If you are a beginner investor, it may seem like an odd time to start saving for retirement. Despite the 23% rise in the S&P 500 this year, the third-quarter earnings season suggests companies are still struggling to get back

If earnings represent a company's take-home pay, book value is its net worth. Both measures can be turned into price ratios (price/earnings, price/book) and used to judge whether a stock is cheap or expensive.Which is better? A 2000 study published

New releases this month from rising stars and seasoned performers point to the continuing strength of the American singer-songwriter tradition. Alongside hip young Brandi Carlile's latest CD are records from Texas troubadour Lyle Lovett and country royalty Rosanne Cash. There's

Skeptics of the market's steep rally are pointing to negative indicators such as the rising unemployment rate as evidence that the market is over-extended. But unemployment numbers tend to lag an economic recovery, these brokerages say, and other indicators suggest

UNTIL RELATIVELY RECENTLY, Big Oil gave little thought to sub-Saharan Africa beyond the coast of Nigeria and Angola. That's changing rapidly after a significant find off the Atlantic coast of Sierra Leone, where both Anadarko Petroleum () and U.K.- based

People who lived through the Great Depression were shaped thoroughly by the experience — so much so that many of them never gave up habits of extreme thrift, aversion to financial risk and even hoarding behavior.As we begin the long

Christmas on...Independence Day? Determined to avoid a repeat performance of last year's lackluster sales, retailers have moved up "Christmas creep" even earlier than usual, stocking shelves with gifts during the summer months.Kmart and Toys "R" Us, for example, launched holiday

Buying a book at the suggested retail price might be a bigger mistake than judging it by its cover.Flat sales, savvier readers and the emergence of new players in the retail and online marketplace are keeping the pressure on sellers

Mutual funds don't lack for reporting requirements. Ask anyone who has struggled to un-wedge a bulky prospectus from his mailbox. An army of math-checkers - fund company compliance officers, independent accountants and government auditors - keep the numbers that fill

British Recession Keeps On Going OnGOOD MORNING. Stocks in Asia closed higher today; U.S. futures are pointing to a mixed open.Europe's economy had shown some signs of recovery lately, but things may not be going as well across the English

Recommendations for questions to ask your financial advisor. Advice about asset allocation. And suggestions on keeping spending in check...from the U.S. government?The Securities and Exchange Commission is offering all that and more at a new web site, . The site

Market Wrap-UpStocks got traction late Thursday as strong earnings news calmed recent investor jitters and blunted the effect of rising jobless claims. About 35% of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings so far. Thursday is the heaviest reporting day

It's too early to determine exactly what happened at Galleon Group, the multibillion-dollar whose embattled co-founder Raj Rajaratnam is at the heart of what the Securities and Exchange Commission is billing as the largest insider trading case in decades.Without commenting

Palin's WardrobeAccording to campaign finance reports first reported on by Politico.com, the Republican National Committee spent $150,000 on clothing and accessories for Sarah Palin and her family since early last month. The expenditures, at stores including Saks Fifth Avenue and

What happened to the fall correction?As the summer ended, investors heard many voices warning that the market's gains weren't sustainable and that we could be headed for another October crash. Instead, the Dow hit on Oct. 14. Of course, the

J. Crew Group UpInvestors tried on shares of J. Crew Group () Thursday after the apparel maker said it now expected better third quarter profits and a high single-digit increase in its same-store sales for the fourth quarter. Shares popped

Cadbury Nigeria Plc has gotten regulatory approval to extend its N22.2 billion Rights Issue by one week following the call for extension by shareholders.

After two days of uninterrupted rise in the key market indices, the bullish run in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was halted, Wednesday, as the value of listed equities depreciated by N52.35 billion.

The former president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Chairman of Honeywell Group of Companies, Mr Oba Otudeko (OFR), has said strict regulation and corporate governance remain the key to quick economic recovery of the on-going economic recession.

Cadbury increased its full-year profitability and revenue forecasts on higher sales of Trident gum and Wispa Gold chocolate, fuelling speculation that Kraft Foods would have to raise its bid for the UK confectioner.