Dow Jones Industrial Average

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After Google announced its stock split last week, there may be a bit more pressure on Apple to consider a split of its own pricey shares. We break down what that would mean for investors, and whether it makes sense for the tech giant.

Forget black cats, broken mirrors and unstoppable psychopaths in hockey masks -- on Friday the 13th, the biggest terrors sometimes hit our wallets. No, the Great Crash of 1929 didn't start on a Friday, but a fair number of financial disasters did.

The stock market has bounced back from its crisis lows -- but you never can tell which way it'll go. Bonds look steady -- but they're actually a guaranteed way to make your money shrink slowly. There is, however, a place most of us can put more cash that is sure to outpace the market.

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Wading through all of the varied political issues and hot buttons of an election year can be difficult for both candidates and voters. But what if there's only one thing that determines the outcome of a presidential race? Turns out, it may really be that simple.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 13,005, the first time it had crossed the 13,000 line since its plummet as the nation sank into the financial crisis almost five years ago. But what is the Dow, anyway? And what are these "points" it's measured in? Allow us to explain...

The Dow Jones industrial average on Tuesday reclaimed the last of the ground it held before the carnage of the Great Recession %u2014 bailouts, bank failures, layoffs by the million and a stock market plunge that cut retirement savings in half. The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since May 19, 2008, almost four months before the fall of the Lehman Brothers investment bank triggered the worst of the financial crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, when the Lehman Brothers investment bank was solvent, unemployment a healthy 5.4 percent and the worst of the Great Recession months ahead. The milestone came about two hours into the trading day. The stock market got the final push from strong corporate earnings reports and a Greek bailout deal intended to prevent the next financial crisis.