Dollars and Sense

Employee theft and shoplifting will cost retailers nearly $9 billion this holiday season, and unfortunately it's the upstanding consumer who pays for that loss in the end.

On Wednesday, the Powerball lottery reached a record $587.5 million. So far two winning tickets have been announced, one in Arizona and one in Missouri. But there's at least one more guaranteed winner: the Internal Revenue Service. Lottery winners can take their prize in the form of a lump sum or an annuity paid over the next 29 years...

The median net worth of working-class Americans is now lingering at a 43-year low of $57,000.

For those holiday shoppers wanting a second chance at the deals they might have missed over Thanksgiving weekend, Cyber Monday awaits. And while there may be a bit less hand-to-hand combat involved, industry experts say that Cyber Monday is great for bargains—as long as you know where to look.

If you still need a list to check twice this holiday season, perhaps a good place to start would be the recently released annual Consumer Reports “Naughty and Nice” list.

While some fanatical Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers are already at the gates waiting to assault the holiday-shopping season with their fearsome craving for stuff, some retail analysts say the gates are actually open now and the race is already in progress. Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist for Booz and Company says, “Cyber Monday has begun, essentially. No question about it.” Read Mor

Good news for college students: the job market is starting to look a little brighter, with 5 percent more employment opportunities predicted for new college graduates this year, according to a recent survey conducted by the Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute.

If you occasionally fall victim to the holiday blues, you'd better learn to shake it off. A recent study finds that the sadder a person is, the more likely he is to head down the road to bankruptcy.

There is still time to find a few holiday travel deals before Thanksgiving weekend. However, with last-minute flights costing as much as $200 more than those booked in advance, it's hard to say just how good those deals will be.

Federal unemployment benefits are set to run out this holiday season for over 2 million Americans out there still looking for work. Their only chance for survival is if Congress decides to extend the deadline for them to file for an extension for those benefits. However, with amendments to the program made already earlier this year, the outcome appears very bleak.