ThinkstockWhen the markets go through periods of great gains, it is not uncommon to see companies start to take more radical efforts to increase their total return for shareholders. Some may go…
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…
via Wikimedia CommonsIt looks like Congress and the president still cannot figure out how to play well with each other, and now we have another impending government shutdown. The reality is that…
ThinkstockShort sellers have increased their bets against the stable high-dividend stocks that are in most Americans’ retirement accounts and mutual funds. In fact, the mid-September short interest saw year highs in many…
Wikimedia CommonsChances are high that you already have heard that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is making a serious change among its 30 constituents. What you might not have heard outside of…
August 16, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following big down day on Thursday. In the U.S., the Census Bureau’s report on July housing starts put up a positive number,…
Brian Solis, via Wikimedia CommonsOn the day that Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) came public last year, more than 580 million shares of the company’s stock changed hands. No other trading day since…
July 30, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning as traders and investors wait for tomorrow’s announcement from the FOMC. There was little economic data published today. In the U.S., the…
Wikimedia CommonsWhenever you see huge restructurings and reclassifications for a major corporation, the first thing that should come to mind is whether a company is about to break itself up entirely. This…
ThinkstockShort sellers are continuing to keep their bets against many of the top defensive high-yield dividend stocks. Increased volatility in June and rising interest rates are obviously making short sellers get aggressive…
ThinkstockStephen A. Cohen, the founder and owner of SAC Capital Advisors LLC, has been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with “failing reasonably to supervise two of his senior…
July 12, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning as European industrial production was below expectations and U.S. PPI was a bit higher than expected. The other major U.S. data…
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations from select Wall Street research calls on Friday, July 12, 2013. They include F5 Networks, Pfizer, Sprint, Kroger and Target.
ThinkstockAlthough Amgen Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMGN) $10 billion offer for Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) was unsolicited and not exactly a stalking horse bid, that’s what many observers expect to be the result.…
Wikimedia CommonsIn a sign that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) has more cash on hand than the sense to use it wisely to create new drugs, its board approved a $10 billion share…
