The head of the International Monetary Fund today sends a conflicting message to spend and stop cutting. New weekly claims for unemployment fell last week to the lowest level in four and a half years. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has released a report on alleged doping by retired cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, but support for Armstrong's charitable organization Livestrong may be immune.

Global markets are digesting the fact that the head of China's central bank will be a no-show at this week's meeting of the IMF. Toyota is recalling 7.4 million cars around the world. The Red Cross is getting involved in the European Debt Crisis — the organization is asking for donations to help the poor in Spain.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are in India today talking about ways to improve economic ties with the U.S. The Cheesecake Factory is expanding to the Middle East. The IMF is forecasting slower global growth ahead. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is met with protests in Greece today.

The U.S. house intelligence committee says China's largest telecommunications companies should be banned from doing business here. The percent of U.S. households owning stock is at one of its lowest points in the last couple decades. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has been reelected to a new six-year term.

U.S. employers added 114,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent. The online game maker Zynga is facing an ugly stock price this morning. From closed-down steel mills to the sprawling modern Cleveland Clinic, Ohio's economic past, present, and future is a window into the state of our nation.

Voters in the swing state of Ohio weigh in on what issues matter most for the middle class this election and who won the debate. In last night's debate Romney drew on his strengths with voters — the economy, the deficit, and the role of the federal government. How will Romney's performance affect the trajectory of the race?

The Iranian rial has lost 25 percent of its value against the dollar in just the past week, and there is lots of blame to go around — including some directed at the U.S. T-Mobile, America's struggling fourth-place wireless company, says it has finally reached a merger deal — but not with one of the big guys.

New York's attorney general is suing JPMorgan for fraud over mortgage-backed securities. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein sits down with us for an exclusive interview. Whispers and nameless sources this morning are signaling Spain is preparing to ask the European Central Bank and its creditors elsewhere in Europe for a sovereign bailout.

Today the Greek government is expected to unveil its 2013 budget. Some argue it's time for Greece to leave the eurzone. Manufacturing in China and Japan looks gloomy, and things aren't much better in Europe. A European index showed manufacturing activity shrank for the 14th straight month. Plus, we look at the strategy behind the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the new store at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and why looking at cute puppies and kitties at work could help you concentrate.

Bank of America will pay $2.4 billion to shareholders as part of a settlement announced this morning, but isn't admitting any wrongdoing. It's time for 80's kids to "wax" nostalgic at the revival of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — and time for Apple Ping-ers to mourn the loss of the fledgling social network. American Airlines is threatening to take its pilots' union to court, accusing the pilots of disrupting flights by calling in sick and calling for unnecessary maintenance. And for the second straight year, fewer students enrolled in U.S. graduate schools.