If you want to see some disturbing pictures of a great American city in decline, head over to Detroiturbex.com. The site was created "to raise awareness of the social and economic challenges the city of Detroit faces through photography."

One of their galleries is already going crazy on Reddit.

It shows pictures of Detroit's Cass Technical High School in its glory days superimposed on top of the school after it was abandoned. Happily, there's a twist to this story: the old Cass building was abandoned because new, state-of-the-art facilities were constructed next door.

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With the holiday season upon us, we're pressed to socialize with our coworkers and spend time with family all at once.

The folks on this list have found an easy solution to that time crunch—all year round. Their cofounders are their spouses.

It's a daring choice to launch a company with your true love. If things go wrong, your jobs and your marriage are both at stake.

On the other hand, marrying your cofounder has advantages, too. Running a company is an all-consuming thing. Why not share that with your beloved?

While it makes sense for the couples, risk-averse investors have sometimes looked askance at these arrangements. But Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley have rich histories of married cofounders including the founders of Cisco Systems, Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner; VMware, founded by Diane Greene and Mendel Rosenblum; Bebo, founded by Michael and Xochi Birch; and Buddy media, founded by Michael and Kass Lazerow.

Casey Sackett and Jennifer Wong, cofounders of Alt12 Apps

When Casey Sackett and Jennifer Wong were expecting their first child, Jennifer found no easy way to document the experience. 

"I had a pregnancy journal to hand-write notes, a couple of reference books for health information, a few photos of my growing baby bump on my phone," she says. She wanted all this stuff on her phone as a few other things, like a contact her mom's support group for advice.

So in 2009, Casey Sackett and Jennifer Wong launched Alt 12 Apps with BabyBump, a mobile app for expecting mothers. They've since launched two more apps.

So far, so good for the couple. They raised $1.26 million in venture capital last spring and more than 1.2 million people have downloaded their app.

Susan Gregg Koger and Eric Koger, cofounders of Modcloth

High-school sweethearts Eric and Susan Gregg Koger launched Modcloth thanks to Susan's love of vintage clothing.

Susan couldn't resist buying cute vintage pieces, even if they didn't fit her. Eventually, she and Eric went off to college and her dorm room grew so full of stuff they decided to sell it online.

Today Modcloth employs 300 and has raised money from Accel and Norwest.

Erika Trautman and Cameron McCaddon, cofounders of FlixMaster

Erika Trautman and Cameron McCaddon fled the high cost of the Bay Area to launch their startup in the relatively affordable locale of Boulder, Colo., where they joined the 2011 class of TechStars, an incubator.

The company makes a product that allows for easy, Web-based video editing—a tool that typically has required expensive desktop software.

Since its launch a few months ago, FlixMaster has grown to about 6,000 users and has gained the attention of some big partners, like Sony.

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Sports Illustrated named LeBron James the 2012 Sportsman of the Year this week.

In his excellent cover story on LeBron, SI's Lee Jenkins was able to dig up a whole bunch of rich details and stories that give us a much better picture of who LeBron is and what drives him.

Among them: LeBron barely went to school in third grade because his mother was moving so much, he goes to insane lengths to scout opposing players, and he impersonates a lion when he gets in the zone.

He has a "quasi-photographic memory," according to teammate Shane Battier

Battier, one of the most respected players in the league, had this to say:

"It's a little like A Beautiful Mind. He has a quasi-photographic memory that allows him to process data very quickly. Usually, the über-athletic guys who are so much more physically gifted than everybody else don't give much credence to the mental side of the game."

Source: SI

LeBron gets a scouting report that's twice as long as the one everyone else gets before games

The article really hammers home how smart LeBron is on the court.

He can run every play in Miami's playbook from all five positions. He's also really dependent on advanced stats, "I want to know that this guy drives left 70% of the time, or pulls up when he drives right, or likes to cross over after two dribbles."

