Millions of Americans are buying tickets for Wednesday's $425 million Powerball lottery, and you'd think that would mean a big economic boost for the 43 states participating. That's not a sure bet.

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Last March, when the people of America were drooling at the thought of winning a record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot, we poured an icy bucket of mathematical reality over your head: You weren't going to win. And you didn't. Three winning tickets were sold, but you weren't involved. It was never going to happen. As we wrote then, you stood a better chance at hitting two consecutive holes in one on a par-3 golf hole than winning that jackpot. Now, with a record $500 million Powerball jackpot up for grabs on Wednesday, we figured it was a great time to, once again, dash your dreams.

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U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as investors grew increasingly concerned about whether Congress can adequately and swiftly address the so-called fiscal cliff.

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters issued a better than expected outlook for the company's upcoming fiscal year, sending shares up 23% after the closing bell on Tuesday.

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Congress must raise the debt ceiling before the end of February, and possibly sooner. If it doesn't, the United States risks defaulting on its payments to creditors.

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Optimism about the job market has consumers feeling more upbeat about the U.S. economy than they have been in four and a half years, according to one key measure of consumer confidence.

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This week's Cyber Monday online shopping bonanza set new records, but the growing number of consumers who shopped on their phones and tablets often encountered brick-and-mortar-like delays on sluggish sites.

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In another sign of a housing market rebound, home prices posted the biggest percentage gain in more than two years in the third quarter, according to the closely followed S&P/Case-Shiller index.

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Microsoft has sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 after one month on the market, matching the early pace of Windows 7, the company announced Tuesday.

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Ericsson has filed a lawsuit against Samsung for patent infringement, claiming the South Korean mobile phone maker is no longer entitled to use its telecommunications technology after a licensing agreement expired.

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