Great Recession

A handful of cash-strapped states are getting aggressive about collecting every tax owed -- hiring more collectors, hounding scofflaws and exploiting corners of their tax laws that haven't been enforced in years -- all to avoid doing one painful thing: officially raising taxes.

For the past few months, reports have repeatedly affirmed that the economy is slowly improving. However, as one recent study highlights, some areas are recovering much faster than others.

Author, activist, ice cream heir and Madoff victim: John Robbins has taken a long and unusual road to his ideas about how people view money. In The New Good Life, he breaks down the six archetypes he says personify our approaches to finances. So which one are you?

Good communication is key in determining how pleased clients are with their brokers, and there has been a dip in satisfaction. But its not because advisers are communicating less with their clients than they did before the recession. Actually, it's quite the opposite.

There's a lot going on behind the beautiful bouquet you'll give to mom on Sunday: Those flowers are a weapon in America's war on drugs. On the flip side, some people say they're also a symbol of a misguided economic policy dating back to the first President Bush.

The sandwich generation kept its retired parents and jobless adult children afloat through the down years. Now, a new study makes clear how much their retirement plans have paid the price.

The student debt crisis isn't just an issue for fresh-faced Gen Y'ers. Thanks in part to the Great Recession, an older cadre is finding itself buried under the weight of billions of dollars in unserviceable loans.

The federal government says GDP grew at a 2.2% rate in the first quarter, and many pundits are calling that number a disappointment: Here's a primer on exactly what the GDP growth rate is, and why 2.2% is nothing to be bummed about.

In contrast to the many U.S. companies we should view with pride, some have behaved in ways that are downright evil. For their exploitative behaviors, these companies (and one whole industry) have earned their seats on the corporate netherworld's board of shame.

As earnings reports for the first quarter roll in, U.S. companies are beating the estimates of analysts at a rate not seen in more than a decade. Yet stocks have languished. The S&P 500 has fallen about 2% in April. So why aren't investors impressed?