O n the eve of first production at its Cortez gold mine in Nevada, Barrick Gold Corp. is proposing ways to curb its environmental impact, hoping to stamp out the possibility of a court injunction halting the project. Barrick warns that suspending the mine, which is now 98-per-cent constructed, “would result in enormous individual and public harm,” with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

R ead ‘em and reap. In a recent Investor Clinic video, I asked viewers to send in a few comments about their favourite investing books. Little did I know that some of you apparently spend every waking hour studying up on efficient market theory and the stock-picking secrets of Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham.

Stock futures are modestly higher Wednesday as investors avoid making big bets without knowing how potential policy changes could affect trading. Politicians and regulators in Washington will be the primary focus as the President gives his State of the Union address and the Federal Reserve Board concludes its latest interest rate-setting meeting. Investors are looking for more direction about potential regulatory overhaul.

Q uietly, in the shadow of a new product’s birth, the iconic device that spurred Apple Inc.’s AAPL-Q resurrection is approaching retirement. The world’s eyes will be squarely on the California-based tech company Wednesday, as it is expected to unveil its much-hyped tablet computer. The tablet is the latest and most powerful in a line of products aimed at continuing Apple’s dominance in the world of mobile digital entertainment – a lineage that includes the iPhone and the iPod

W ill technology leapfrog depletion and save drivers from the cost of triple-digit oil? Every auto producer in the world has an electric car in the works; General Motors , of course, will start producing its Volt later this year.

T he faulty gas pedals that prompted Toyota TM-N to suspend U.S. and Canadian sales of eight of its most popular models – including the Camry, America’s best-selling car – are also in its vehicles sold in Europe, an official with the automaker said Wednesday. Toyota Motor Corp.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will face fresh questions Wednesday about transparency and his ties to the Wall Street banks he helped save when he testifies before a House panel about the bailout of American International Group Inc. He is unlikely to reveal much. Lawmakers want to know why Geithner approved decisions that sent billions of dollars from the AIG bailout to big banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc