Economists Give Thumbs Up to Obama Jobs Plan

"Payroll tax cuts are very powerful," said one economist reacting to Obama's plan to deepen payroll tax cuts - a move that would put more money in Americans' pockets. Another estimated that the plan would boost economic growth, add 2 million jobs and reduce unemployment by a full percentage point.

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Market Update: Stocks plunge, get no lift from Obama jobs plan

Drug companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to influence doctors' prescribing habits -- money that often goes directly into physicians' pockets for "consulting fees" and "educational presentations." Wondering if your doc one of them? The nonprofit journalists at ProPublica can tell you.

Walmart is bringing back something its customers have been asking for since the Great Recession: layaway. The world's largest retailer, which ditched the pay-as-you-go plans in 2006, is rolling out a holiday layaway option from Oct. 17 through Dec. 16.

With the ink barely dry on their marriage certificates, and piles of thank-you notes yet to be written, many brides are wasting no time getting their summer wedding dresses on the block for fall gown-buying season, hoping to cash out on their investment and eliminate a storage issue in one fell swoop.

On Thursday morning, the announcement went out across the land: Google, the undisputed master of search, had acquired Zagat, America's best-known and most highly-regarded restaurant review company. The companies presented the merger in rosy terms, but it didn't take long for the snarky critiques to begin.

The combination of the high price of college and the less-than-promising job prospects for new grads are fueling a hot debate about the value of a bachelor's degree: Is it worth the money? The Census Bureau parsed the data, and found that of all the variables that effect lifetime earnings, nothing packs the punch that education does.

Even if you've saved enough to live comfortably, the golden years don't buy you a reprieve from money worries. In fact, being retired can make you even more vulnerable to fiscal strife, if you're not prepared. Consider Tom Binns, who retired after a lifetime of savings, only to find that financial responsibilities didn't end with his 9-to-5.

These days, 20-somethings aren't just the young and the restless -- they're the young and the anxious. According to The PNC Financial Services Group's Financial Independence Survey, that demographic is full of financial fears.

A compulsive shopper splurges on her credit cards and then hides the purchases from her spouse. She wants to stop. Dr. David Krueger, a former psychiatrist and author of the new book The Secret Language of Money offers some advice.

On the one hand, the volatile stock market has some investors looking for "safety." On the other, stock market losses have led some to desperately seek fat returns elsewhere. Either way, you could wind up in trouble, because scam artists are ready to prey on the desires of both.

There are now tens of millions of fantasy football players, hoping that dissecting the latest details on Peyton Manning's neck or the quarterback situation in Jacksonville will give them an edge over other friends in their leagues. Sounds a lot like investing, doesn't it?

Once upon a time, Nintendo was king of the video game consoles, but that day is long gone. Shares of Nintendo hit a five-year low this summer, wiping away any gains from the Wii era, and it took a steep operating loss to boot last quarter. Here's why there are no bonus lives in its future.

Zero jobs were created in August. Does that, by itself, augur another recession? Not necessarily -- but add the state of consumer confidence, and top it off with Wall Street skittishness, and all signs point to trouble ahead. Government economists, however, are predicting growth. Here's why they may be wrong.

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BAC
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION
7.17-0.03
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83.02M
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SPRINT NEXTEL CORP
3.44-0.01
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29.93M
IWM
iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund
68.80-0.75
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26.46M

% Gainers

ROSA
iPath Short Extended Russell 1000 TR Index ETN
48.90 7.35
17.69%
4,120.00
CGA
CHINA GREEN AGRICULTURE INC
4.96 0.54
12.19%
454,319.00
RUSS
Direxion Daily Russia Bear 3x Shares
43.20 4.12
10.55%
800.00
SWS
SWS GROUP INC
5.49 0.42
8.28%
134,066.00

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RUSL
Direxion Daily Russia Bull 3x Shares
21.50-2.50
-10.42%
5,050.00
KFY
KORN FERRY INTL
13.44-1.56
-10.37%
441,442.00
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Internet Infrastructure HOLDRS Trust
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-8.39%
6,100.00
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TRC COS INC
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10,694.00

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