Source: SI

He loves lions, and says he impersonates a lion when he's zoned in

LeBron probably had the best game of his life in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. His teammates said they knew they'd win because he had "the look." Here's how he explained that look:

"You know how in school, around the classroom, there's always the alphabet? The capital A and lower case A has an apple. The capital B and lower case B has a ball. I always looked at the L, because of my name, and it had a lion. That's why I love lions. The look they're talking about is the look lions get when they're seeking prey and it's time to feast."

Source: SI

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One mistake many companies make is emphasizing short-term profit at the expense of long-term value.

In squeezing every dollar out of a business today, the companies often reduce much greater value they could have created tomorrow.

By focusing only "shareholder value," they also often neglect other constituencies--namely, customers, employees, and communities.

The best companies create value for all of these constituencies, not just shareholders.

They make a reasonable profit, not a "maximized" one.

And they continually sacrifice short-term profit opportunities in the service of long-term investments and other values, some of which have nothing to do with money.

I was reminded of this recently when I rewatched "Casablanca," the 1942 Warner Brothers movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

It's mostly a love story and war story, of course. But there are plenty of business lessons in there, too.

The trend of maximizing profits at the expense of other values is part of what's wrong with the American economy these days.

So it's worth highlighting the business lessons of Rick's Cafe Americain.

"Everyone comes to Rick's," Captain Louis Renault says at the beginning of the movie.

He's not kidding.

Rick's is jammed.

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This year is W magazine's 40th anniversary. 

The oversized format of the women's fashion magazine — measuring 10 inches by 13 inches — allows the publication more space for its boundary-pushing covers. Advertisers enjoyed the extra real estate, too.

The magazine often featured more outlandish covers than Vogue, even though with a circ of just half a million, far fewer people see it.  

But W has gotten some huge stars to pose: everyone from Giselle Bündchen to Tom Cruise have graced the cover.

We've combed through W's issues from the past few years and picked out the most racy, interesting, and unique covers.

W made Scarlett Johansson look almost unrecognizable in this gothic-inspired November 2012 cover. For the 40th anniversary issue, the actress was embodying the fashion of the '90s.

Tom Cruise appeared on this June 2012 cover — tatted up and wearing eyeliner. The cover was meant to promote his movie "Rock of Ages"; ex-wife Katie Holmes is said to have disapproved of the shoot.

In this June 1999 cover, Cindy Crawford is imitating Demi Moore's iconic 1991 Vanity Fair cover.

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Getting a present for a loved one can often be a daunting task.

But if that special someone has a knack for investing, then there are a few things that you should make sure they have.

We’ve compiled a list of gifts that’ll put a smile on your favorite investor's face faster than a 100-point spike in the Dow.

From desktop essentials and wall art to trading tools and a couple ultra premium items, we’ve got all the bases covered when it comes to shopping for an investor.

HP 12C Calculator

Every financial professional on Wall Street needs a calculator to discount cash flows and calculate internal rates of return on the spot.  And no calculator is better at running these functions than the legendary HP 12C.

These can be found on Amazon for under $60.

Source: Amazon

The Intelligent Investor

Warren Buffett swears by this book, which was written by his favorite finance professor Ben Graham.  This edition includes a preface by non other than Warren Buffett himself.

Don't get the electronic version. Get a hardcopy on Amazon for $14.

Source: Amazon

Edison Model Stock Ticker with Glass Dome

Before Yahoo Finance, people got there stock quotes from ticker tape machines.  And the biggest players like JP Morgan had these in their homes.

These days, one of these will run you at least $2,500 at auction.

Source: LiveAuctioneers.com

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Do you have a kid who’s away at school?

To my mind, students are the easiest folks to buy for.

There are so many things you can give them that will make their busy lives easier—and cleaner and more organized.

Housekeeping: Vacuum

It’s doubtful that your child’s dorm room is equipped with a vacuum (it’s even more doubtful that the room has been vacuumed since September).

The Eureka Boss Lite Cordless 96JZ Vacuum Cleaner ($59.95) is perfect for cleanups.

