by Diane Alter
The Fed wrapped up a two-day policy meeting Wednesday with little fanfare and little investor reaction. There was no press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this month – just a news release.
No surprises were expected Wednesday afternoon, and no surprises were delivered. Benchmarks were little changed ahead of the Fed’s statement and modestly higher after.
Here’s what transpired at today’s meeting and what it means for the markets.
In mid-April, a Reuters report citing unnamed sources claimed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. would file for its IPO as early as Monday, April 21. More than a week later however, investors are still waiting for the company to file its prospectus.
Although the filing was delayed, the Alibaba IPO date will still likely take place before the end of 2014.
While everyone waits for the Alibaba prospectus to be filed, here's what investors need to know...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average today hit a record high for the first time in 2014.
The index closed at 16,580.84 (0.3% higher than the previous close).
Here's your recap of today's major market events.
by Tara Clarke
When it comes to social media stocks to invest in, the temptation to net huge gains – like the 140% return Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) has seen over the last nine months – is tempered by wariness over mass hype and the real risk of failure.
It’s a classic “reward versus risk” dilemma.
Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson has been watching tech sector transitions for decades.
by David Zeiler
Announcements from the Facebook Inc. F8 developer conference in San Francisco Wednesday will amplify the company’s recent focus on mobile – and in particular efforts to monetize mobile.
Such a strategy is just what investors want to see and will serve as a powerful catalyst for Facebook stock.
And front and center was a new service that has the potential to double Facebook’s revenue…
The 2014 IPO market has been busier than any year since the "Dot-Com" era of 1999 to 2001, with 94 companies holding an initial public offering through the month of April.
For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of Wall Street firms, the IPO market and the IPO process can be complicated. Terms like "lock-up periods" and "offer prices" get tossed around frequently without any explanation.
Ever since Bitcoin was launched and achieved success, hedge-fund managers and activist investors have been looking for an investment vehicle for the cryptocurrency. Now they have one with Bitcoin funds.
Money Morning's Defense and Tech Specialist Michael Robinson has been recommending these Bitcoin funds to investors because they are a ground-floor opportunity for Bitcoin profits.
In this video, Robinson details several of these profit opportunities, including the "King of Bitcoin funds," which currently manages a portfolio of 90,000 bitcoins and has achieved a 1,000% return in just three months. But that's not the only fund. Some of these Bitcoin funds even pay weekly dividends to investors.
The oil price spread between West Texas Intermediate and Brent is tightening again.
As of this morning, this spread stood at 7.2% of the WTI rate (the more accurate way to register its impact in the U.S. market).
And as this oil price spread continues to narrow, it promises to create some direct consequences for energy investors.
Here's what's behind it, and what investors need to know moving forward...
Most smartphones today come with voice-recognition software: You speak a question into your phone and the results come back to you via the wireless web.
Microsoft recently introduced "Cortana" as part of its Windows Phone 8.1, the key new update for Microsoft's mobile operating system.
Voice-recognition technology has now passed the so-called "tipping point" – it's now an integral part of personal computing.
And we found one of the best stocks to buy now to profit from this growing sector...
