third quarter

More ominous developments on the darkening retirement front: The total value of Americans' retirement assets stood at $17 trillion at the end of September -- a drop of 7.5% from the record high of $18.4 trillion recorded on June 30, 2011.

As retailers wrapped up their earnings reports this week, most said they're back in cost-control mode and will tighten inventories after the holidays. Shoppers are still spending cautiously and costs are on the rise, so profits will have to be squeezed out of slowly rising sales.

In a sign that holiday sales season will be better than initially expected, business inventories rose 0.9% in September as companies re-stocked their shelves for the nation's busiest shopping period. The increase also suggests that third-quarter U.S. GDP growth figures may be revised upward.

Starbucks posted on-target earnings, with same-store sales growing 9% from a year ago, thanks to 6% more traffic and a 3% increase in the average bill.

More decent news for the economy: U.S. GDP increased a revised 2.8% in the third quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Tuesday. That's down from the government's initial 3.5% GDP growth estimate, but it's a level that still indicates an adequate expansion of commercial activity. A...

It's good news that investors have been waiting awhile for: The U.S. economy grew for the first time in a year, rising 3.5 percent in the third quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday. It was the strongest growth rate in two years and was led by consumer spending, a slower...

Despite weaker sales across the board, DuPont Co. (DD) today posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, thanks to its aggressive cost-cutting and declining prices for its raw materials. The chemical giant reported that its third-quarter net income rose to $409 million, or 45...

The third quarter is now in the books and here's what we've learned about U.S. equities over the last three months: Riskier stocks are still hot, defensive names are not, and the so-called reflation trade is alive and well. Oh, and September isn't always the cruelest month for equities. The broad...

While investors and analysts have been highly critical of Starbucks (SBUX) over the past 24 months, sending the stock tumbling to a several-year low, the past few months have been quietly blissful. The stock is up more than 87 percent, to $14.69 at today's close, since November 21, when SBUX hit...