Excluding business and financial methodsper se from patentability, although perhaps desirable, is not really feasible given the difficult of defining what they are. Even at the EPO, where there is a general exclusion, such patents do exist whenever the invention solves a particular technical problem. The language in the recent Bilski deiciosn in the United States seems to move in that direction, and to exclude those patents with overbroad and vague cliams which are perceived by many to be the main drag on the innovative system.
You can find more of her research on patents here.
