Year-end portfolio cleaning – 12/30/09
Some year-end profit-taking in light volume kept stock prices from moving much on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average crept up three points to...
Investors not as confident as consumers – 12/29/09
A rise in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index was not enough to inspire stock traders in a low-volume session nearing the year end....
Stocks close mostly higher – 12/28/09
Worries about airline security kept a damper on stock trading, but a good report from a MasterCard unit about retail sales was good news....
Short session, but good news – 12/24/09
A drop in unemployment claims and a rise in durable good orders sent stock prices higher in the short trading session on Christmas Eve....
Stocks manage pre-holiday gains – 12/23/09
A report of an unexpected drop in new home sales, coming a day after a report of a rise in existing home sales, put...
Home sales cheer Wall Street – 12/22/09
A rise in sales of existing homes brought some pre-Christmas joy to the stock markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51 points, or...
Healthcare vote boosts stocks – 12/21/09
Some healthcare industry stocks rose Monday as the bill heading toward Senate approval eliminated some provisions the industry found distasteful. The Dow Jones Industrial...
Mostly modest gains on Friday – 12/18/09
Some good reports in the tech sector gave stocks a little boost on Friday – but only a little one. The Dow Jones Industrial...
Jobs down, stocks down – 12/17/09
A rise in unemployment claims was bad news for the economic recovery and for Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133 points,...
Market gets no direction from Fed – 12/16/09
Stock prices closed mixed on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve said "economic activity has continued to pick up and that the deterioration in the...
Euphoria takes a break – 12/15/09
Wall Street's recent advance came to a halt as a rise in the November Producer Price Index had traders worrying about what the Fed...
Mega energy deal fuels Wall Street euphoria – 12/14/09
Exxon Mobil announced a $41 billion deal to acquire XTO Energy and sent stock prices higher on Monday, with major indices hitting their highest...
Retail sales and stocks rose on Friday – 12/11/09
A gain in November retail sales was good news for stocks on Friday – and broadcast stocks were among the beneficiaries. The Dow Jones...
Shrinking trade gap cheers The Street – 12/10/09
Wall Street traders applauded a government report that the US trade gap improved in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 69 points,...
Wimpy buck is jolt juice for stocks – 12/09/09
The US dollar weakened against other currencies, which made investing in US companies cheaper and gave stock prices a boost on Wednesday. The Dow...