ThinkstockOnline purchasing during the 2012 holiday season totaled $42.3 billion, up 14% from $37.2 billion in 2011, according to research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR). That is a very nice gain, but about $1.2…
ThinkstockGold futures closed at around $1,676 an ounce in 2012, about 7% higher than the $1,565 or so the yellow metal fetched at the beginning of the year. Forecasts for the price of gold…
thinkstockThe Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The fertilizer maker reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47 on revenues of $2.5 billion. In the same…
ThinkstockLost among most of the discussions about the health of Venezuela’s president-for-life, Hugo Chavez, as he moves toward what seems will be an imminent death is the future of the nation’s oil exports. Chavez…
courtesy of SamsungSamsung is not only the world’s largest handset company; it may soon become the most dominant one in smartphones. That means it must take more market share from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).…
Courtesy Ford Motor Co.The luxury car sales race in the United States in 2012 was won by BMW, with Mercedes second and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus in third. The two American luxury…
ThinkstockTen states ushered in the New Year with an increase to their minimum wages. The federal minimum wage has not increased since it was raised to $7.25 an hour in July 2009. At the…
ThinkstockVenezuelan Oil Lost among most of the discussions about the health of Venezuela’s president-for-life, Hugo Chavez, as he moves toward what seems will be an imminent death is the future of the nation’s oil…
courtesy of Kia MediaU.S. car and light truck sales rose 13.45% to 14,491,873 last year. As is true in any industry with a large number of companies, there were winners and losers. This is…
By Steve Jurvetson CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsResearch firm comScore reports that e-commerce sales for the November-December holiday season rose only 14% to $42.3 billion. That growth was weak, and the number modest when the…
courtesy of NetflixTim Geithner’s departure from Treasury will deprive President Obama of his longest serving financial adviser. (Reuters) Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) settles antitrust charges by the United States with very little penalty. (Reuters)…
ThinkstockWhatever recovery the jobs market posted in 2012, mass layoffs remained impressively high. Dozens of companies each fired thousands of workers, with failing firms at the top of the list based on total cuts.…
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has decided not to allow a recent series of shootings, particularly the one in Newtown, to hamper its public profile or its support of the use of…
It may seem hard to believe, but some stocks are expected to rise by 50%, 100%, or even more over the next year. Our own DJIA peak price target is up 11.3% at 14,590,…
U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a higher-than-expected report of new claims for unemployment benefits (more coverage here). The news more than compensated for the afterglow of yesterday’s big gains and the…