Analysts are watching the global oil situation with a raised eyebrow as prices flirt with the $100 per barrel mark. The U.S. economy is bearing the brunt, because with a weakening dollar oil costs more, and because at 20 million barrels per day, America uses more oil than any other nation.

The alternative minimum tax (AMT), enacted in 1986 to make sure that a handful of millionaires paid at least some federal income tax, has come to affect tens of millions of taxpayers — most not even close to being millionaires.

Think twice about accepting a job with an organization headed by a renowned industry captain, a technological wunderkind or a visionary philanthropist, warns an expert who's studied the downside of charismatic leadership.

The first official baby boomer reached age 62 and applied for Social Security benefits recently. Her action set off a ripple of reaction, fueled by a fear that plagues many Americans — that the Social Security system will collapse under the weight of millions of baby boomers entering retirement.

The ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite claims an impressive 95 percent market share. Yet since 2000, a free suite of software that includes spreadsheet and word processing programs similar to Excel and Word has evolved.

The tentative contract agreement that assigned a role to the United Auto Workers in managing the healthcare costs of its General Motors members was a turning point in the relationship between business and labor — and a sign of things to come in a global economy.

Last week's job growth report indicated that some 89,000 jobs were added to the economy nationally in August, and another 110,000 in September. That means the average monthly job growth for 2007 will hover around 125,000 per month — down from the 160,000 average in 2006 and 175,000 in 2005.

Politicians and pundits blame sinking workforce participation on discouraged workers exiting the job market, but actually demographics plays a big role.

Fifty-one percent of those polled by the Gallup organization on January 19, 2014 believe that the U.S. economy is getting worse, but four key measures of economic health tell a different story.

James Glassman and Lee Ohanian have very different takes on the current and near-future health of the U.S. economy. Glassman, managing director and senior economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., says that a decent economic recovery is in progress.