If you're keeping your savings in low-return but "safe" investments, this is the year you need to get your money off the sidelines and into some solid stocks. No stock is risk-free, but these 13 picks are the best we can find for novice investors looking to get their feet wet in the market.
Sometimes, no matter how many months a company invests in development or how many millions it spends on marketing, a new product can fall flat on its face. That's what happened to these new offerings, the biggest product flops of 2012.
This would be the year when the global economy finally regained its vigor. At least that's what many had hoped. It didn't happen. So what were the top ten business stories of 2012?
Apple said Monday that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in China in their first three days of availability, setting a record for that market. IPhone 5, which launched in China on Friday, will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December.
A Dutch court has again ruled against Apple in a suit against South Korea's Samsung Electronics, saying that Galaxy tablets don't infringe an Apple patent on touchscreen interfaces. The Dutch case is one of many Apple is pursuing against Samsung in their reciprocal patent war.
The buzz this week is back to tablets: Apple is expected to introduce a new smaller iPad, and Microsoft definitely will begin selling its Surface device.
Americans spend a lot of money on oil: about $632 billion a year. And the big oil producers report eye-popping annual profits, like ExxonMobil's $41 billion in 2011. Numbers like that may make you feel like we're getting robbed at the pump ... but it's not that simple.
Apple has sent out invitations to an event next week that is expected to be its unveiling of the much-anticipated iPad mini. The invitations didn't reveal details, of course, but hinted at something small with the words: "We've got a little more to show you."
While some of the biggest brands have grown their values by more than 20% since last year's report by Interbrand, others have fallen precipitously. Here are the brands that lost the most value over the past year.
Apple has finally introduced the iPhone 5. Smartphone fans and Apple investors are naturally excited: The very nature of the shiny new handset and the bar-raising nature of some of its features will send out ripples far beyond Cupertino.
An original Apple I -- the first computer developed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak -- will go on the block at Christie's of London, where it's expected to fetch up to $127,000. That's about 190 times the original price -- $666.66
Forget what you've heard: Amazon and Apple aren't enemies. They're frenemies. Last week, the e-tailer officially made its Amazon Instant Video service available to tens of millions of iPad users. And that's a huge problem for Google.
The Apple-ization of J.C. Penney continues. The department store unveiled its new shop concept Monday, showing off -- among other things -- a 1,500-square-foot men's Levi's store with an exclusive "denim bar" that evokes Apple's fabled Genius Bar.
This week, we'll be seeing how some of the most famous stocks in America are doing: Apple, Facebook, Netflix and Starbucks will report earnings, and there are sure to be a few surprises.
J.C. Penney may have backpedaled on eliminating sales, but it's still trying to redefine retail, and its next big change may feel equally radical: The chain will get rid of all of its cash registers, checkout counters and cashiers by 2014, says CEO Ron Johnson.