It has been a tough year for many, many people around the world. In my work, especially in the financial services industry, I have heard a lot of frustration as people, leaders, and managers face significant industry changes and work harder than ever — they are frustrated because in the past, bad decisions were made and they feel they are taking the brunt of those poor decisions. For instance, in one bank that I know well almost every part of the business had a great year — except the division that lost billions of dollars and negated all of the other divisions’ success.

Imagine how you would feel if you scheduled a trip to Italy, spent a lot of time planning the trip, got on your plane to fly there and finally landed in… Holland? That feeling of disorientation is what many people in the workforce are experiencing these days.

Paul Baker was smacked with a rude surprise when he opened a notice from his bank informing him that his minimum monthly payment had skyrocketed from $560 to more than $1,300. The 31-year-old Stephenville man didn’t have one of those toxic subprime mortgages with a teaser rate that suddenly reset. It was a Chase Freedom credit card

The bull-bear debate rages on, but no two ways about it: the bull, judging from the market’s ongoing Samson-like strength following roughly a 50% sprint from its March lows, has firmly grabbed the Wall Street reins. The bears are still out there hollering fire, but the fact of life is no one is paying any attention to the dire warnings from the more prominent skeptics.

The Service Employees International Union compares the Chamber of Commerce to Woody Allen, Jon Lovitz, Michael Showalter, Sarah Jessica Parker, and other actors who’ve portrayed spurned lovers in a new video mocking the Chamber for the members it lost over its climate change stance . Apple, Nike, Exelon and PG&E have given the mega-lobbying association the cold shoulder in recent weeks.

As part of the Huffington Post’s efforts to bear witness to the effects of the current economic environment on ordinary Americans, we’re rounding up some of the most compelling stories reported by local news organizations around the country. Darleen Burbridge, a widow in Staten Island, New York, blames her husband’s fatal heart attack on stress from dealing with a bad mortgage, reports Karen O’Shea of Staten Island’s SI Live . Her late husband, John, died after months of struggling to change their mortgage plan once Darleen was laid off

An outside review of Citigroup Inc.’s management team has concluded that it is generally in good shape but that some shuffling of senior executives might be needed, according to people familiar with the matter. The review, conducted this summer for Citigroup’s board by recruiting and consulting firm Egon Zehnder International, was triggered by the government’s stress tests of top banks last spring. Companies found to need more capital were required to conduct assessments of their management and report the findings to federal regulators