You'll never have the chance to lose $200 billion, but the odds are good that, over the past several years, you lost your personal share of $200 billion in potential investment gains. But here's the good part: The kinds of mistakes that cost us that cash are entirely avoidable. Here's how.
Spring is just around the corner and as we begin cleaning up our homes and adding a fresh coat of paint to our walls, there are stocks that could benefit. Nikhil Hutheesing and Dan Burrows face-off on three springtime stocks: Sherwin Williams, Toro and Home Depot. Watch the video for the bull and bear cases.
Gold bugs love bad news, and civil war in Libya, Africa's third-largest oil producer, couldn't have come at a better time. After dropping a hundred bucks in January, February's upheavals have pushed gold back within striking distance of nominal all-time highs.
Deadly clashes in Libya sent shockwaves through various markets yesterday, setting the stage for more turbulence in the sessions ahead. Gold and oil have already spiked higher on world markets, and U.S. investors will also see some major earnings and economic reports.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway liquidated its positions in a number of high-profile companies during the fourth quarter, but the Oracle of Omaha has hung on to his huge stake in Coca-Cola. And Coke's nearly 4% drop is a weight on Buffett's portfolio.
The embattled Egyptian president's resignation lifted a cloud worldwide, and investors responded. More encouraging economic news also helped equities on Friday as the consumer sentiment index rose to a slightly better-than-expected reading for February. [Video]
Friday's action notwithstanding, in which gold prices rose as the stock market sold off, safe-haven assets are suffering at the expensive of equities and other riskier assets. That's what happens when the global economy appears to be picking up steam.
As much as the market and Corporate America may like what they heard in the president's speech Tuesday night, history shows Obama's reelection in 2012 remains pinned to boosting Americans' income growth to at least 3%. Problem is, right now it's running at just 1.4%.
The path to profits for most of Corporate America lately has been cutting costs rather than raising revenue. But a careful look reveals a few companies that are poised to deliver real revenue growth. We've found six with a plus: Their stocks look like bargains.
Stocks ended the week on a positive note despite economic reports that fell short of expectations. But Cort Gwon of FBN Securities says there was lots to cheer about as fears over the debt crisis in Europe lessened and U.S. companies announced stellar earnings.
The S&P 500 gained about 13% last year, but it didn't get much help while companies were releasing results. That index was unchanged or lower for all four of 2010's earnings seasons, and it could repeat this pattern now.
Once again, profit reports are expected to be a tale of strong growth, thanks more to cost cuts than revenue gains. And perhaps even more telling, fourth-quarter 2010 earnings are competing with downright dismal reports for the year-earlier period. [Video]
This week was all about jobs reports, and after December's employment numbers fell short of expectations, stocks ended the first week of trading in 2011 on a down note. Kenny Polcari, managing director at ICAP Corporates explains from the New York Stock Exchange.