Countries like Tajikistan that have come to depend on remittances are feeling the effects of the global financial crisis.

Cash Flow From Tajik Migrants Stalls

As the investigation into Bernard L. Madoff’s money management business intensifies, efforts are under way to sell quickly the trading unit, which was once the heart of Mr. Madoff’s operations.

Effort Under Way to Sell Madoff Unit

Herbert and Marion Sandler, long viewed as model citizens of the mortgage industry, have been swept into the debate over who is to blame.

Once Trusted Mortgage Pioneers, Now Scrutinized

U.S. officials are bringing far fewer prosecutions as a result of fraudulent stock schemes than they did eight years ago, raising questions about lax oversight.

Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply

The Tennessee Valley Authority has played down the risks of what may be the nation’s largest spill of coal ash, but there are questions about its potential toxicity.

Coal Ash Spill Revives Issue of Its Hazards

The grandson of the singing governess made famous by “The Sound of Music” is taking over the family legacy.

Von Trapps Reunited, Without the Singing

Business may be bleak now, but there is reason for optimism. There’s even hope for the internal-combustion engine.

Last Call for Horsepower

Next year may be worse, but when the perfect storm finally ends there will be better, more relevant cars to buy.

Detroit, We Have a Problem

The disconnect between the auto companies’ balance sheets and the products they sell is the No. 1 thing that many citizens don’t grasp about the industry.

Cars Didn’t Cause the Crisis

Mr. Pinter’s gift for finding the noise within silence made him the most influential dramatist of his generation.

Harold Pinter, Playwright of the Pause, Dies at 78

The least visited of the major Hawaiian islands, Molokai’s stunning beaches and rugged jungle interior are worth the trouble it takes to get there.

Hometown Hawaii, on Its Own Terms

“Revolutionary Road,” a waxworks edition of the furiously unsentimental novel by Richard Yates, tracks the unraveling of a handsome young suburban couple in the 1950s.

Two Faces in the Crowd, Raging Against the Crab Grass

As the city has created hundreds of new schools, there is a wave of panic among many parents of fifth graders.

All’s Fair in the Middle School Scramble

This year the holiday has been scaled back, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to celebrate. The Times’s pop and jazz critics offer their choices of the best New Year’s Eve events in New York.

New Year’s Eve, Just Slightly Downsized

President Bush has doubled federal financing for community health centers, enabling the creation or expansion of 1,297 clinics in underserved areas.

Expansion of Clinics Shapes Bush Legacy

The animated documentary “Waltz With Bashir” is a memoir, a history lesson, a combat picture, a piece of investigative journalism and an altogether amazing film.

Inside a Veteran’s Nightmare

David Carr’s first encounter with Rupert Murdoch “did not go well,” he said in an e-mail message, perhaps because he “sort of jumped out of the bushes” at Murdoch.

Up Front

The New York Times Company is trying to sell its stake in the baseball team, seeking to shield its newspaper franchise from falling revenue, a person briefed on the plans said on Wednesday.

Times Co. Seeking to Sell Its Stake in the Red Sox

After the financial troubles of 2008, we have imagined how five of the most popular holiday classics might be storyboarded to reflect the credit crisis.

Timely Twists on Holiday Films

An article last Sunday about the art market misstated the given name of the painter, sculptor and installation artist in whom the Manhattan art dealer Philippe Ségalot said he is interested. He is Matthew Day Jackson, not Michael.

Correction: Sitting Back and Waiting

Business schools are increasing efforts to educate students in the skills and knowledge most relevant to running hedge funds.

How Do You Run a Hedge Fund? Colleges Are Showing How

Corporations like Goldman Sachs have begun to take more seriously the economic power of women, especially in emerging markets.

Businesses See Opportunity in Empowering Women

The New York String Orchestra’s Christmas Eve concerts at Carnegie Hall have become dependable seasonal draws.

Mozart as a Holiday Tradition: Zesty to Plaintive

“Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven,” a new documentary that will have its premiere on Monday on HBO, finds great theater in the family drama behind a famously high-toned Manhattan restaurant.

Celebrities at the Tables and Drama in the Kitchen

Because of an editing error, an article on Wednesday about a water main break in Bethesda, Md., misstated the amount of water released each minute because of the rupture. It was 150,000 gallons, not 150 million gallons.

Correction

Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby".

December 25, 2008

Headlines from December 25, 2008

Cash Flow From Tajik Migrants Stalls

Effort Under Way to Sell Madoff Unit

Once Trusted Mortgage Pioneers, Now Scrutinized

Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply

Coal Ash Spill Revives Issue of Its Hazards

Billboard 200

Fearless

Circus

I Am...Sasha Fierce

Dark Horse

Twilight

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for December 25, 2008