Business

Fatima Jafari, owner of Bamboo Wood Industries, listens to a worker in her factory in Kabul, Afghanistan. Jafari is one of the few female entrepreneurs in an industrial trade in the country, despite international efforts to support women in business.

World News

Afghan Woman Carves Out An Entrepreneurial Niche

9:49am December 17, 2012

by Sean Carberry

Despite more than a decade of international efforts to support women in Afghanistan, female entrepreneurs remain relatively rare. But one Afghan woman is trying to show the men a thing or two about making high-quality furniture in Afghanistan.

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Economy

Weighing The Child Tax Credit During Hard Times

7:05am December 17, 2012

There's still no budget deal to prevent the automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect at the end of this year. There are some tax deductions, credits and other breaks lawmakers are weighing in this budget debate.

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Education

Why A Principal Created His Own Currency

2:43pm December 14, 2012

by David Kestenbaum

He created incentives that 11-year-olds could relate to. (Somehow, "Come to school and you'll be better off in 20 years," just wasn't working.)

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Economy

SEC Chairman Schapiro's Exit Interview

7:51am December 14, 2012

In an interview with David Greene, outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro reflects on her tenure at the agency, and the disappointment that she wasn't able to overhaul money market funds. She leaves the job on Friday.

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Guilty Plea Expected In Rate Scandal

7:02am December 14, 2012

The bank UBS has been in the middle of a huge investigation into interest rate manipulation. There are several reports that a subsidiary of UBS is making a settlement deal with U.S., British and Swiss officials.

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'Fiscal Cliff' Message Repeats Itself

6:35am December 14, 2012

As the negotiations drag on, the lack of progress means the key players have necessarily taken to repeating themselves. Sometimes, word-for-word, as they describe how they have worked for a solution while their opponents have stonewalled.

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What Does Right To Work Mean?

5:33am December 14, 2012

The term "right to work" has been in the news a lot this week. On Tuesday, Michigan became the 24th state to enact right-to-work legislation. It means unions can no longer require workers to pay full dues, even if they're working in a union shop.

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HSBC has agreed to pay $1.92 billion to settle a multiyear U.S. criminal probe into money-laundering lapses at the British lender, the largest penalty ever paid by a bank.

National

HSBC Critic: Too Big To Indict May Mean Too Big To Exist

8:01pm December 13, 2012

by Ailsa Chang

The accusations against HSBC were harsh — that the bank laundered money for Mexican drug cartels and conducted transactions on behalf of Iran and other states tied to terrorism. So, why did federal authorities fine HSBC rather than pursue criminal charges?

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National

Will A $1.9 Billion Settlement Change Banks' Behavior?

11:55am December 13, 2012

by Robert Smith

For punishments to work, they need to be both swift and meaningful. The HSBC settlement may be neither.

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Most Of Congress In The Dark On 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks

11:44am December 13, 2012

by Tamara Keith

Of the 535 members of Congress, not many are in the loop about negotiations to avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases in the new year. Lawmakers are waiting to see what President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner come up with — and some are nervous about having to quickly vote on a bill despite misgivings.

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