The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. created 120,000 new jobs in the month of November, while the national unemployment rate fell to a surprising 8.6 percent.

An unexpected budget surplus sees Minnesota in the black…at least for now.

Automakers reported big November numbers, and the Jeep Wrangler's starring role in a popular video game may have helped spur the rally.

The most recent monthly report measuring factory ordering shows better-than-expected numbers for the manufacturing sector.

Six central banks, led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, have announced a plan to inject dollars into the life support system keeping European banks alive. The move was meant to restore confidence in the global financial system.

The monthly consumer confidence number came out today and it was up — way up — from last month. On a scale of 100, the November number was 56, compared with October's 41. That's the biggest one-month jump since 2003.

The markets hit a November high, with the key indexes up between 2 and 3 percent all day. Driven by news that the European Union may have a new plan to contain its debt crisis and record holiday retail sales over the weekend, investors came out of their tryptophan haze, saying "Buy!"

Black Friday is usually a good day for the markets. It's a short trading day and there's generally lots of excitement about the start of the holiday shopping season. Today, not so much.

It’s been a year of historic volatility in the financial markets. We explore the short- and long-term reasons behind the volatility.

If there was any schadenfreude among Germans about the financial plight of their profligate southern neighbors, today's bond market embarrassment might be Germany's wake-up call.