Will A $1.9 Billion Settlement Change Banks' Behavior?
For punishments to work, they need to be both swift and meaningful. The HSBC settlement may be neither.
Business
Most Of Congress In The Dark On 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks
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.
Who Needs College? Young Entrepreneuer Bets On Bright Idea For Solar Energy
Eden Full dropped out of Princeton to found a startup company that brings the solar panel technology she invented to developing countries as part of a fellowship. The unusual program, funded by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, gives young people $100,000 to skip college and focus on their work and research instead.
E.U. Banking Supervision Would Ease Crisis
European Leaders have been working to figure out a way to supervise banks spread across the different countries that use the Euro currency. The German finance minister said a new system would be up and running by the spring of 2014.
Rules Could Make TV Commercials Quieter
CALM is an acronym for a new law that takes effect Thursday. It stands for the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, and it means you won't have to jump for your TV remote the second commercials air. The law says the volume of commercials needs to be the same as the programs they're coming out of.
Post-Sandy, Newly Unemployed Struggle To Stay Afloat
While the storm did not influence the nation's jobless figures as much as expected, there are still thousands of people who are unemployed in Sandy's wake. Many businesses on the East Coast are still making repairs or have closed entirely, leaving many families in limbo.
Chinese Firm Buys Massachusetts Tech Company
On Tuesday, a federal bankruptcy judge gave the nod to a Chinese firm to buy a Massachusetts technology company. The company, A123 Systems, makes batteries for electric cars, but some in Congress are fighting to block the deal.
Do Unions Still Have Clout In Michigan?
The contentious fight over labor rights has been unfolding throughout the Midwest in the last couple years. Michigan becoming a right-to-work state is only the latest example. Over the past two years in Wisconsin and Ohio, Republican governors took on labor unions.
Is California Up Next For An Oil And Gas Boom?
The Bureau of Land Management is auctioning off 18,000 acres of oil leases in California Wednesday. The state has one of the largest deposits of shale oil in the country. And it's attracting new attention because of the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing – or fracking.
Mystery On Fifth Avenue: A Constant Line Outside Abercrombie & Fitch
For years, shoppers in Manhattan's Fifth Avenue have lined up in front the store everyday before it opens. The question is why.