Walmart launched the first salvo in the holiday retail wars, announcing a Christmas Price Guarantee: Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25, if a customer buys a product and then finds it at a lower price elsewhere, Walmart will issue a gift card equal to the difference. The move continues a recent trend of retailers promoting products earlier and more aggressively to pull in frugal shoppers who are pickier in this economy.

President Obama is visiting Nevada, a state at the center of the foreclosure crisis. His administration has some programs in place to try to help struggling homeowners. But the leading GOP White House hopefuls so far haven't said much about how they would fix the downturn.

Fuel convoys are expensive and dangerous, pushing the military to seek out new energy sources. That frequently pairs them with alternative energy startups, which some call risky ventures. For the companies themselves, the chance to work with the military means more investment and a chance to expand.

Alabama farmers are facing a labor crisis because of the state's new immigration law. So far, piecemeal efforts to match the unemployed or work release inmates to farm jobs are not panning out, and farmers are asking state lawmakers to do something before the spring planting season.

Regardless of how Europe resolves its debt crisis, changes are needed. Like the U.S., Europe's road to recovery is likely to be long and difficult. As European markets get closer to a meltdown and the echoes of the 2008 banking crisis still resonate in the U.S., has anything changed on Wall Street?

Did you really think the apples you lifted out of a wooden crate at a grocery store came from a local farm? Think again. As Martin Lindstrom explains in his new book, Brandwashed, companies use many tricks to manipulate our minds and persuade us to buy.

Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, otherwise known as the supercommittee. The group is working on a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. Host Audie Cornish gets an update from Van Hollen, who played a major role in Vice President Joe Biden's debt talks earlier this year.

The company held its first shareholder's meeting since the U.K. phone-hacking scandal erupted. Outside, protesters assembled to condemn News Corp.'s leadership. Inside, investors protested, too.