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Washington may be preoccupied with the debate over whether to raise the debt ceiling and the consequences of a default, but so far at least, the nation's financial markets seem to be taking the prospect in stride.Although politicians from President Obama on down have been predicting for weeks that a

At the Mesquite gold mine in California's Imperial Sand Dunes, Luis Plancarte faces a chart with large yellow blocks of color, showing the areas that contain the most gold."So you can see out here it was less interesting; we drilled and didn't find anything," he says.

Cedar Fair, one of America's leading entertainment companies, is at the center of a fight for control between a hedge fund and some entrenched managers.The billion-dollar company operates amusement parks from King's Dominion on the East Coast to Knott's Berry Farm in Califorinia.

Despite momentum for same-sex marriage in legislatures, the courts and public opinion, there's one place that seems out of step with this shift: the workplace.

The Japanese automaker Toyota has taken its fair share of hits in the past year and a half: The earthquake and tsunami in Japan as well as last year's recall fiasco have helped erode the company's share of the U.S. car market.But one place Toyota remains No.

Starting in October, banks aren't going to be able to charge as much as they used to when consumers pay by debit card.

Despite the politics of strategic partnership, the U.S. and China sometimes seem to inhabit two different planets. In the new comedy Chinglish, Tony-Award-winning Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang shares a story of absurd cultural misunderstanding between these nations.