by Diane Alter
Dividend stocks news: The U.S. stock market had its strongest performance last year since 1997, up just shy of 30% in 2013, as measured by the broad-based Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 26.5% and hitting 52 all-time highs, logged its best annual gain since 1995. And the Nasdaq soared some 38% and marked its best year since 2009.
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Happy New Year from the U.S. government. Now, empty your pockets. We have to give your money to someone else.
On Jan. 1, the Affordable Care Act's coverage law went into effect, requiring a slew of new Obamacare taxes, fines, and fees to finance hundreds of billions in costs the government requires to operate the program.
Those who fail to comply will receive a tax on their annual IRS bill, while a greater share of Americans who do comply will experience higher premiums and significant changes to their previous coverage.
Middle-class America, prepare to have your pocket picked...
"The Cleantech Crash" – profiled on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday night – has joined the list of the U.S. government's biggest blunders, wasting approximately $150 billion dating back to the George W. Bush administration.
Ten years ago, cleantech was touted as the future of the energy industry. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs created buzz when they planned to revolutionize clean energy, sparking huge funding programs from private investors and the U.S. government.
Unfortunately, many of these cleantech startup companies folded, and quickly. And in many cases, they cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Bitcoin prices climbed back over $1,000 yesterday (Monday), less than two weeks after the virtual currency crashed below $500.
The jump in Bitcoin prices was sparked by news that social game operator Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA) will now be accepting the virtual currency.
In a match made in Internet Heaven, those playing Farmville 2, CastleVille, ChefVille, CoasterVille, Hidden Chronicles, Hidden Shadows, and CityVille will be able to exchange Bitcoin for in-game purchases.
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by Diane Alter
Gold prices were little changed at $1,238.80 in early trading today (Tuesday) after falling $30 an ounce Monday in mere minutes.
Trading in February Comex gold futures was halted for 10 seconds Monday when a suspected "fat-fingered" (aka erroneous) trade sent the contract tumbling more than $30 an ounce in just minutes.
by Shah Gilani
I've said it before, and even though I've been threatened, in not so subtle ways, and been warned not to piss off certain people in power, I'm going to keep on saying it:
JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) is a criminal enterprise.
Yesterday (Monday) the mega enterprising bank began talks to settle civil and criminal charges that it ignored signs its banking client Bernie Madoff was a Ponzi-running, lying, cheating crook. (Which he was.)
Some might even call it criminal...
Auto sales are rocketing.
In November, the industry sold $1 billion worth of new vehicles a day, setting a record for that month.
And this flood tide of new vehicles will have more cutting-edge technology than ever before, creating a perfect profit storm of two exploding industries.
This is the most exciting time I've ever seen in the industry since I began tracking it 34 years ago.
And here's the thing: Google and Apple are excited, too. They'll make plenty of money on this trend, as you're about to see. But the "pure play" here is a much better investment…
Stock Market Today, Jan. 6, 2014: U.S. stocks, including all three major indices, closed in the red today as growth in the service industries was weaker than expected, adding to the heavy start to 2014 trading.
U.S. services sector shrank last month, with an index of 53.0, down from 53.9 in November and below expectations for 54.8. But, in a more positive economic indicator, factory orders rose 1.8% in November from a year prior, the U.S. Commerce Department reported.
In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average today closed down 0.27% at 16,425, while the Standard & Poor's 500 was down 0.24% at 1,827 and the Nasdaq Composite Index is off 0.36% at 4,118.
In addition to today's economics reports, retail stocks are likely also weighed by the headline-grabbing cold weather, which investors expect to hurt January's retail sales.
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Today (Monday), Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald appeared on FOX Business' "Varney & Co." to discuss the top stock market news today.
The weather is today's biggest story, with a science fiction-like "polar vortex" sweeping across the country, engulfing an area stretching from the Deep South and East Coast to the Plains and Midwest in temperatures in the 20s and 30s below zero.
But can the weather have any effect on the stock market?
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Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani joined FOX Business' "Cavuto" on Friday to talk about the stock market this week.
Market headlines highlight telecommunications company BlackBerry's (Nasdaq: BBRY) severing of its relationship with recording artist Alicia Keys. BlackBerry hired Keys as creative director last year, but sales tanked – the company recently announced it expects to suffer a $4.4 billion loss for its third quarter of 2014.
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