15.1 percent in 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 2009, the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years that estimates have been published.* Too many people are out of work and even well-trained people are unable to find jobs.The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As late as April 2008 the unemployment rate was only 4.9 percent, but after the financial crisis it quickly doubled to a peak of 10.1 percent in October 2009. It has held near double digits ever since.The United States lost 8 million jobs during the 2007-2009 recession and only about 1.4 million of those have been regained.The lack of jobs is particularly acute among young people, with the unemployment rate for ages 20-24 at 14.7 percent in September. The unemployment rate also is higher for minorities such as Hispanics and African Americans, and for military personnel returning from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Unemployment also is higher for less-skilled workers than for those with a college degree.The unemployment figures compiled by the government do not include people who have become discouraged and have stopped looking for work.* Banks caused the global financial crisis and were bailed out by the U.S. government. Now they are making huge profits and are back to getting fat bonuses.The U.S. government spent $413 billion on its bank bailout fund, called TARP, after the 2008 crisis, of which $314 billion has been recovered by taxpayers, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The government spent another $245 billion investing in 700 troubled financial institutions to prop them up and received $256 billion back, so it made a profit on that program.Bank profits were $28.8 billion in the second quarter of 2011 at FDIC-insured banks, up 37.9 percent from the previous year and the eighth consecutive quarter that industry profits improved year-over-year, according to the FDIC.Profits are expected to be up about 2 percent in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research. Banks begin reporting quarterly results on Thursday.Cash bonuses paid to Wall Street employees for work done in 2010 declined 7.5 percent to $20.8 billion, according to a report released by the New York State Comptroller on Tuesday. Bonuses for work done in 2011 are expected to fall again, according to the report.SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Levy Institute of Economics, Economic Policy Institute, United Nations, Thomson Reuters Proprietary Research, New York State Comptroller.