The suicide of Ma Xiang Qian, a 19-year old Chinese worker, has consumers around the world questioning the working conditions in factories contracted to make Apple products. Qian was an employee at Foxconn, a firm that makes iPhones and more. His suicide marked the 10th to occur at the plant he worked at in recent months. Many are accusing the plant of being a sweatshop. Foxconn has even drawn criticism from the Chinese government, not known for its championship of human rights, which has asked the company to improve working conditions for its 400,000 employees. The company also makes products for Nokia and Dell.

Ma's parents were devastated by their son's death. "The more I think about his death, the sadder I feel," his father Ma Zi Shan told ABC News. "Sometimes I think I can't go on living." Ma's sister, Ma Li Qun, said that the pressure within the factory was almost unbearable. "We were not allowed to talk during work. We weren't even allowed to look around. Our superiors used a stop watch to time us. We were fined for any mistakes we made." Ma's sister also went on to say that her brother was verbally and emotionally abused by supervisors at Foxconn. The family does not believe that their son committed suicide and claim that he was actually murdered. There does not appear to be any evidence to support that assertion.

It may surprise you to know that there are many employers across the country who offer loans to their employees. The loans can cover everything from personal expenses to more serious things, such as catching up on a mortgage or moving. The trend has grown over time due to the bad economy and the fact that many Americans are now living paycheck-to-paycheck in single income homes. According to the Department of Labor, the percentage of households with just one income grew to 7.8 percent, which is a 12 percent increase over last year. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Every year, business owner Jim Fab lends his 25 employees as much as $4,000 interest-free for personal expenses they can't afford up front, ranging from down payments on homes and cars to funeral and legal fees. Most pay him back – eventually.

"I had a guy send me $300 a month for three years after he quit," says Mr. Fab, whose electrical-contracting company, Fab Electric Inc., has been in operation in Gaithersburg, Md., since 1978.

At small, closely knit companies, business owners like Mr. Fab sometimes take on an extra role: that of the parent who opens up the wallet when the kids need cash. After all, they typically can't steer their penny-pinched workers toward the kind of resources that many big companies have, such as credit unions and debt-counseling programs. Instead, the only option they usually have is to dig into their own pockets – and many say they do with little hesitation.

With the arrival of the new TBS show, 'Are We There Yet?' the black community is getting another option for network television viewing. We all know that black shows are rare these days, with few outside of the family sitcom genre even getting produced. There is much family fare on TBS now, including the shows created by Tyler Perry, 'House of Payne' and 'Meet the Browns.' But these two black sitcoms are based on what some perceive to be stereotypes of the African American family. The characters tend to be loud and animated, in scenarios in which dancing and jokes that are sometimes a little ignorant abound. We can only hope that 'Are We There Yet' will offer more balanced images of African Americans. But it is troubling that, despite our diversity of experience, the only new major black show in years is another sitcom.

There is always room for a good black comedy -- but it's sad that black shows have been limited to such a narrow form over the years, and often a vehicle for stereotypes at that. It's true that the most successful black shows in history have been family comedies, including 'The Jeffersons,' 'Sanford and Son,' and 'Good Times.' At the same time, most of us can't think of a serious black show that has been on the air for more than one season. Why? And what does this mean for the African American community?

Dr. Alvin Pouissant of Harvard Medical School said this about the state of blacks on television in an interesting article on FamilyEducation.com: "Overall, the position of blacks on TV is better than that of other minorities, but it is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are embedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypically and assigned to comedy and buffoonery." That seems about right.

If you're madly in love, money should be the last thing on your mind, right? Maybe not. One of the greatest pieces of advice that I learned from reading the book 'Financial Lovemaking 101' is that if you want to talk about love, you've got to talk about money first. Getting rid of your financial anxiety is an important part of trusting your partner.

But, what if your partner asked you to sign a prenuptial agreement? Would you feel that they don't trust you, or would you think they were being prudent? If you were the one who made the most money, would that change your point of view? After Elin Nordegren, the wife of Tiger Woods, asked for $750 million as her divorce settlement, many have reconsidered the value of a prenuptial agreement.

Wells Fargo has recently announced new ways for parents to pay down student loans for their children. The large lender, which has taken a great deal of criticism for its lending practices in the black community, is trying to repair itself by engaging in new and creative ways for Americans to find money.

