CNN's Jason Carroll reports on how some community banks are booming where big banks are failing.

Bigger is definitely not better right now in the banking business. We're seeing commercial banks buried under a mountain of debt and needing the government to save them from themselves.

But for some smaller, community-based banks... business is booming.

They may not have the name recognition but some start-up banks say they can provide service that's just as good as the larger chains and they say their customer's money is just as safe.

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CNN's Christine Romans speaks to Jacki Zehner of the Women's Funding Network, about the role women play in the economy.

The nation's unemployment rate is still climbing, but it's affecting a lot more men than women.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts unemployment over eight percent for men, but under seven percent for women. That has some experts wondering – could women be key to our recovery?

For more, we talked to Jacki Zehner with the Women's Funding Network and Linda Butler who's benefitted from that network.

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CNN's Carol Costello reports on how companies are advertising more products for women due to the recession.

As the recession deepens, guess who’s fast becoming the best friend of American businesses?

American women.

Companies have long known that women often make the buying decisions for the household. But unemployment now is soaring much higher among men than women, which means women now control even more of what gets spent.

By one measure 80% of consumer spending is attributed to women. They control as much as 85% of household spending on everyday items. And they buy more than half of the new cars. Statistics like these are getting the attention of American’s corporations.

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CNN's Jim Acosta reports on a college student who doubles as a CEO.

Twenty year old sophomore Ben Lewis is busy these days. When he's not studying for mid term exams he is traveling cross country pitching his own bottled water that he says has the power to change the world.

The latest product from corporate America comes from a baby faced University of Pennsylvania sophomore who shares a room with three other roommates. Today he is in Anaheim, California at a health foods trade show pitching his Give water brand to the big wigs from the likes of Pepsi and Coke.

The bottles come in different colors and a dime from each bottle sold goes to charity. Orange helps the fight against muscular disorders, pink is for breast cancer research, green goes to the environment and blue helps children fight AIDS.

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