While experts continue to warn that housing has not yet hit bottom, a slew of indicators suggest otherwise. The latest is a stellar quarterly earnings report from Home Depot, which is benefitting from hopeful owners sprucing up …
Markets
Dividend Stocks Are Hot, But They Aren’t Bonds
The search for retirement income in today’s low-yield environment inevitably comes back to dividend paying stocks. How could it not? Money market funds and short-term bank CDs pay about .5%; the 10-year Treasury bond pays only about 2%.
Bernanke to Income-Starved Retirees: Tough Luck
If it wasn’t clear already, it is now: securing decent retirement income in a low-yield environment is going to be a problem for a long time. Seniors who have been eking by through temporary measures like drawing down an …
Why the Smart Money was So Dumb in 2011
If your 401(k) was down in 2011, don’t hang your head. You have plenty of company. Many of Wall Street‘s most successful investors were losers in 2011 as well.
According to Hedgefund Intelligence Database, 60% of all hedge funds …
Price of Orange Juice Futures Soars—Will OJ Prices at the Supermarket Do the Same?
First, it was coffee prices spiking last spring. Then, over the summer, the cost of bacon surged. Now, the price of another breakfast staple—orange juice—could suddenly be heading northward.
What Last Year’s Stock Market Says about 2012
Day to day, the stock market may feel like a roller-coaster, but in fact the U.S. is experiencing stagnation with a very, very faint upward trend.
Skittish Market’s Winners and Losers Point the Way
A highly volatile stock market may have given you whiplash in 2011. But as the year draws to a close, the final numbers don’t look so dramatic: the S&P 500 is poised to end the year almost exactly where it began, and about as …
Guru Gaffe: Investors Losing Faith in ‘Bond King’
Bill Gross, a legendary bond fund manager, is about to close the books on a terrible year for his $241 billion PIMCO Total Return Fund. His missteps underscore the risks of a concentrated investment and in staying too long with a …
The Hidden Pitfalls of 529 College Savings Plans
The year-end push to contribute to a 529 state college savings plan is in full force. These plans make a lot of sense. But they also have drawbacks. Here’s how to make the most of them.
Bank of America Shares Fall Below $5 to New 2011 Low
Bank of America, the second largest U.S. bank by assets, fell more than 5% on Monday to below $5 per share for the first time in 2011, and the lowest level since March of 2009. The $5 threshold is more than just a psychological …
Feds Charge ‘Rudy’ — Yes, That ‘Rudy’ — With Stock Fraud
This time, Rudy got sacked.
Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, best known as the indomitable underdog who realized his dream of playing football at Notre Dame, was charged with deceiving investors Friday by the Securities and Exchange …
Zynga Pops 10% Then Drops Below IPO Price in Lukewarm Debut
Online game-maker Zynga went public Friday, raising $1 billion in the biggest Internet IPO since Google in 2004. The company’s shares opened at $11 — 10% above the $10 offering price — before quickly falling as low as $9.50, …