Parents and children are often saddled with the difficulty of trying to find ways to pay their way through college. The debts can mount, and even getting the initial financing can be difficult. Wells Fargo's new program allows parents to make interest-only payments while their child is in school. Once your child graduates, you can spend another 15 years paying off the remainder of the loan. The interest rates can vary, however, between 4.25 percent and 10.74 percent, depending on your credit score.

The loan is not just available to parents, but it is also available for use by other relatives, like uncles, guardians or grandparents. The new product was created shortly after President Obama cut private banks out of the pool of those offering federal loans to students. The direct lending model is expected to cause large banks to lose $2 billion per year in profits, according to Mark Kantrowitz of Finaid.org. He and other experts expect that these new loans are being created to help fill that void.

America rejoiced at the election of President Barack Obama. African Americans took an unprecedented level of interest in American politics, and the world celebrated the possibility of peace. The end of the Bush administration even inspired the Nobel Prize committee to give its coveted award to President Obama, based on the mere hope that he might make the world a better place.

The world has changed a bit since then. The happy political bash of the election became the tired and draining after party, and the excitement has worn off. America is no longer drunk with the thrill of having an intelligent president. So, this takes us to one final question (inspired by our friend over at the Average Bro blog): Is life better or worse under President Obama?

I focus this article on African Americans, since that is the target audience of this Web site. But every American is asking that question right now, especially after living through one of the most tumultuous economic downturns in the past 50 years. The people in the Gulf region are probably not better off, as they are facing what many are calling the worst oil spill in U.S. history. This spill has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands who depend on the sea and tourism to make a living.

Rappers talk about their "bling," and women lust for the brightest engagement ring they can get. Some people even wear diamonds in their teeth to show how much money they've got. Black Americans are dying to have the hottest diamonds around our necks, while other black people are literally dying to supply them.

In Africa, "blood diamonds" are intimately related to brutal conflicts throughout the continent, as groups use the diamond trade to finance civil and other wars that have resulted in the slaughter and disfigurement of millions.

The United States is the largest purchaser of diamonds. Each year, we buy 65 percent of the diamonds available on the open market -- and at a very high cost.

There has been a great deal of conversation about whether NFL rookies should have their salaries capped. The new player is riskier than the proven vet, yet the market causes these players to earn far more than some of the best players in the league. When the player doesn't pan out to be what the league thought he would be, team owners are left holding the bag.

The most recent example was JaMarcus Russell, who was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2007. Russell held out during negotiations and, ultimately, signed a six-year deal worth $68 million, with $31.5 million guaranteed. Russell fizzled out in the league and was eventually cut by the Raiders at a huge financial loss to the organization.

The risk of taking a high-level player and overpaying him frightens many teams into trading down and giving up the high draft pick for a lower-ranked pick or a veteran player. At the same time, there are some teams still willing to take the risk.

Where do you draw the line between a woman who likes men with money versus a woman who might as well call herself a prostitute? Tiger Woods' alleged ex-mistress, Rachel Uchitel, claims that she's not a hooker or a madam in a recent article that chronicles the blurring lines of whoredom. But this contradicts reports that she is more than happy to let a wealthy man like Tiger Woods fill her bank account on account of their sexual affair. Here, sex and money are inextricably linked, even if the woman is in denial about it.

Then again, there are some women who are not so quick to associate with the oldest profession, like actress LisaRaye. Although I would never accuse Raye of engaging in the act of prostitution, she raised some eyebrows when describing her own relationships, which are always based, in part, on her getting money, access to power and gifts.

"Every man that I have ever dated has always been powerful, had money and been generous to me," she told Sister 2 Sister. "My father was my first introduction to power. I am attracted to power. So when people always ask me why you always date a man with money, why in the hell wouldn't I? I have my own lifestyle. It's like, I'm not going for less than what I have. If I can't be spoiled because he is not that generous, loving and caring, I don't want you."

The Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University just released a new study revealing startling information about the gap between black and white families when it comes to wealth. According to the study, the wealth gap between white and black American families has increased fourfold since 1974. Over a 23-year period, the authors of the study found that the wealth gap rose from $20,000 to $95,000. They define wealth as the dollar value of your assets minus your debts.

Thomas M. Shapiro, Tatjana Meschede and Laura Sullivan worked on the study and found other results that were equally revealing:

1) Middle-income white households saw greater increases in wealth than high-income African American households. Middle-income whites have seen a $74,000 increase in wealth during this time period, while high-income black families saw only an $18,000 increase.

2) In 2007, one in 10 African Americans owed $3,600, doubling their debt since 1984.

3) At least 25 percent of all African American families had no assets to turn to during tough economic times.