Reuters - It's up to the consumer to drive the U.S. economy and lift world growth in 2012, and the outlook is far from encouraging.

AP - A Colorado man who was killed when a 3-foot tree branch flew through his windshield and impaled him in the chest was able to steer the car to safety before losing consciousness.

Reuters - The United States will remain the top choice of most global commercial real estate investors in 2012, but the country has lost ground to Brazil which ranked No. 2 this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

Reuters - An arbitration panel has awarded U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil $908 million in compensation for Venezuela's 2007 nationalization of its assets, less than 10 percent of what it sought in a protracted legal battle with the OPEC nation.