UNITED STATES

Paul Christoforo, a PR rep from Ocean Marketing, is under fire after an incendiary e-mail exchange between he and a customer was posted on Penny Arcade and subsequently went viral.

Shares of BlackBerry developer Research in Motion soared as much as 7 percent Tuesday on speculation it may attract a suitor in 2012 or take steps to improve shareholder value.

Chrysler has officially ended production of the Dodge Caliber, the company said last week, ending the line's rocky run and paving the way for the Fiat SpA-designed Dodge Dart.

Gold prices declined Tuesday as investors sold ahead of the expiration of January options contracts in one of the lightest trading weeks of the year.

Every year I have to go return some gift. I don't need a sweater, but I could sure use more working people. The virtuous circle of capitalism only works when everyone is working. That's how consumers pay my bills, and everyone else's, too.

President Barack Obama will nominate Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell, an investment banker and former Treasury official, to the two empty seats on the Federal Reserve's policy-setting board of governors.

Stocks rose slightly on Tuesday after strong consumer confidence data, but the gains were seen as transient in a volatile market after a 5 percent rally over the past four trading sessions.

Stocks fluctuated between small gains and losses in a light-volume session on Tuesday, suggesting a 5 percent rally over the past four trading sessions may have largely run its course.

In the latest survey, 47 percent of America approve how Obama is doing his job. The results are the highest for Obama, the Democratic president seeking a second term, since July of this year. Also, it's a five percent improvement since the last Gallup survey, taken Dec. 16-18.

The Obama administration plans to seek an increase in the nation's borrowing power, less than half a year after a debt ceiling debate cost the U.S. its stellar credit rating and brought government to a dead halt.

In a press release, the FBI released its top terrorism cases this year.

Arriving in Indonesia just a little over a decade ago, Belgium chocolatier Thierry Detournay was dismayed at the lack of quality chocolate on offer in the world's third-largest cocoa producer.

Sears Holdings Corp will close as many as 120 of its Kmart and namesake big-box stores after sales during the peak holiday period fell sharply, and the retailer also forecast that fourth quarter earnings would fall by more than half, sending its shares plunging some 25 percent.

Kate Middleton's has fashionistas all over the world clamoring for her favorite designers, most recently with earrings by Kiki McDonough. Here is a list of her favorite stores and high street shops in 2011.

The Iowa Supreme Court's 2009 same-sex marriage ruling and an injunction on Oklahoma's voter-approved ban on Sharia were a couple of the more controversial decisions that sparked impeachment calls.

The Obama administration is debating allowing Yemen's outgoing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment, a senior administration official said Monday.

Samsung Electronics Co, Sharp Corp and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to pay $553 million to settle consumer and state regulatory claims that they conspired to fix prices for LCD panels in televisions, notebook computers and monitors.

Companies working to develop a pure hydrocodone drugs have abuse experts and drug control advocates warning that the product will be highly addictive. Drugs like Zohydro, which opponents are already calling the next OxyContin, will be 10 times as strong as Vicodin, and the first time pure hydrocodone will be sold legally in the U.S.

China launched Beidou on Tuesday, which is the country's response to the U.S. GPS platform. The satellite navigation system will help China become more independent, in addition to providing the country with location-based needs.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell 3.4 percent in October compared with the previous year, signaling continued weakness in the housing market, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

The markets rewarded Apple and Google Tuesday after reports that activations of new iOS and Android devices surged over the weekend that included Christmas.