This lightweight, bagless vac converts into a hand vac for quick messes, and it has a convenient wall-mounted charger. (Get 10 percent off your purchase with GoVacuum.com coupons.)

Housekeeping: Bag Dispenser

All the takeout and trips to the convenience store sure generate a lot of plastic bags!

Encourage your kid to use the Orka by Mastrad Bag Dispenser ($11.95) from ReUseIt.

This clever device will let him reuse those bags and provide him with a colorful and clutter-free room. (Get 20 percent off orders of $35 or more with ReUseIt coupons.)

Housekeeping: Drawer Fresheners

Now that you’re not doing your child’s laundry, his or her clothes probably aren’t as fresh as they once were.

Help those dirty garments smell sweet with Fresh Threads Drawer Fresheners ($19.99 for nine fresheners), available in three yummy scents: Subtle Citrus, Classic Clean and Soft Amber.

They’re great for drawers, closets, gym bags, suitcases—you name it!

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Kids Sail Free On Disney

Children 17 and under can sail free on most six- and eight-night Disney Cruise Line sailings departing from Galveston, Texas, between January 12 and March 1.

Children must be traveling with two full-fare adults in specific stateroom categories to qualify for the deal.

Extras such as kids' clubs, complimentary room service, and exclusive adult areas are included in all Disney Cruises. 

Free Premium Car Rental in Hawaii

Package provider Pleasant Holidays is offering a free Hertz convertible, SUV, Jeep, or minivan rental with five-night Hawaii vacation packages booked by January 6 for travel from January 1 through February 28.

We just named Hawaii one of the top five bargain destinations for winter, and this almost-free offer adds to the savings you'll find in the coming season.

Free Flight in the Bahamas

Getting to the Bahamas is on you, but once you're there, you can get to one of the many pristine Out Islands of the Bahamas for free.

You'll get two free round-trip plane tickets when you book a four-night air-inclusive package from Nassau to any participating Out Islands Resort, or one free round-trip plane ticket with a three-night air-inclusive package.

The deal is good on bookings made through June 30 for travel through October 31, 2013.

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This week a judge in Toronto ordered a travel agency to refund 19 holidaymakers after their trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico was ruined by urinating Canadian students celebrating spring break.

The March holiday is traditionally a time of excessive merriment for North American scholars, and Mexico's Caribbean coast attracts thousands of revellers.

Here we look at other sozzled spots you might want to avoid on your next wedding anniversary.

Cancun

This purpose built resort town ("Established in 1972" quip the souvenir baseball caps) to the north of the Riviera Maya is a haven for cocktails and debauchery.

Most of the big hotels sit between sea and lagoon on a narrow, 15-mile strip known as the Zona Hotelera.

It's not all about drinking your weight in tequila, however.

The resort can be used as a gateway for trips to deserted beaches and Mayan ruins, as Telegraph Travel's Nigel Tisdall discovered last year.

Magaluf

Unless you're a spotty teenager, there's very little to like about Magaluf (or Shagaluf, as it's often called).

Expect greasy spoons, football fans, and streets lined with the detritus from the night before.

It's a shame really, because much of Mallorca (especially towns like Valldemossa, in the interior) is well worth exploring.

Germany

Germans are the world's second-biggest beer drinkers (only the Czechs knock back more), so any holiday there is likely to be punctuated with large jugs of frothy goodness.

The country is renowned for its beer festivals, of which Oktoberfest is by far the most popular.

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10. Detroit

Thanks to poor equity markets and an auto industry pummeled by the economic downturn, Detroit is still struggling to regain its pre-recession population of millionaires.

Still, the city saw enough growth to maintain a spot in the top 10. After losing 16% of millionaires in 2008, it's added just about 15% back. 

Growth in millionaires over time:

2007: 94,500
2008: 79,500
2009: 89,100
2010: 92,100
2011: 90,100

Source: Capgemini U.S. Metro Wealth Index

9. San Jose

Like Houston, a strong local industry performance helped move San Jose from the No. 10 spot to No. 9 this year around.

