Investors are heading toward the final month of the year with more questions about the economy than they had just a few weeks ago.

Suddenly the Federal Reserve is everybody's punching bag.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010.

Local governments and public entities, already reeling from the recession, face another fiscal crisis: billions of dollars in fees owed to Wall Street firms on investment deals gone bad.

When the holiday shopping season kicks off the day after Thanksgiving, retailers can expect to see millions of less frightened, but even more bargain-hungry customers.

Bank of America may extend its search for a new chief executive into next year if its board is unable to pick a candidate in the next four days, according to a Bloomberg report.

While U.S. newspapers are losing subscribers at a staggering rate, a few dailies stand out because their circulation is rising. But they aren't necessarily selling more copies.

Canadian investor Arthur Wong is buying condos in Las Vegas and Phoenix like a shopper at Costco: In bulk, with slashed prices.

Microsoft has had talks with News Corp about a deal where News Corp gets paid to take its news Web sites off Google, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

For Lawrie Covey and millions of other unemployed workers, life remains a day-to-day struggle. Instead of working on RVs in a factory, she may soon be living in one.

In a sharp improvement, more than half of U.S. states added jobs in October, though economists said many of the gains likely occurred in temporary employment.

Prices have dipped, but some sellers are certain their nine-figure properties will attract buyers.

Hershey Co. may make a $17 billion bid for UK candy company Cadbury PLC, topping the recent $16.5 billion hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc., the Wall Street Journal reports Friday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's nomination to a second term will be the subject of a Senate Banking Committee hearing next month, the panel's chairman said Friday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped a clause from its credit card contracts that required disputes with customers to be handled through binding arbitration.

There are signs of recovery in the nation's heartland, including Elkhart, Ind., but the rebound is faint, uneven and faces many threats.

It's possible to enjoy the holidays without spending lots of money. Here are eight simple ways to trim your budget.

Electric sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, amid growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles.