Jeff Horwich

Seems like every time you turn on the news, there's some new danger to our health or our financial well-being.

Union protestors crowded the capitol, but Michigan lawmakers swiftly approved legislation yesterday making Michigan a so-called "right-to-work" state.

It's the second and final day of the regular policy meeting at the Federal Reserve. Later today we'll hear what, if any, additional monetary stimulus the Fed Board might endorse as the latest round of quantitative easing is set to expire.

The "right to work" battle is raging in Michigan; A huge penalty for a money-laundering bank; The IMF delays a big bunch of money that was headed for Egypt. And what's the difference between $10 and $15 an hour? Bigger than you might think.

You probably thought we forgot about Italy, what with all this business about Greece and Spain, but Italy is back this morning. Plus we've got a veritable cornucopia of important Democrats talking about the fiscal cliff -- by which I mean two. Republicans, you can return our calls any time. And Santa, if you're listening -- best keep your hatred of the Toronto Maple Leafs to yourself.

Lawmakers in Washington continue to work towards a deal on the fiscal cliff before the end of the year. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, says House Democrats' opinions shouldn't be ignored.

The last thing the global economy needed was more political upheaval in Europe. But that's what we're getting. Italian prime minister Mario Monti plans to resign, and there will be elections early in 2013.

Netflix and Disney -- is this the most magical match on earth? We'll also talk about Citigroup: Shrinking to suit the times. Working out the skills mismatch between future workers and the companies that need them. The plan to use hedge funds to pay more to Nobel prize winners. And the U.S government tries to make you feel better about both the zombie apocalypse and that other one that happens in 16 days.

This morning Citi says that total is about to shrink -- 11,000 job cuts worldwide in the next year or two, some of them at least here in the U.S.

American workers were doing more and making more in the past few months. U.S. productivity growth has been revised up for the latest quarter, to an annual rate of almost 3 percent.