Since the recession, it's added more than 20,000 millionaires to its ranks, representing a nearly 30% surge.

Growth in millionaires over time:

2007: 80,700
2008: 69,500
2009: 86,500
2010: 88,800
2011: 90,700

Source: Capgemini U.S. Metro Wealth Index

8. Houston

Houston was one of the only cities on this year's list to see significant growth in high net worth individuals between 2010 and 2011, when millionaires grew by 2.1 percent.

Jean Lassignardie, chief sales and marketing officer at Capgemini chalks it up to "good performance of major local industries." 

Growth in millionaires over time:

2007: 86,700
2008: 68,400
2009: 88,200
2010: 96,700
2011: 98,500

Source: Capgemini U.S. Metro Wealth Index

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A few years after leaving Wall Street, Scott Mead, a former top Goldman Sachs investment banker, made a remarkable discovery while moving some boxes from his attic.

Or rediscovery, that is. 

Mead, who is known for advising Vodafone's nearly $200 billion takeover of Mannesmann, brought down boxes of old his photographs, negatives and cameras that had not been touched in years.

"I was aware it was sort of the physical baggage--the physical manifestation of some baggage we all park in our brains.  So I brought these down just partly out of curiosity, partly for some inexplicable reason."

He described this rediscovery process to us as "the most overwhelming experience." 

Click here to see his photos >

"It was like traveling back in time," he explained adding that it was like "getting to know another person." 

Mead, who grew up passionate about photography, spent the next year educating himself again and editing and printing these photos he had taken more than 30 years ago.  

"Since then, it has been a really amazing journey -- exhilarating, humbling and everything in between." 

Eighteen months after bringing those boxes down, he put on an exhibition from several of the 8x10 negatives he found and printed called "Looking Back" at London's Hamilton Gallery.

Since then, he has done a number of exhibitions. Of the photographs he sells, 100% of the proceeds go to charity.

Mead has kindly shared some of the photos from his "Looking Back" portfolio with us in the slides that follow.

A few things you should know about the collection before you see them — The reason the images in this portfolio are round is because that's the way the human eye sees the world, Mead explained.

This technique brings the viewer back to a more authentic perception of what an eye, or in this case the camera lens, sees.  The black around it, particularly with the portraits, helps create a framing, highlighting the center of the compositions, he told us.  

Mead told us he first started taking photos at age 13 when he was given a press camera by his grandfather, who was a press photographer and journalist.  

From there, he taught himself how to develop photographs and spent a huge amount of time in his parents' basement.  

He was so enthusiastic about photography, that he studied it in high school and in college.  He focused on photography intensively until his 20s.  

When he began his 22-year investment banking career, photography eventually moved to the back-burner.

That being said, one of the key messages from his work is to highlight these beautiful moments that we might otherwise miss in our extremely busy lives.

"They are about finding what are ordinary places, times of day, patterns of light or shapes which we often overlook in the day to day of all of our busy lives and making them special through composition, print quality and balance—and hopefully conveying a sense of tranquility and peace," he told Business Insider.

First, let's meet our photographer, Scott Mead.

Here's a more recent photo of him. Amazing, right?

Apple Tree, 1974

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When it comes to driving to work, a comfortable commute can go a long way toward having a productive, satisfying workday.

On average, Americans spend more than 25 minutes getting to their jobs, according to the Census Bureau.

Check out these great commuter cars >

Add the amount of time it takes to drive home, and it means about an hour stuck in traffic daily.

It may be impossible to eliminate gridlock, but being in the right car can help make a commute easier.

The best cars to handle the drive to work should have good fuel economy, be able to navigate stop-and-go traffic effectively, and be comfortable for all occupants.

Here are Bankrate's top eight picks for the best cars for commuting, including their manufacturer's suggested retail price.

