y Economy Adds 103,000 Jobs in December; Unemployment Dips to 9.4% (Jan. 7): The U.S.

economy added 103,000 jobs in the month of December 2010, while the unemployment dipped just slightly, to 9.4% from 9.8% in November. y Steve Jobs Takes Leave of Absence (Jan. 17): Apple chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs announces he will take a medical leave of absence. Jobs suffered from pancreatic cancer in the past, receiving surgery for the disease in 2004. He returned from his first leave of absence a year and a half ago after a liver transplant. y Google Co-Founder Larry Page Takes Over Chief Executive Post (Jan. 20): Larry Page, the co-founder of Google and the president of products, takes over the chief executive position at the company, a surprise move. Eric Schmidt has been the chief executive since 2001; he will remain at the company as executive chairman and Page's advisor. y Verizon Offers iPhone 4 (Feb. 10): Verizon begins offering the iPhone 4, giving consumers an option other than AT&T, and fueling the rivalry between the two wireless carriers. Recent reviews of the Verizon iPhone have found that it drops fewer calls than the AT&T version. Customers in N.D., S.D., Mont., and Wyo., which are not currently serviced by AT&T, will now be able to purchase an iPhone from Verizon. y The End of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Feb. 11): The U.S. Treasury Dept submits a report to Congress proposing the eventual elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, part of the Obama administration's plan to reform the U.S. housing finance market. The report concludes that Fannie and Freddie strayed from their primary business goal of promoting sustainable home ownership when they extended credit to riskier borrowers. The report also lays out reforms to fix flaws in the mortgage market through stronger consumer protection, improved underwriting standards, and increased transparency for investors. y Borders Files for Bankruptcy (Feb. 16): The 40-year-old retail chain that helped usher in the age of the book superstore files for bankruptcy protection. Borders, which began as a used bookstore in Ann Arbor, Mich. and expanded wildly in the 1990s, now operates over 650 stores and employs 19,500 people. Due to over-expansion, executive turnover, and a failure to capitalize on the digital revolution, Borders is set to close 200 stores and greatly reduce its staff in the coming weeks. y Oil Drilling to Resume in the Gulf (March 1): The Interior Dept approves the first new deepwater drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since the BP explosion and spill last spring. The approval is a milestone after a period of industry uncertainty and a U.S. reassessment of offshore oil and gas regulation. y Apple Unveils iPad 2 (March 2): Apple releases the iPad 2, offering several improvements over its predecessor, while not increasing the price. The iPad 2, like the original, starts at $499. Apple's competitors in tablets cannot beat or even match that price. Apple has sold 15 million of the original since the iPad's release last April, generating $9.5 billion in revenue. y AT&T Buys T-Mobile (March 20): AT&T has agreed to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. The deal will make AT&T the largest carrier in the nation and leaves just three major cellular companies in the field: AT&T, Verizon, and the much smaller Sprint Nextel. y Hole in Jet Sidelines Southwest Planes (April 1): A 5 ft. hole rips open in the roof of a Southwest Airlines jet traveling to Sacramento from Phoenix. The plane, a 15-year-old Boeing 737-300 carrying 118 passengers makes an emergency landing at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station in Arizona. No one is seriously injured. The airline reports that the hole resulted from cracks in the aluminum due to metal fatigue. Boeing, the maker of the jetliner, says that the fatigue is happening earlier than expected. Southwest Airlines cancels several flights to run inspections. Inspections find similar cracks in 2 Boeing 737 jetliners, but 19 other planes are tested and cleared. Southwest plans to test 58 more planes. y BP Wants to Resume Drilling in Gulf (April 4): BP is asking U.S. regulators for permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The request puts the Obama administration in the hot seat, having to balance the need to increase domestic oil production with safety concerns. The petition comes less than a year after a rig leased by BP explodes, killing 11 workers and causing the world's largest oil spill. y Pringles Sell for 2.35 Billion (April 5): Diamond Foods buys Pringles from Proctor & Gamble for $2.35 billion. Pringles, considered a flop until the company tweaked its flavor in 1980, is Proctor & Gamble's last food brand y MTV Chief Resigns After 30 Years (May 5): Judy McGrath, the chief executive of MTV Networks resigns, ending the tenure of one of the most powerful women in television. McGrath leaves MTV Networks, which includes MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and VH1, while both ratings and profits are surging. McGrath rejects an offer by MTV Networks that would greatly change her role, choosing instead to walk away. y OWN Ousts Chief (May 6): After just four months, Christina Norman is dismissed as the chief executive of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Despite the star power of Oprah Winfrey and an investment of several million dollars, the channel is receiving low ratings and is barely outperforming Discovery Health, the channel it replaced. Peter Ligouri, CEO for Discovery Communications, will take over at least until the end of 2011. y Lady Gaga Tops Power List (May 19): Dethroning Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga claims the top spot on Forbes magazine's annual Celebrity 100 list. Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, moves up four positions from last year and knocks Oprah down to number two. Gaga's ranking is partly due to her earningsan estimated $90 million over the last year. Also, she currently has 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million followers on Twitter. Unemployment Rises as Job Growth Slows (June 3): The U.S. adds only 54,000 jobs in May, a sharp decline after several months of job growth. In each of the three previous months about 220,000 jobs were added. May's result is only a third of what economists predicted for the month. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increases from 9.0 percent in April to 9.1 percent in May. y European Bankers Meet to Discuss Greek Debt Plan (July 6): In an effort to contribute to Greece's debt relief, European bankers and government officials meet in Paris. The meetings continue despite the European Central Bank's opposition and warnings from rating agencies that all debt relief plans discussed so far would be considered a default. Officials are hoping for a controlled default, a plan where Greece can bounce back out of default within hours or days, easing the debt burden while minimizing the risk of an unpredictable reaction in the market. There is speculation that a default by Greece could start a panic like the one set off by the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse. y Job Growth Continues to Stall (July 8): For the second month in a row job growth comes up short, a sign that the economic recovery is slowing down. The Labor Department reports that only 18,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs were added in June and the unemployment rate rose from 9.1 percent in May to 9.2 percent in June. The report leaves economists stunned because job growth was expected in June as oil prices decreased.

y Deal Reached to End U.S. Debt Crisis (August 1): After days of disagreeing, Congress makes an 11th-hour deal to prevent a national default. Neither side, Democrats or Republicans, emerge as a clear winner in the agreement. The deal raises the debt ceiling in two steps by a total of $2.1 trillion to $2.4 trillion and cuts an initial $1 trillion in spending over ten years. Also, a bipartisan committee will be formed to recommend $1.5 trillion in additional budget cuts. If Congress fails to act on this new committee's recommendations, then automatic spending cuts will be forced. The committees recommended cuts are expected by November. y July Job Report Slightly Better than Expected (August 5): The U.S. government reports that 117,000 jobs were added in July, more than expected, and welcome news to a shaky market and a stalled economy. Companies added 154,000 jobs and the federal government added 2,000, but local and state governments cut 39,000 jobs. The unemployment rate slips from 9.2 in June to 9.1 in July, but this is blamed on people giving up on finding work. y Stocks Nosedive After U.S. Credit Rating Is Lowered (August 8): Reacting with fear of the credit rating downgrade in the U.S. as well as economic woes on both sides of the Atlantic, the stock market fell sharply in the days after Standard & Poor's lowered the United States' credit rating from AAA to AA+. On the next business day after the credit rating downgrade announcement, the Dow Jones fell 634 points, the biggest drop since December 2008, which was when the U.S. was in the midst of the financial crisis. (August 9): International markets are affected, too. Japan, Australia, South Korea all experience drops in market shares. (August 12): After a roller-coaster week for Wall Street, the markets end not far from where they started at that beginning of the week, just down 2%. However the rapid climbing and falling show little confidence in the market and little reason to celebrate. y Google Acquires Motorola Mobility (August 15): Google takes another step towards head to head competition with its main rival Apple by acquiring Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The purchase allows Google to pursue the cell phone and tablet markets. Google is known for being a search engine and also has Android phone software, but this deal also gives the company access to 17,000 patents owned by Motorola Mobility. y Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO (August 24): Apple announces that Steve Jobs is stepping down as chief executive. Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, will serve as chairman. Timothy D. Cook will take over as chief executive. Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Inc., is seen as inseparable from the company's success. Of his resignation Jobs says, ""I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." y Buffett Boosts Bank of America (August 25): Warren E. Buffett announces that his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway plans to invest $5 billion in the troubled Bank of America. The investment comes at a time when Bank of America faces an investigation into its foreclosure practices and has billions in legal bills. Jobs Stall in August Report (September 2): The unemployment rate for August stays at 9.1 percent, the exact same as the previous month, providing further proof that the economy has stalled. The White House releases a statement saying that it expects the unemployment rate to stay that high through at least 2012.