May

Now that the home buyer tax credit program has expired, job growth and mortgage availability will likely be the key factors determining the rate of existing home sales, which unexpectedly dipped 2.2% in May to a 5.66 million unit pace.

May's retail sales figures seem to show U.S. consumers are losing their drive to shop, but some of the weakness can be blamed on the calendar. A closer look shows consumers are actually becoming more willing to pony up at the cash register again.

May%u2019s smaller-than-expected $135.9 billion budget deficit provided further evidence of a healing U.S. economy, but a large structural deficit remains, and will have to be addressed by Congress, according to one budget observer.

Investors wouldn't know it from the brutal equities sell-off in response to the report, but it offered more positive signs than it's getting credit for. The crises in Europe and the Census's "stealing" workers from the private sector mask some reasons for optimism.

Many investors are no doubt kicking themselves for not following the old adage, "Sell in May and go away," after May turned in the worst market performance since February 2009. Here's what to do if you didn't sell.

In most parts of the country it's finally starting to feel like spring again, making the outdoors enjoyable for all kinds of activities, including door-to-door sales. The Ohio Attorney General recently released the number of complaints that it received regarding door-to-door sales in 2008, and...