return on investment

Collegians are having to become more careful consumers, as high-quality jobs become scarce and interest rates on student loans are set to increase. A comparison of the average return on investment for over 1,200 American colleges and universities offers some clues on how to choose.

The stock market has bounced back from its crisis lows -- but you never can tell which way it'll go. Bonds look steady -- but they're actually a guaranteed way to make your money shrink slowly. There is, however, a place most of us can put more cash that is sure to outpace the market.

You%u2019ve heard it so often you can probably repeat it in your sleep: Equities are the best protection against inflation. But academic research establishes clearly that it just isn't so: Stocks aren't a good hedge against inflation at all, particularly high inflation.

At EARTH University, students don't produce papers. They produce -- organically grown crops they harvest and sell -- along with other entrepreneurial agricultural products. Is this hands-on education in working the soil and changing the world a model for a better future.

More students and parents are approaching higher education like any other big investment, researching schools' relative merits and the values of their diplomas so they can make informed decisions. Trouble is, the data can be hard to find -- and what's available isn't always trustworthy. Should Washington step in?

Eenie, meenie, miney, moe -- where should my cash savings go? That's the riddle many Americans are trying to figure out these days. After the necessities are taken care of, it's time to choose: mattress, stock market or mortgage? Do the math and the answer is clear.

Each year, any number of organizations publish lists of America's highest paid CEOs. But the real question is: How many of them can be said to have earned those gigantic pay packages. 24/7 Wall St. dug into the numbers to find out.

In a volatile market, some people opine that stock investing isn't for wusses. But when you look beyond the potential scariness of the roller coaster ride, it's actually a money-making option that's hard to beat. In fact, considering the alternatives, stocks are perfect for wusses.

The Occupy Wall Street crowd has plenty of reasons to complain about how the big financial institutions treat Main Street America. But you'll be shocked to find out how poorly the masters of the investment world treat their richest clients. Multimillionaire and ex-CEO Al Checchi pulls back the curtain.

Filmmaker and political gadfly Michael Moore has joined the Occupy Wall Street movement, and his tirades against corporate greed, bailouts for bankers, unemployment are all mostly accurate and on point -- but when he says "the 99%" should stay out of the markets, he's giving terrible financial advice.