ThinkstockThe National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Tuesday morning reported that its small business optimism index for September came in at 93.9, down slightly from August’s revised reading of 94.1. In May the index…
ThinkstockAfter markets closed on Monday night, activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he had accumulated a stake of nearly 6% in Canadian independent oil and gas exploration and production company Talisman Energy Inc. (NYSE:…
ThinkstockThe market for telecommunications equipment is among the most competitive in the world, and one of its biggest players is trying to get itself into fighting trim. Alcatel-Lucent S.A.(NYSE: ALU) announced Tuesday morning that…
courtesy of General Motors Co.The Cadillac division of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) launched a new version of its Escalade super-SUV. And the release was done with great fanfare, a peculiar effort since no one…
ThinkstockThe world’s older population is growing. According to a report released last week, 11% of the current world population is 60 and older. By 2050, more than one in five will be at least…
Courtesy J.C. Penney Co. Inc.; photo by Chris RupertAmong the many scores of problems that J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) has is how deeply it should cut the prices of merchandise to bring…
ThinkstockWho buys U.S. debt in the case of a default? The simple answer is no one. However, that almost certainly is untrue. There is always someone, or some group, who has the guts of…
October 7, 2013: U.S. markets opened lower Monday morning as prospects for a settlement of the government shutdown wane and a further fight over the federal debt ceiling wax. Investors could be looking for…
ThinkstockAt the annual London Metals Exchange (LME) Week, which began Monday, no one expects major changes to the way the exchange manages its warehousing system for aluminum, copper and other base metals. The LME…
courtesy of Apple Inc.Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw its shares recover on Monday after a very positive Wall Street analyst research call. Jefferies had evacuated its positive bias earlier this year, but at a…
thinkstockGreece and its banks may have found a friend in billionaire investor John Paulson. A report from Reuters has said that Paulson now favors the recapitalized banking sector as a bet on Greece’s recovery. After…
ThinkstockThe controversial and pending merger of AMR Corp. (OTC Markets: AAMRQ) and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) is looking more and more likely again. What has happened under the government shutdown is that…
ThinkstockAs a group, oil and gas stocks are lower in early afternoon trading Monday, but there are a few exceptions. A few major companies are getting a boost from the relatively short and uneventful…
ThinkstockMortgage lending services provider Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS) issued its monthly Mortgage Monitor for September Monday morning with data through the end of August. Delinquencies and foreclosures continue falling, and there is…
ThinkstockAfter posting a five-year high in July, consumer spending pulled back in September, according to the latest Gallup self-reporting survey on Americans’ spending habits. The August daily average of $95 fell to $84 in…