Toyota Prius c

Starting MSRP: $18,950
Engine specs: 1.5 liters, four cylinders
Gas mileage: City — 53 mpg, Highway — 46 mpg

Standard parts of the system include vehicle stability control, traction control, an antilock brake system, brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution, which help keep the car stable when the driver uses the brakes.

This popular hybrid has one of the best estimated fuel economies of the entire list, and it has many safety features that are important to have in cars for commuting.

The features, part of what Toyota calls its Star Safety System, helped the Prius c model earn a 2012 Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Prius also comes equipped with an AM/FM CD player that has MP3 playback capability and four speakers, so riders can comfortably listen to their favorite audiobook or song on the way to the office.

Advanced Prius c models also have an option to install the Entune information system, which provides real-time data on traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports and stocks.

The system includes the Bing search browser and Pandora Internet radio. It is a subscription-based service that's complimentary for three years.

Hyundai Elantra

Starting MSRP: $16,815
Engine specs: 1.8 liters, four cylinders
Gas mileage: City — 28 mpg, Highway — 38 mpg

This vehicle has a low MSRP as one of the top cars for commuting.

The above-average fuel economy and attractive price help workers who want to buy a car that gets them to work but still allows them to have money left over to put in their 401(k) retirement plans.

The roomy Elantra has 40 inches of front-seat interior headroom and an adjustable driver seat.

For those drivers who need to hear their favorite song before the start of the workday, the vehicle has a 172-watt six-speaker AM/FM radio, CD and MP3 audio system.

The Elantra also earned a 2012 Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS, based on the latest test scores available.

To earn the honors, Elantra had good performance in the moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and rear tests.

Hyundai backs their new vehicles with a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty and a five-year, 24-hour roadside-assistance service.

Mazda3 i (SV model)

Starting MSRP: $16,700
Engine specs: 2 liters, four cylinders
Gas mileage: City —25 mpg, Highway — 33 mpg

The Mazda3 has a sound system that includes 10 speakers, Bluetooth, CD/MP3 and USB connectivity on top models. The vehicle comes in seven colors.

The sleek but affordable Mazda3 is a highway fuel-sipper with technology dubbed Skyactiv-G, which enables the vehicle to reach as much as a 40 mpg threshold for highway fuel economy on one model of the Mazda3.

According to Mazda, new advances in the design of the transmission helped improve fuel efficiency by 4 percent to 7 percent.

The sedan also earned 2012 Top Safety Pick honors from IIHS, using the most recent test scores.

Advanced safety features include front and front-side-impact air bags, side-impact air curtains, an antilock brake system and traction control system.

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For the sports-obsessed, this 13,000-square-foot mansion in Thousand Oaks, Calif. has an incredible backstory.

Custom-built by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, the mansion was later sold to disgraced baseball star Lenny Dykstra for $17.5 million, who lost it in foreclosure after reportedly trashing the place. Dykstra was just sentenced to 6.5 months in jail for hiding assets that were supposed to be part of his bankruptcy filing.

The home was sold at auction in 2010, and the current owners completely overhauled the home and just put it back on the market with a $14.995 million price tag, according to Trulia.

It no longer bears the scars Dykstra left on it, and is absolutely fantastic looking.

For sports fans, this Thousand Oaks mansion has an impressive history.

Wayne Gretzky had it custom-built, and Lenny Dykstra later bought it and lived there for a couple of years.

But the home fell into disrepair, and Dykstra lost it to foreclosure in 2010.

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Some companies have made so many horrible marketing or branding decisions, that their insanely crass moves barely even shock us anymore.

At this point, underage and under-dressed American Apparel model or questionably racist shirt from Urban Outfitters seem to be part of the companies' advertising strategies.

We've highlighted the brands that have the most checkered pasts.

6. Abercrombie and Fitch

Abercrombie has been making headlines for its questionable labor practices, racially insensitive tee-shirts, sexualization of little girls, and scintillating publication A&F Quarterly (which had mostly naked, young looking models) for the last decade.

