Posted on August - 10 - 2010
By Jonathan Cheng And Min Zeng
Stocks saw a late surge collapse as investors reassessed Federal Reserve moves to try and support an increasingly wobbly economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 54.50 points, or 0.51%, at 10644.25 after surging after the Fed announcement to erase the majority of its earlier triple-digit loss. Treasurys jumped, while the U.S. dollar plunged, shaving off a day of strong gains.
At the end of their one-day policy meeting, Fed officials said they would reinvest the proceeds from expiring agency debt and mortgage-backed securities into Treasurys, to keep long-term borrowing costs for businesses and consumers low. The U.S.
Read more…
Posted on August - 08 - 2010
As industry watchers debate the merits of proposed changes to the rules governing mutual fund fees, some fee-free funds are generating head-turning returns – and they won’t have to make big changes to comply.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new set of rules to limit the onerous and sometimes vague fees that have raised the ire of many investors. The so-called 12b-1 fee is traditionally described as a marketing and distribution fee, although a large portion goes to financial intermediaries (like brokers, financial planners and advisors), who recommend and sell the funds.
The fee is named for Rule 12b-1, which was adopted by the Security and Exchange Commission in 1980 and allows mutual fund companies to draw from their assets to pay those investing professionals.
Different share classes charge different 12b-1 fees. Cla
Read more…
Posted on August - 07 - 2010
After two days of polling for my Are You Smarter Than a Monkey question, here are the results. As I revealed after voting, visitors were each served up one of two different poll questions randomly, with an equal chance of getting either one. This worked out pretty well, with 49%/51% split of voters.
If you compare the questions side-by-side, you realize that they actually ask the exact same thing.
Read more…
Posted on August - 05 - 2010
By Jonathan Cheng And Donna Kardos Yesalavich
Stocks finished slightly lower as investors braced for the government’s monthly payrolls report on Friday morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 5.45 points, or 0.05%, to close at 10674.98, after spending much of the trading day deeper in negative territory.
Investors searched for clarity on the sustainability of the economic recovery ahead of Friday’s employment data, with Thursday’s data offering only conflicting messages. Weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose while retailers reported mixed July same-store sales.
“It seemed like some optimism had been creeping into the market this week, which was dissipated by this morning’s jobless claims number,” said Tom Samuels, managing director for Palantir Investments.
Read more…
Posted on August - 01 - 2010
Cheap money means big borrowing by America’s largest corporations. A $450 million bond issue by McDonald’s (MCD) Wednesday will pay a record low 3.5% yield on 10-year debt, and other companies are also getting in on the low interest charged by the current capital markets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, corporate borrowing is surging even as investors see lower yields. Corporate debt issues are already at $1.4 trillion worldwide. That’s less than the $2.1 trillion worth of issues for the same period a year ago, but the European debt crisis had put the brakes on borrowing for most of May and June.
Although many U.S.
Read more…
