Wikimedia CommonsAmerican’s confidence in the U.S. economy posted a five-year high in May of -7 on Gallup’s economic confidence index. Since then, it has been all downhill, to a September reading of -19. That…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decrease of 0.4% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a rise of 5.5% for the previous…
Courtesy Volkswagen AGWith only one exception, Volkswagen of America is the least successful big car company with a presence in the United States. And that presence is dwindling as consumers find better alternatives to its…
ThinkstockMerck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) announced it would rid itself of 8,500 workers, many of whom work in the big pharmaceutical company’s R&D operations. Since the return on research investment at Merck and its…
courtesy of Apple Inc.Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), made the odd move of having dinner with ancient raider Carl Icahn, who owns between $1.5 billion to $2 billion in the…
ThinkstockThe number of companies paying dividends in the S&P 500 is at a 15-year high. According to FactSet, just over 80 companies in the index do not pay dividends. Paying dividends has become more…
ThinkstockPope Francis has been working towards a pledge of greater and greater transparency in the Catholic Church. This pledge also includes financial transparency. For the first time ever, the Vatican’s bank has released its annual…
ThinkstockBarracuda Networks finally has decided to come public and has filed its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No financial terms were stated other than it is planning to sell up to $100 million…
AngieslistAngie’s List Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGI) has always seemed like an odd company to us, even to the point that we questioned whether it should have ever been public AND whether it should be worth…
ThinkstockWith Major League Baseball’s postseason set to start soon, fans of the 10 teams still in contention for a World Series title are scooping up tickets. But with a limited number of games and…
The government has decided to shut down, and investors and the public are trying to figure out what all of this really means. Is this good politics or bad? Is it good for economy…
ThinkstockLED lighting stocks have waxed and waned over the years but the stocks are getting a boost today following a jump in guidance from one maker and a stock upgrade and price target increase…
ThinkstockGold bugs and fans of gold mining stocks are not going to get a pleasant feeling here. Fitch Ratings has a cautious report on what can happen to gold miners and producers even when…
JoeInQueens, via Wikimedia CommonsCarl Icahn no longer has Michael Dell to go after, so his attention, while much less vocal, now is heading back toward Tim Cook and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Icahn wrote on…
ThinkstockHome prices rose 12.4% again in August, compared with the same month a year ago, for a 18th consecutive monthly year-over-year gain, according to research firm CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX). Home prices rose 0.9%…