One of A&F's most famous gaffe was selling a tee-shirt with the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service – Two Wongs Can Make It White" in 2002.

Other bad-idea tee shirts include past slogans on girls' tees that read "Available for parties" and "Who needs brains when you have these" in 2005 and "Female students wanted for sexual research" in 2009.

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At the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, Porsche revealed the 2013 Cayman, the third generation of the two-seat, mid-engine sports car.

60 pounds lighter than its predecessor thanks to a new lightweight body, the Cayman produces 275 hp while getting 32 mpg, an impressive feat.

In light of this, we've decided to take a look at the company's history, from its early sports cars, to its gritty war history, to the modern miracles of its automotive engineering. 

Enjoy salivating over some truly classic machines. 

1900: The first Porsche and the world's first hybrid car.

The 25-year-old Ferdinand Porsche was first brought into the limelight with the electric Lohner-Porsche. 

In the same year, Porsche developed a gas-powered race car and a hybrid vehicle that ran on electricity and petrol. That's called being ahead of one's time. 

The original Lohner-Porsche was developed for the Austrian royal carriage manufacturer Jacob Lohner and Co., and had a top speed of between 28 and 36 miles per hour. 

1910: Porsche turns to racing.

In 1910, Ferdinand Porsche designed the Austro-Daimler touring car. 

The mean machine had an impressive competitive career, achieving three victories at the motor event the Prince Henry Trials. 

For added cool factor, Porsche himself sat behind the wheel to speed his car to victory. 

1923: The birth of two icons.

Ferdinand Porsche rose to become technical director and a board member of the automotive company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.

In 1923, he designed one of the finest sports cars ever: the Mercedes Compressor. 

Four years later, he went back to building race cars, producing the Mercedes-Benz S-Type. 

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Canada's plan to consider ditching its order for American F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will have huge military and political repercussions.

First Canada must choose between the fifth-generation F-35 and various foreign early generation jet fighters to replace its aging CF-18 fleet.

Canada had narrowed its options down to the Dassault Rafale, British Aerospace Eurofighter, Saab Gripen, and the Boeing F-18 F/A Super Hornet.

Click here to see the competition >

Ditching the U.S.model could lead to interoperability issues, however, between Canadian and U.S. forces. Jacob Stokes from the Center for a New American Security told us this ability to communicate over shared platforms aboard the F-35 will have to be accomplished in other ways.

"Those problems can be overcome later with retrofitting and other interoperability programs, but such retrofits are never going to be as easy as flying the same planes," Stokes says by email. "The question then becomes, is the retrofit cheap enough to justify going with another model, or do you simply bypass the need for high level of interoperability?"

But those are just military questions. From a political angle, Canada's choice could be even more explosive.

The U.S. and Canada have done a pretty spectacular job of working together over the years despite a fair share of deep differences, but the news that Canada is looking at non F-35 fighters sent ripples through defense communities in the U.S. and around the world.

Canada's defense spending has increased from about $13 billion in 1999 to nearly $25 billion in 2012, giving lots of business to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, and more.

It's a far cry from the more than  $700 billion spent every year by the U.S., but few Canadians want to compete with the States on that front. 

Canada's defense spending is about equal to Germany in percentage of its GDP and that makes it the 13th largest military spender in the world and the 6th largest spender in NATO.

The cost is clearly a concern, but to many Canadians the price comes second to concerns that their country is getting bullied by the U.S. and being forced to share a warmongering path they have no interest in pursuing.

Canada was given a $9 billion estimate on the batch of F-35 they ordered from Lockheed, which ballooned up to $40 billion over the life of the plane. An amount not exactly twice the country's entire defense budget, but pretty close. If Canada does officially reject the F-35 and the units do not get picked up elsewhere, the plane will become even more costly for every other country signed up to buy them.

Larry Birns, Director of Washington-based of Council on Hemispheric Affairs says the impact of Canada's potential F-35 refusal is bigger than anyone can actually say at the moment.

