Optimism in India and China faces off against a weak economy in the West. Has the economic torch been passed?

Most Americans don’t have a rainy day fund, haven’t saved enough for retirement, and aren’t prepared to fund their children’s college education, according to a 2009 survey from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. How can we prevent future generations from making the same mistakes? Teach kids about money. The US Department of Education has teamed up with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and National Credit Union Administration to promote financial literacy in schools across the country. Parents have a role, too. Here are nine do’s and don’ts to get your children started

Obama may be having second thoughts about Bill Clinton's joining him for an impromptu press conference about the tax cut deal with Republicans. The former president talked on ... and on.

AP - The eldest son of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff hanged himself by a dog leash in his Manhattan apartment on Saturday, the second anniversary of his father's arrest in a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that swindled thousands of investors of their life savings, law enforcement officials said.

AP - Elizabeth Edwards' oldest daughter is remembering her mother for both the witty advice she gave about clothing and dating, and also the grace and comfort she gave their family.

AP - Newly released U.S. diplomatic cables indicate that the Vatican felt "offended" that Ireland failed to respect Holy See "sovereignty" by asking high-ranking churchmen to answer questions from an Irish commission probing decades of sex abuse of minors by clergy.