Employer-Paid

Upper-income Americans may face a tax increase. Auto fuel economy standards might be raised. Stocks of construction and engineering companies could benefit.

The election behind them, U.S. investors dumped stocks Wednesday and turned their focus to a world of problems economically harmful tax increases and spending cuts at home and a deepening recession in Europe.

Voters who feel the economic outlook brightening after years of misery and believe Barack Obama better understands people like themselves propelled the president to a second term, exit polls show. Mitt Romney suffered from being labeled a champion of the wealthy over the common man.

Nearly half of recruiters at 48.6 percent are on pace to surpass their personal billings from 2011, according to a recent poll conducted by Top Echelon Network, a network of highly specialized search firms.

More than half of senior executives name offering health care benefits as the top business challenge, and 35 percent of senior executives say they are delaying bringing in more employees because of health care reform and its related costs, according to a new survey by Adecco Staffing US.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is returning to lawmakers this week to ask for approval to outsource a state employee health insurance plan.