Birns explains, "Canadian politics are much more polarized than U.S. politics — there is a ... movement in Canada and people who belong to that movement who accuse the U.S. of being warmongers, and who don't like deals with the U.S."

"You have a lot of elements at work here." Birns continued via a phone interview. "It's all part of a push-pull arrangement. Where we are right now the decision has been made to move back the [F-35] commitment and it may even be more drastic than we think."

How drastic no one can say, but not only will Lockheed Martin and the U.S. have to make the F-35 far more palatable to the majority of Canadian voters, they'll now have to compete with other contractors.

No doubt sales reps for foreign companies will be doing everything they can to make the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter look even less attractive to Canadian defense officials.

As Canada weighs its other fighter options, we've analyzed what they're likely looking at to replace the high-profile, high-tech, and highly-expensive F-35.

The following slides offer a look at the most likely contenders.

Sweden's Saab Gripen has a top speed of Mach 2 — faster than Lockheed's F-35 top speed of Mach 1.6

The Gripen also has air refueling capabilities, a must for Canada, and mounts any NATO weapon or piece of electronics

With increased fuel capacity, a more powerful engine, cutting-edge (AESA) radar, helmet optics and a beefier weapons payload — the Saab is fit to take on the F-35

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Research and portfolio group Waverly Advisors is out with a new presentation on Japanese markets.

The takeaway: it's time to short everything denominated in Yen — as well as the Yen itself.

Waverly says the country's central bank is poised for a more dovish leadership change.

They also see debt rising ever higher.

Waverly's title clues us in to an ominous forecast.

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, led by Shinzo Abe, will almost certainly win upcoming elections. That means hawkishness on foreign policy and dovishness for home finances.

In theory, more easing should inflate stocks. But there are strong headwinds to this.

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When it comes to holiday spending, we're all about making the most of our budget — and that means more than just getting great deals on wish list items.

It's all too easy to go overboard with the holiday spirit, financially speaking, and while you might be acutely aware of how much you're spending per person, you might be unthinkingly dropping cash left and right on hidden holiday costs like wrapping paper and party gifts.

No one wants to play Scrooge, but giving yourself the gift of debt is like getting coal in your own stocking. To avoid the burden of overspending this holiday, we recommend taking a look at these eight expenditures that offer wiggle room for extra savings. 

Skip the Wrapping Paper

The EPA estimates that Americans throw away 25% more trash than usual during the holiday season, and much of that is wrapping paper.

Spending money on high-end wrapping paper not only means you're tossing money into the trash, but you're also growing your local landfill. It's hard to find reliable estimates on how much Americans spend per household on wrapping paper, but with gift wrapping options typically priced between $3 and $13 per roll, it's easy to see how the costs add up. Add gift bags and tissue paper to the mix, and you might be looking at $100 or more just to wrap presents for a family of four.

To preserve the fun of unwrapping gifts from Santa, my buddy and former colleague Julia "Bargain Babe" Scott suggests a dozen alternatives to wrapping paper on her blog, MintLife. These ideas run the gamut from using old cookbooks and children's books, to simple brown paper bags with one phrase written over and over. "Tis the Season to Be Green" sounds about right.

Don't Get Carried Away With Gift Cards

As close as your local pharmacy, gift cards have become a very popular way to spread joy in December.

According to the National Retail Federation, 81% of shoppers will purchase at least one gift card this holiday season and spend a total of about $157 on gift cards — the highest amount in the 10-year history of the NRF's holiday consumer spending survey.

Maybe that's due in part to how gift cards can feed off your guilt. You don't want to leave anybody out, right? From co-workers to kids' teachers and coaches, to the paperboy and sanitation workers, gift cards are easy and convenient ways of giving a little something to everyone.

