Mid-day Update

Today was a day of new directions for Internet giant Yahoo!, which named a new CEO. And President Obama is expected to appoint a new top cop for protecting consumers. Meanwhile today, the low-calorie, natural sweetener Stevia got the green light to be sold in Europe; Italy said it will allow 24-hour businesses; U.S. car sales look good in 2012; and more headlines from the GOP campaign trail.

Today's Iowa caucuses mark the start of the 2012 election season. While the car brand Cadillac is expecting a strong year ahead, with a focus on becoming a global brand -- but Ford's Lincoln isn't going to be quite so lucky. Manufacturing hiring is finally picking up, but this time around companies are looking for more skilled workers. And Steve Chiotakis heads to the junk yard with Paddy Hirsch to understand junk bonds.

We all know that the Iowa caucuses happen every four years, and that they help set the tone for presidential elections. But what is it like to sit in on the meetings?

The change of leadership over the weekend at IBM puts a fresh spotlight on the ongoing struggle women face landing top corporate jobs. The University of North Alabama has decided to spend $3.4 million to jump up to the NCAA's Division I. Will the sports move help or hinder other students?

States could expand lotteries and start new games like online poker thanks to a new ruling that allows Internet gambling. The Times Square celebration brings in a worldwide audience and millions of tourist dollars to NYC every year. And now that U.S. troops have pulled out Iraq, turns out direct benefit for American oil companies never materialized.

As the Iowa caucuses approach, we look a little deeper at the economic policies of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. New York is threatening to strip some funding from struggling schools that don't install new systems for evaluating teachers. A hacker collective known as Anonymous stole credit card and other info from security firm Stratfor. And in today's Attitude Check, we look at how approval of Obama's economic policies stacks up to presidents of years past.

San Francisco has raised to the minimum wage to over $10 an hour, and that will effect the cities famed restaurants. On the other side of the country, negotiations will start today in New York between building owners and the union representing the people that clean those buildings. As the 10 year birthday of the euro approaches, David Brancaccio looks back at how Marketplace's resident poet described the deal at the time.

While a temporary deal has been reached in Washington, 2012 doesn't look much better in terms of bipartisanship. FedEx is set to raise its rates beginning in January. In Arizona, many non-industrial businesses are taking up space in warehouses.