The leading contender to take charge of America's purse-strings as head of the Federal Reserve would be the first woman in the job

The Men Who Built America, History

Perhaps America's politicians should commit economic self-harm more often. Everyone feared that the $85bn in automatic spending cuts implemented by Congress this month after members failed to agree on a budget deal would hammer investor confidence. But the news has instead merely bounced off the flanks of bullish financial markets, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average confirmed yesterday when the venerable index of 30 large companies breached 14,198 for the first time in its history.

It takes so long to implement legislation in the UK. Bureaucracy needs slashing now

America's top financial experts continued to heap praise on Bernanke as economy collapsed

If the material in this documentary on the financial meltdown seems overfamiliar that's because you've encountered most of it already in the superior Inside Job.

A documentary on the evil of machines managed to be as entertaining as it was synapse-frying

This is not meant to be disrespectful on the day after it emerged that the son of the founder of the logistics business Stobart has died, but there is no denying its latest transaction is a bum deal. It has signed an agreement with the Professional Jockeys Club that will see it, among other things, pay for a charitable scheme that supports riders whose careers are ended prematurely by injury. In return the Stobart logo will feature on jockeys' outfits – specifically, on their backsides.

Merely ring-fencing the retail and investment sectors doesn't go far enough, argues Geoffrey Lewis

US Outlook: Since every man and his dog appears to have a dissenting opinion on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report, allow me, too.

Wall Street's recklessness and specific frauds to be detailed today in report on US crash

How to put the seal on media history's most remarkable career and cement the gnawing suspicion that you are the most powerful person on the planet? The answer for Rupert Murdoch is now plain. He apparently intends to put Sarah Palin in the White House, and this must give those of us who have glibly dismissed her chances in a general election, if not of winning the Republican nomination, excruciating pause for thought.

If, as seems likely, Vince Cable accepts the BBC's invitation to appear on a Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing, he will no doubt wow the public – he has been a keen ballroom dancer for years. The best thing about this story so far, however, was the total bemusement yesterday of the two presenters on the American business channel CNBC who dedicated a good five minutes to discussing Mr Cable's appearance. Though the US has its own version of Strictly – Dancing With The Stars – the US Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke, is not thought to be planning an appearance.

I am ready to accept that the benefits system harms those it is intended to help. But if a life of reliance on others is bad for the poor, then surely it is equally so for the rich