The Labor Department comes out with its latest unemployment report Friday morning. Analysts expect 15,000 jobs were created. But they also forecast that December's jobless rate will edge higher from 8.6 percent to 8.7 percent. A separate survey on private sector hiring showed strong gains in December.

IMF Director Christine Lagarde says 2012 will not be the end of the euro currency, despite the debt crisis. But billionaire investor George Soros isn't as optimistic. He was quoted as saying that what's happening in Europe "is more serious and more threatening" than the crash of 2008.

For every dollar spent on lobbying for a 2004 corporate tax bill, companies benefited $220, a new study says. That's a return of 22,000 percent.

The voluntary move allows GM to avoid the bad publicity and federal monitoring that come with a formal recall, after the vehicles' batteries have caught fire following crash tests. GM has a huge incentive to protect the image of the Volt, which burnishes its image as a more innovative brand.

Heather Peters argues her hybrid never got the 50 miles to the gallon promised by Honda. She took the case to small claims court, because there Honda can't be represented by high-priced attorneys.

Many environmental concerns are starting to surface as East Coast cities plan to dredge their ports — like in Miami, where engineers would drill for two years to deepen Biscayne Bay's limestone bottom. But like many cities, Miami wants business from new cargo ships from the Panama Canal.

General Motors is scrambling to quiet concerns about fire dangers involving its high-profile electric hybrid car, the Chevy Volt. GM is asking Volt owners to bring in their hybrid electric cars for what it calls "enhancements."