Steve Jobs' Apple Economy

For its fiscal year 2011, Apple for the first time posted more than $100 billion in sales, driven by devices running iOS — which include the iPhone, iPad, and iPod — as well as Mac computers. The company is also growing in China, which is now its second-largest market, behind only the U.S. Apple’s success has had ripple effects far beyond the company itself. Roll over the elements in the graphic above to find out more about Apple and how it has helped—and been challenged by—other companies. Play interactive

U.S. Debt Ceiling

The U.S. reached its $14.3 trillion debt limit in mid-May 2011, and an agreement between Congress and President Obama to raise the debt ceiling has been reached in August2011 in order to avoid default. Converting the debt limit into dollar bills stacked end to end is four times as high as the distance between the earth's surface and the moon, a money trail that would wrap around the earth more than 39 times. Play interactive

Robots Evolution

According to Charles Darwin, it took some 6 million years for humans to evolve. In the short span of 50 years, robots have gone from basic automated machinery, to crawling on rugged terrain, to standing up and taking first steps. With recent advances in artificial intelligence, the next species of robots are learning employable skills and are poised to alter the job market permanently. Play interactive

Who's Watching the Banks?

Banks are complicated, and especially in this age of too-big-to-fail, they often house a number of thorny practices under one roof – practices that, as we learned the hard way in the fall of 2008, can be difficult to regulate.

When the Dodd-Frank Act was passed two years ago, lawmakers and citizens hoped it would usher in a more robust and effective system of oversight. The law created several new regulatory agencies to deal with the challenges of keeping the most complex financial industry in the world in check.

To help decode this web of oversight, "Who’s Watching the Banks?" illustrates which agencies – and which agencies within agencies – keep an eye on which aspects of the financial industry. Play interactive

Congrats, Class of 2011!

You're Hired! ...41 percent of last year’s seniors who applied for a job had received an offer, up from 38 percent of the class of 2010. Take a look at the interactive to see college grad hiring by the region [2010 vs. 2011] Play interactive

Class of 2011: College Grads Hiring by Region