Before getting carried away with the gift cards, though, do what master concierge Michael Fazio recommends with all forms of holiday gifting and tipping: Start with a defined budget and work backwards from there. If you know you have $100 to buy $10 gift cards, then list the 10 people you want to give to, and call it a day. If you play your gift cards right, you might even be able to stretch your budget to include free gift cards that come bundled with other purchases. If the Ghost of Christmas Guilt rears its ugly head, fire up the oven and bake some cookies for the folks you left off the list. And if there's someone you're trying to blow off, may we suggest, umm, fruitcake?

Greeting Cards and Postage Can Add Up

This is a tough one because nothing beats the personalized touch of a hand-written holiday card. That said, you may live in a city such as Chicago, which has remarkably poor mail delivery. And how much are you paying for those fancy greeting cards anyway? If it's $3 to $5 a pop, plus stamps, think of how that adds up when the list grows into the hundreds.

If it's tradition to send out cards, please scope out discounts on greeting cards from the likes of Vistaprint and Cardstore. But remember, it's also possible to segregate your list and send some salutations electronically though services such as eGreetings. If you want to send a bunch of cards by mail, put the kids to work and make some custom cards. A handmade card costs less, but means a whole lot more. Or in the age of email and texting, consider an honest-to-goodness phone call. No greeting card can convey warm holiday wishes like the sound of your voice.

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Consider the humble laptop: While tablets get all the buzz, more than 300 million of the portable computers get sold every year.

And as Apple and Microsoft pluck features from tablets to put into conventional screen-and-keyboard devices, 2012 saw laptops get speedier, more advanced, and more affordable than ever.

Apple brought its high-definition Retina display to its MacBook Pro line. Microsoft released Windows 8, a touch-friendly operating system for both tablets and PCs, and third-party manufacturers stepped in to introduce a number of touch-sensitive devices to take advantage of the sharp new interface.

From basic computers for family members who just want an easy way to get on the Internet to top-of-the-line stuff for yourself, here are the laptops that defined the state of the art this year.

MacBook Pro with Retina display

One of Apple's most popular laptops, the 15-inch MacBook Pro offers a beautiful Retina display that displays an image that's better than your HDTV. Upgradable to 16 GB of RAM and 2.7 GHz of Intel i7 processing power, this is a solid choice for a number of applications.

Apple recently released a 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with Retina display too.

Click here for our review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display >

Price:Starts at $1,200, but prices vary depending on specs

MacBook Air

If you're not in need of a powerhouse but still want an elegant and capable device, the MacBook Air is for you. Slender and portable, it still packs a reasonable punch under the hood. It comes with an Intel i5 processor and 4 GB of RAM, and you have the choice of 128 GB or 256 GB of speedy flash storage.

Price: starting at $999

Asus Zenbook Prime

Although there are occasional complaints about its middle-of-the-road battery life, the Zenbook Prime has a sharp 1080p screen and a full-on HDMI port to make it a snap to get your video displayed on another screen. As far as Ultrabooks go, its Intel i7 processor makes it capable and its size makes it convenient.

Price: $1,180

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In 2002, three economics professors — Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton — published Triumph of the Optimists, an exhaustive look at a century's worth of investment returns.

We liked it so much that we think it makes for a great Chistmas gift that any investor would love.

The authors' believe that no one should be investing in anything until they've seen what world returns have looked like over the past 100 years and across multiple countries and asset classes.

"Triumph" turns out to be the tale of two half-centuries — the first half, during which returns in global markets were terrible, and the second, during which it was pretty impressive.

As the authors warn:

"...future expectations must lie below today's optimists' dreams. We can hope for, but we cannot expect, the optimists to triumph in the future."

Thanks to Princeton University Press for giving us permission to feature some of the charts from the book.

World stock market returns have been robust over the last century. A $1 initial investment would have turned into $295 by 2000

Source: Triumph Of The Optimists

The extraordinary US stock market in the past century skewed global asset returns upward

Source: Triumph Of The Optimists

US asset real returns over given timeframes: stock market returns have been stronger in recent periods

Source: Triumph Of The Optimists

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