Strong earnings reports from IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday. The Dow rose 96 points to close at 12720.

Rick Perry's candidacy failed almost entirely on the weakness of his debate performances, while Newt Gingrich's  is thriving on the strength of his. One problem: a good debater doesn't necessarily make a good president.

The Cayman Islands used to be known as a 'tax haven.'  That's not necessarily true anymore, but there could be other reasons for Mitt Romney use the Caymans to store his millions.

AP - On the eve of a Southern showdown, Mitt Romney conceded Friday he's in a tight race with Newt Gingrich for Saturday's South Carolina primary in a Republican campaign suddenly turned turbulent.

AP - France's threat Friday to withdraw early from Afghanistan after an Afghan soldier killed four French troops and wounded 15 is a setback for the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to build a national army and allow foreign troops to go home.

AP - The State Department said Friday it "may have no choice" but to close the U.S. embassy in Damascus and remove all US personnel from the country wracked by a 10-month revolt against the regime of President Bashar Assad unless Assad's government takes extra steps to protect the mission.