Small business owners are more pessimistic about the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business said its index of small business optimism fell nearly 2 points during March.

So many of life's decisions rest on the smallest turns of fate. The same could be said of the fate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

More than 30,000 government workers will go without pay raises and some 200,000 retirees won't get cost-of-living increases in their monthly pension checks.

Hiring is expected to continue as optimism regarding growth in the U.S. jobs market is believed to improve, according to data from two reports by the Society for Human Resource Management.