Each week, Report on Business editors choose five stories that shouldn't be missed. Here are the 'must reads' for the week of Dec. 14, 2009 .
The town that Bank of America took down
Residents of Charlotte, N.C., the banking centre of the U.S. South, were living the high life. Then came the market meltdown and the subsequent evaporation of high-paying jobs and confidence. Read the story
The future of the magazine
With advertising sales falling, editors are going digital, employing online applications that can increase revenue. But it's a tough fight against a free Internet. Read the story
Google takes new tack with own phone
Google is moving into the hardware arena for the first time, privately testing a Google-branded smartphone that, if released to the consumer market as early as three weeks from now, may prove to be stiff competition for the same phone manufacturers that initially partnered with the world's most popular search engine to release phones powered by its Android operating system. Seen here is what is said to be what the new phone looks like. Read the story
Shadow inventory threatens U.S. housing recovery
Even as the U.S. Federal Reserve points to signs of improvement in the housing sector, the so-called shadow inventory threatens to launch a new wave of foreclosures and squelch a recovery in the industry before it gains any real traction. Read the story
Storm batters energy upstarts
Canada's junior energy sector has been clobbered over the past year. The number of junior companies exploring for Alberta oil and gas has taken a startling dive as low natural gas prices constrict the lifeblood of the once-vibrant sector. Read the story