forecast

The stock market's stomach-churning roller coaster will keep running, but unlike last year's flat finish, Wall Street experts anticipate stocks will end 2012 on a high note, with the S&P 500 up by 7%.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators Index rose 0.9% in October, outpacing increases in the previous two months and providing some grounds for hope of more robust economic growth to come.

This winter's weather is forecast to be milder than last year's, but many Americans will get a cold chill when they open their heating bills. Average household spending for the season will rise for natural gas and propane, and those who use heating oil will see their highest winter bills ever.

The National Retail Federation is forecasting a less cheerful holiday season for America's stores, which means shoppers can expect to scoop up big discounts as retailers work harder to get cash registers ringing. But if you want the hottest gifts, you might want to buy early.

Walgreen, the leading U.S. pharmacy chain, recently increased its quarterly dividend by 28.6%, the largest increase in the company's 110-year history, from 17.5 cents a share to 22.5 cents a share. But is it giving away cash it's really going to need for its expansion plans?

Class, today's lesson in back-to-school shopping is what grownups call a good news/bad news situation. First, the goods news: Back-to-school spending is expected to increase over last year, according to the retail analyzer ShopperTrak. The bad news: Shoppers won't be coming to the store as much.

Last week, IBM announced its Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities, aimed at providing in one easy package a software platform for cities to use in monitoring and managing city resources. Trefis sees this as a potentially huge boost IBM's lucrative middleware business.

Priceline recently announced a partnership with Asian low-cost carrier Jetstar Airways: Now, Priceline will provide bookings at thousands of Asian hotel properties on Jetstar's website. The potential gains from the deal should move the needle on Priceline's stock.

Investors have generally taken a negative position on big banks lately: Major financial institutions face a host of issues that are punishing their bottom lines. However, some of Wall Street's most carefully watched investors -- short sellers -- are withdrawing their bets against them.

Despite rosy financial forecasts made by economists this spring, our fears that the nation is about to sink into another depression are reaching depressing extremes. A new CNN poll reveals that nearly half of Americans believe a 1930s-scale depression is possible within the next 12 months.