Investing

This week on Wall Street, everyone will be watching Netflix; mutual funds will talk assets under management; we'll see earnings from some stock freshmen; NFL teams will pick their own fresh stock; and a few companies are likely to issue deja vu quarterly reports.

When businesspeople make bad bets in America, they're apt to lose money. Make a wrong bet in China, and you may lose more than just cash -- you may lose your life. Meet Chinese entrepreneur Wu Ying.

With The Hunger Games opening this weekend, investors can stack the odds in their favor by considering the companies that stand to benefit from the film's likely success.

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...

Pop quiz: If someone wanted to charge you $600 for something you could get for $10 elsewhere, who would you buy it from? Sounds like a no-brainer. But when people buy mutual funds, they often end up paying the $600 price instead of the $10 one.

Last year, the Social Security Administration warned that the program's trust fund was likely to run out of money in 2036, leading to deep cuts in benefits. Now, the Congressional Budget Office says that projection may have been too optimistic.

When it comes to Social Security's woes, the potential cures discussed the most are unpleasant: Raise the retirement age, reduce payments, or raise the tax rate. Fortunately, those aren't the only options.

Four times in five years, lawmakers have introduced the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act to bar senators and representatives from investing based on knowledge they gained in the course of their duties. Three times, the STOCK Act has died in committee. Will the fourth time be the charm?

In 2036, Social Security's Trust Fund is set to run out of money, after which it's anticipated that the program's benefits will be cut by about a quarter. And if you're likely to be around when that happens, you need a plan to make up the difference.

Every January, we plan to make changes, and we often don't succeed. Let's make this New Year's different: Here are seven fairly simple resolutions recommended by the financial experts for getting you on a firmer fiscal footing in 2012.