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This year marks the 10^th anniversary of Yahoo!'s Year in Review. It puts a spotlight on the top stories and trends of the year based Yahoo!'s network of nearly 700 million monthly unique visitors and billions of consumer searches.

The top search term on Yahoo! for 2011 did not go to a person or an event. It went to one of Apple's most sought after products: The iPhone. With all the news surrounding Apple over the course of the year — from the company's ability to smash earnings expectations time and time again to the failing health and final passing of CEO Steve Jobs — it is not at all surprising the gadget garnered so much attention.

But what is surprising is the Year in Review's findings for the top 10 financial searches of the year. Unemployment fell from the number one most searched financial term in 2010 to nine on the list in 2011, perhaps showing a bit of optimism in the job market. And instead of being curious about

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The year in politics can be summed up in two words: Dysfunction and Scandal.

Evident throughout 2011, D.C. dysfunction peaked with the summer debt-ceiling debacle, which resulted in the U.S. losing its triple-A credit rating from S&P. (See: Who Will Save the Lifeguards?)

Because of the way negotiations between President Obama and Speaker Boehner were handled (or mishandled) the failure to hammer out a deal will be "permanently damaging" to Washington, says David Chalian, Washington bureau chief for Yahoo! News. "The whole system reeked of dysfunction."

As a result, Chalian expects a "very volatile" election season in 2012. "If you are an incumbent in Washington and have the stench of Washington on you, the Americna people are not pleased with you," he says.

Indeed, as of early December, the President's approval rating was a paltry 42% while Congress' was an all-time low 13%.

Revelations of insider trading by members of Congress and