With a new year of recession-fighting upon us, it’s a fitting time to do a performance evaluation of America’s policymakers. How well did they handle a true crisis? The credit-market crisis that erupted in early September has been aptly described as a once-in-a-lifetime event that quickly reverberated through the global financial system, bringing it uncomfortably close to a complete meltdown. Along the way, it wreaked havoc with economic growth, throwing most of the industrialized economies into a deep recession.

Stock-market success stories have been few and far between this year, but here’s one that would make Santa Claus himself proud: Toymaker Hasbro has beaten Wall Street’s expectations in each of the past seven quarters, propelling the stock higher as most of the market was plummeting.

One of the least explored personal sides to our new president is the amount of gasoline in his veins. We know all about his affection for the basketball court and his tendency every now and then to sneak out for a cigarette. But we’ve heard very little about what drove him to acquire one of the least politically-correct cars on the planet: a Chrysler 300C.

Google recently released its annual rundown of popular searches for 2008 - what they call the “zeitgeist” list - and it’s a reminder, once again, of how much we reveal about ourselves every time we type into a search bar.

It’s not often you hear a corporate executive advocate a tax on the product he sells, particularly not in the oil business, where opposition to gasoline taxes is fervent. But Paul Foster, the chairman and CEO of El Paso-based Western Refining, is (dare we say use the word after the presidential campaign?) a maverick.

I could not have bought my first house long ago without borrowing the down payment from Mom and Dad. Their loan got me started down the home-equity path, and it’s paid dividends ever since.

The iPhone is no longer the only touchscreen ’smart phone’ in town. But are the challengers a better value?

Lisa and Bruce Brown are fortunate enough to have plenty of assets to protect. Foremost of these is their children: The Browns are the proud parents of four-year-old Emma, and they have another baby on the way. The Oakland couple also have considerable assets of the financial variety.

Happy new year and welcome to your new job. One that pays 30%, 50%, 70% less than your old one.

The iPhone is no longer the only touchscreen ’smart phone’ in town. But are the challengers a better value?