Mid-day Update

The Consumer Electronics Show is all about gadgets, but this year, it's also all about advertising. One organization is making strides to recycle all the unused soap from big hotel chains. And earnings season begins with a poor showing from bellwether stock Alcoa, a major U.S. aluminum producer.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is on his way to Asia today with a goal of getting Japan and China on board with new economic sanctions against Iran, as tensions between that country and the U.S. continue to grow. The Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas and there will be plenty of hype and hooey regarding a zillion new tech products being displayed.

The economy continues to add jobs, but not fast enough to make campaigning easy for President Obama. The government is about to reveal how many hours people work on average each week. Many businesses aren't happy about a move to start registering an expanded number of web suffixes next week. Alternative sentencing through special problem-solving courts is better for the job prospects and earning potential of offenders.

Why is the frozen food industry hurting, even as more people are dining at home?

Economists are worrying about inflation in the coming year, but a few products will actually be cheaper. What should we buy in 2012?

Boeing will close a military aircraft factory in Wichita, Kansas, laying off 2,000 workers over two years. The European Union could soon begin cracking down on how online companies use personal data. Shares of Netflix soared yesterday after data showed that users watched over 2 billion hours of TV and movies last quarter. And in this week's Attitude Check with Gallup, we look at the extent to which the 2012 election will focus on economic issues.

Only a small percent of airline passengers log on to the internet in-flight despite a growing number of airlines and private services