Morning Edition

As the debt crisis spreads across Europe, the economy in the region is slowing to a crawl. One place that's starting to feel the impact of the slowdown is the massive port of Rotterdam in Holland. It's the biggest port in the world outside Asia. Much of what's bought and sold in Europe goes through Rotterdam.

Nearly three decades ago, Kenny Buchanan decided to drop out of school. Over the last 26 years, he's jumped from job to job and unemployment. He now has a full-time job and for the first time in years, he and his family have health insurance and can enjoy a few luxuries.

Steve Inskeep has business news.

Some of the most spectacular business failings of 2011 were created or enhanced by the very people who should have provided protection against failure: the CEOs. Linda Wertheimer wraps up the year in CEO blunders with Professor Sydney Finkelstein, of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He's also the author of "Why Smart Executives Fail."

U.S. officials may be giving up on their goal of strong relations with Pakistan. That's the suggestion, anyway, in the details of a report by The New York Times. The report describes the U.S. preparing for a much more limited relationship after U.S. forces in Afghanistan killed Pakistani troops across the border. Eric Schmitt, who authored the report, talks to Steve Inskeep about deteriorating relations between the U.S. and Pakistan.