(NECN: Peter Howe) - One of New England's preeminent bankers, Charles K. "Chad" Gifford, was on the hot seat Tuesday in Congress, facing a grilling over Bank of America's $50 billion takeover of Merrill Lynch last year. Some of the toughest questioning: about freshly disclosed, blunt e-mails Gifford privately sent family and friends bemoaning the Merrill deal and saying Bank of America had been strongarmed by the government to complete it during last fall's market meltdown.

(NECN) - Today In-Focus, controlling your spending. It's a tough task any time of the year, but especially during the holidays. With the season approaching, we want to give you some expert advice.

Certified Financial Planner Jennifer from Compass Planning talks about the tools you can use to keep control of your wallet.

If you have a question for Jennifer, you can contact her at Jennifer@necn.com. Be sure to include the town and state in which you live.

(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Casco Bay, Maine) - Generations of fishermen have made their living harvesting food from the Gulf of Maine, but there is another plentiful crop out there that's been largely ignored, until now.

By mid-November, most Maine lobstermen are getting off the water, but Tollef Olsen and Paul Dobson's season is just getting underway. They are Maine's first kelp farmers, growing fronds of flavorful kelp on floating rafts, that they also use to grow oysters in Casco Bay.

(NECN) - Interest rates are low, and that means it can be tough to get a good return on your money.

Viewers are asking Certified Financial Planner Jennifer Lane for advice on the best places to invest.

If you have a question for Jennifer, you can contact her at Jennifer@necn.com. Be sure to include the town and state in which you live.

(NECN) - Stocks finished today's session with modest gains, with the major indexes up less than half a percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 10,437-- rising 30 points.

The Nasdaq composite finished at nearly 2,204-- climbing almost six.

The S-and-P 500 ended at 1,110-- gaining one.

Regionally -- Bloomberg’s New England index fell a fraction of a point.

The New England tech stock index went down less than a quarter.

Ned Riley, CEO of Riley Asset Management has Tuesday’s Market Analysis.

(NECN: Washington) - Former FleetBoston CEO Charles K. "Chad" Gifford, now a member of the board of directors of Bank of America, was on the hot seat in Washington Tuesday as a congressional committee reviewed the bank's controversial takeover of Merrill Lynch.

In this NECN extra, Gifford is grilled by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) about a letter Gifford sent his four children and wife calling the Merrill takeover a serious mistake that the government pressured the bank to carry through despite his objections.

(NECN: Peter Howe, Boston, Mass.) - Two top New England business leaders are on the hot seat in Washington. They are being grilled by a congressional committee about Bank of America's controversial $50 billion takeover of Merrill Lynch -- a deal top government officials reportedly pressured the bank to complete, even after Merrill piled up billions in losses.

Two of the key witnesses at this hearing are Chad Gifford, the former CEO of Fleet Boston and Bank of Boston, and Tom May, CEO of electric and gas utility NSTAR. They both sit on the board of directors.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in October, a smaller-than-expected increase that signals a bumpy recovery ahead.

Stronger activity at electric and gas utilities drove last month's gain, but production at factories - the single biggest slice of industrial output - declined.

That's troubling because it suggests that consumers and businesses remain cautious in their spending, which could continue to restrain manufacturing activity, tempering the strength of the recovery.

(NECN) - "Cash is king."

That's been mantra for many Massachusetts big publicly traded companies, which have actually grown their cash reserves during the recession.

Which companies have managed to stockpile cash?

Lisa Van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal joins Good Morning Live with more on this.

(NECN) - Every week on CEO Corner we go one on one with New England's top CEO's to learn the secrets to their success. This week Maryanne Kane is joined by Pat Purcell, Publisher of The Boston Herald and Executive Chairman of the Ottaway Newspaper Group.

In this segment, Purcell looks at the role of the Kindle in the newspaper industry. Plus, his vision for the future of the paper.