When the fiscal cliff deal finally passed, the Dow Jones industrial average surged. But that doesn't mean the volatility is over. In fact, there could be more turmoil in the market soon because decisions on cutting the federal budget deficit have been put off until March, when the government will reach its borrowing limit.
The financial markets are closed for the Christmas holiday, but when trading resumes on Wednesday, here's what's likely to help shape the rest of the week on Wall Street.
A unlimited bond-buying plan from the European Central Bank continued to buoy financial markets on Friday while worse-than-expected U.S. jobs data lifted expectations that the Federal Reserve will back another monetary stimulus.
You can put new clothes on formerly communist nations, but it's hard to change what's under their skin. Don't be fooled: Both Russia and China have really awful bones. So before investing in either one, know the risks that lurk below the surface.
Wall Street firms' collective 2010 profits may fall 69% from a year earlier on less activity in the securities industries, more financial regulation, and fewer gains from Federal government bailouts, according to a New York State Comptroller report. Nevertheless, 2010 profits still may be the fourth-highest on record.
Financial Times editor and author John Authers says moral hazard, easy money and self-interested fund managers are still at work undermining the stability of financial markets that most investors take for granted.