When supply and demand were driving up oil prices after Hurricane Katrina, Congress summoned oil executives to Capitol Hill to chastise them. But don't expect Congress to congratulate them or thank them now that supply and demand are driving down oil prices.

When most pregnant women go into labor, their hope is to deliver quickly. When Julia Gotschlich's water broke on New Year's Eve, she was hoping for a lengthy delivery. Her first thought, she told the Associated Press, was, "Can't you wait a little longer?"

As with many nations that signed the Kyoto climate change treaty, France has had a hard time keeping pace with the protocol's stringent obligations to reduce carbon emissions. But instead of taking the log out of its own eye, the French government is looking for specks in the eyes of others-especially Uncle Sam.

The long-term cure for sin doesn't come in a bottle, but Somaxon Pharmaceuticals gave it a good try. The San Diego-based drug maker has been attempting to find a drug to treat problem gambling, but company executives announced on Dec. 5 that test results haven't been encouraging.

Some of the biggest losers in the Nov. 7 election may be poor people in countries like Colombia and Peru. The reason: Those countries are next in line for free-trade agreements with the United States, agreements that look to be dead on arrival now that Democrats have taken control of the House and the Senate.

Is the newspaper industry about to die or experience a revival? The answer may depend on whom you ask and how you define the word newspaper.

For those with memories of the roaring '90s, the recent surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average had an unusual feel to it. Very little champagne flowed and few analysts boasted of a "new era" in investing this time around, even as the Dow hit new highs throughout the first two weeks of October. For the year through Oct. 11, the Dow was up 10.6 percent.