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What happens if you slash the price of oil, save Europe and force Congress to make a grand bargain? Not as much as you might think.

This year was tumultuous for stocks. But that didn't scare off mega brands in technology. Twenty-eight tech companies went public and raised more than $6 billion — a whopping 85 percent increase over 2010. Winners included LinkedIn; busts included Groupon.

Brazil's economy is still going strong compared to the U.S. and Europe. The country's unemployment rate is just 6 percent — with companies looking overseas to fill top-end jobs.

The candidates are spending modestly, but the superPACs are out in full force in Ohio and elsewhere. They've already shelled out $12 million for ads — most of them negative — in Super Tuesday states.

The eurozone crisis has led to sharp spending cuts and, with an economy based on public sector wages, Sicily is being called Italy's Greece. The central government fears Sicily's debt of more than $6 billion could further endanger Italy's financial stability.

NCAA basketball's Final Four teams will play in New Orleans Saturday, to decide who will play in Monday night's title game. The first match-up pits Louisville against No. 1 Kentucky. In the second game, Ohio State will face the University of Kansas.

The typical first-time mother takes 6 1/2 hours to give birth these days. Her counterpart 50 years ago labored for barely four hours. That's a finding with big implications for current rates of cesarean sections.

Halal meat butchers have a reputation for quality in France. And with an estimated 6 million Muslims now living there, halal products are becoming increasingly popular, and sometimes political. Now one French-Algerian restaurant is trying to make French-Halal fusion food official.

Beasts of the Southern Wild came out of nowhere to win the Camera d'Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. The fable-like film, starring 6-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, takes place after a storm ravages Louisiana. (Recommended)

Illinois' pension gap is estimated at $83 billion — and it costs $12.6 million more every day the state does nothing to address the crisis. The state can't readily come up with the money, and while politicians say they want to help, they're unlikely to act during an election year.