Jen Poyant

Yesterday, Britain’s government announced a plan to more closely monitor its financial services firms, including large investment banking companies. Their financial watchdog arm, called the Financial Services Authority, is going to start recording the cell phone conversations of investment bankers to try and cut down on fraud and insider trading.

President Obama continues his Asia trip this week with a stop in Indonesia, to emphasize American ties with the Muslim country. In a speech to Indonesians last night, the President sought to highlight those bonds; he did so by recalling his time growing up in Jakarta. Did Obama succeed in reaching out to Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world?

Will the cost of our national debt drop soon as a result of the recently passed banking reform? And will that change the political debate in Washington over raising our debt ceiling?

Yesterday a jury handed down a death penalty sentence for Steven Hayes, who was convicted in a brutal triple murder case and a violent home invasion at the home of Dr. William Petit and his wife, Jennifer, in 2007. All of the victims were tied up, Dr. Petit was severely beaten and his wife Jennifer, along with their two daughters Hayley and Michaela were murdered. Two of the three were sexually assaulted. The assailants then attempted to burn the Petit house down as they fled. These murders were so violent that even some ardent anti-death penalty advocates have been asking whether there are times when the death penalty is appropriate 

President Obama arrived in Indonesia this morning, for the second stop on his 10-day trip in Asia. As he meets with world leaders in India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, the President will talk about global security, international trade and economics, improving cultural ties, diplomatic efforts and preventing terrorism. But some issues will be conspicuously missing from his public agenda.

Although President Obama didn’t exactly eat humble pie after the Republicans won the House in last week’s mid-term elections, it does seem like he’s starting to lean towards making some big compromises with members of the GOP in the coming months.

Now that the midterm elections are over, the shakeup in Congressional committees are about to begin. Republicans have made it clear that when they take control of the House this January, they'll be targeting several key pieces of President Obama's agenda to roll back. A number of Republicans ran on repealing the president's health care reform legislation, but far fewer of them have talked about their desire to repeal the sweeping financial regulation bill passed earlier this year. Louise Story, business and finance reporter for The New York Times, explains what this means for President Obama and consumers.

Today "Government Motors" gets to be General Motors again, when the company announces its initial public offering. It's a cautious success story — the company had a $2.1 billion proffit this quarter. But is it the right time to go public? We speak with Paul Eisenstein, publisher of The Detroit Bureau, which covers the auto industry, for more.

Republicans made major gains in the House of Representatives in yesterday's mid-term elections. What's next? Investigations of the Obama administration, a de-funding of the president's agenda, or a total legislative stalemate? Rep. Steve King knows. The Republican from Iowa's fifth Congressional district handily won reelection last night over his Democratic challenger.

The telling of history is a monumental task and responsibility that all historians hold sacred. Historian Thomas C. Holt has gained prominence as the one of the foremost respected historians of American and African-American History.

By this point, everyone's seen the headlines. It seems like a huge number of football players are getting seriously injured this season. People are asking whether the game has become more violent than ever.

In addition to being the former frontman and drummer of the legendary band Genesis, Phil Collins has had one of the most coveted solo careers in the music industry — with record sales surpassing 150 million, and numerous awards under his belt, including an Oscar, seven Grammys, and two Golden Globes. His newest album is a collection of remakes called “Going Back.” John talks with Phil Collins about his inspiration for the album and his career with Genesis.

We have just a few weeks left until voters head to the polls for the midterms. Takeaway political correspondent Andrea Bernstein has been searching out districts across the country that are hotly contested. She is just back from Stark County, Ohio, where the 16th Congressional district is turning into a political battleground. In 2008, the district went for Sen. John McCain, but elected Democrat John Boccieri to its Congressional seat.

At least 40 states' attorneys general across the country will launch an investigation into the mortgage servicing industry today, which will possibly result in a push for a national moratorium on foreclosures. If they do, it comes as a response to recent announcements by several major banks, who admitted submitting fraudulent or erroneous documents in their foreclosure programs as they worked through massive amounts of foreclosure paperwork.

In 1994 during the Republican Revolution, which former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led, the rhetorical artillery of the right was wrapped up in his “Contract with America.” Could a similar rhetoric work this time around?

Ten years ago today, in the deadliest Naval attack in more than two decades, the USS Cole was bombed in Aden, Yemen. Al Qaida claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 others. It was the first time many Americans had heard of the terrorist organization and Anwar al-Awlaki, the man who later be know for his involvement in the Fort Hood shooting and working with the "underwear bomber" in 2009.

A new report out by the Senate Armed Services Committee reveals more problems with our heavy use of private security contractors in the war in Afghanistan. The committee’s chair, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich), described "wasted resources" and “wide gaps in government oversight."

All this week we’ve been covering the developments in Synder vs. Phelps, currently being heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. The question at the heart of the case is whether Westboro’s members have the right to protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers, gay people and young chlidren, in order to put forward their message: that America is being punished for its tolerance of homosexuality and abortion.

Under the unpopular bank bailout program, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known as TARP, the government invested money in struggling banks, and eventually got something in return. But the program's end got Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for our partner The New York Times, thinking about whether the big banks got a better deal than the government did, when everything was said and done.

Since its publication in 2005, millions of people have read "Freakonomics." The best selling book, written by economist Steven Levitt and New York Times reporter Stephen Dubner, examines pop culture and everyday life through the economic lens of incentives. The result was unexpectedly funny and popular enough to have spawned a newly emerging media empire, including Freakonomics Radio and "Freakonomics: The Movie."