At 1:07 p.m. on Tuesday, the Twitter feed of the Associated Press told us that Barack Obama had been injured in an explosion at the White House. The tweet was fake — the product of a hack — but given the events in Boston last …
Wall Street & Markets
The Real Reason Wall Street Is Fighting the Online Sales Tax
It’s rare these days to find a bill that garners bipartisan support, but members of both parties in the U.S. Senate are getting behind the Marketplace Fairness Act, which will enable states to collect sales taxes on products sold by online, out-of-state vendors. The goal of the bill is to level the playing field between online retailers …
Europeans Are Thinking the Unthinkable: That Debt Defaults Might Make Sense
Instead of struggling to keep the euro zone together, default may be less painful in the long run for the people of overindebted countries
Tale of Two Supermarkets: Why Fresh & Easy Flopped and Fairway Flies High
This week, the death of one high-profile grocery chain, and the ascendancy of another, tells us a lot about what Americans want in a supermarket—and what we’re just not buying.
What’s Behind the Crash in the Gold Market?
Since 2011, the gold market has shown signs of weakness, culminating in a multiday crash that began on Thursday and continued into Monday
What the Boston Bombing Means for the Economy and the Stock Market
Unless the Boston Marathon bombings are part of a much larger plot, it seems unlikely that their effects on the stock market will last more than another day.
A Bentley Boom? Rising Sales for Luxury Automakers Like Bentley, Jaguar, Porsche
So much for scaling back. The world’s rich and elite — or those who just want to appear so — have been cracking open their wallets in a big way lately, and luxury automakers are the beneficiaries.
The Real Significance of the Bitcoin Boom (and Bust)
Online currencies like the Bitcoin are one day likely to alter government policy, just as the bond market did in the 1990s
10 Biggest 401(k) Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them
As traditional defined-benefit pensions become increasingly rare, more Americans instead are offered employer-sponsored 401(k)s, defined-contribution plans that require participants to be more proactive and educate themselves. …
Is the Global Economy Slowly Falling Apart?
For Americans, the economy is likely to remain sluggish for several years, but the long-term outlook isn’t nearly as bad as the pessimists say
Why Derivatives May Be the Biggest Risk for the Global Economy
Since the recession, the value of derivatives outstanding has grown, and they remain very risky with the potential for large, unpredictable losses.
Why Are Wall Street’s Billionaire Sharks Circling Dell?
Two of the most prominent figures on Wall Street — Carl Icahn, the famed corporate raider turned “activist investor,” and Stephen Schwarzman, the billionaire behind private equity behemoth Blackstone Group — have expressed …
