Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

In these tough times, we’re all cutting back on everything from eating out to taking a vacation. But there’s one thing that millions of us seem to be able to afford: an iPhone.

We spent $1.7 billion dollars on iPhones in just the last three months.

Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones last quarter, including the new 3GS model. That’s more than seven times the number the company sold a year ago.

Sales are so strong that Apple’s having a hard time keeping up with iPhone demand. And even though iPod sales slipped from a year ago, they still topped 10 million players.

Heath care in the spotlight

President Obama holds a prime time press conference at the White House tonight amid his continued push for health care reform legislation.

So what does health care reform mean for you? More than 160 million Americans get their health insurance through work. 14 million Americans buy health insurance on their own. And 49 million Americans have no coverage at all.

How will the health care bills moving through Congress affect these groups? Will it lower premiums? CNNMoney.com has the breakdown.

Stocks churn on Wall Street

Stocks bounced in and out of positive territory this morning as investors took a breather from the recent run-up to sort through earnings reports from the likes of Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Apple.

Stocks rallied Tuesday, with the Dow ending at its highest close in six months as better-than-expected quarterly results overshadowed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the economy. Bernanke is back on the Hill today, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee.

Gas prices reverse course

After 30 consecutive days of declines, gas prices climbed 3- tenths of a cent overnight to $2.461.

Still, the average price of a gallon of gas is down $1.65 or 40.2 percent from the record high price of $4.114 that AAA reported on July 17, 2008.

The highest gas prices are in Hawaii ($3.169). The cheapest are in Missouri and South Carolina ($2.226 in both states).

Pay hikes on the way

Pay raises are expected to rebound next year after being severely stunted by the recession, according to a new survey.

Companies are planning median merit increases of 3% for 2010, according to human resources consulting firm Watson Wyatt, which polled 235 large U.S. employers in May.

While that's below the 3.5% raise workers received in both 2008 and 2007, it would be an improvement over the 2% salary increase employers plan to give out this year.

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