After seesawing from green to red throughout the day, the three major US stock indexes finished mixed. News that candy manufacturer Mars was purchasing William Wrigley Jr. Co. (NYSE: WWY) for $23 billion helped buoy investor sentiment, but the resulting gains were eventually eroded by anxieties over the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee’s upcoming meeting. Read More

US stocks struggled today, as news that consumer confidence had dipped to its lowest level in 26 years and a disappointing earnings report from Microsoft (NSDQ: MFST) dampened investor sentiment. Ultimately, the three major indexes finished mixed, buoyed by a late rally in financial shares. Read More

US stocks built on yesterday’s gains, energized by better-than-expected earnings report from medical insurer Aflac (NYSE: AFL) and news that Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) would not be cutting its dividend buoyed investor sentiment. Read More

Risk isn’t theoretical, nor is it lurking in the shadows of the markets. It’s standing right in front of us. Read More

What’s wrong with stocks? During good economic times, investors are full of enthusiasm, and stocks can be exciting—in a good way. We tend to accentuate the positives and ignore the negatives, latching onto confirming evidence that lets us avoid thoughts of what may lie in between. Read More

Too many folks on Wall Street and Capitol Hill would have you believe the credit crunch is about a handful of mortgage bankers who got in over their heads and now are getting bailed out. But that’s far from the complete story. Read More

When faced with the dilemma of making the mortgage payment or putting food on the table, well-adjusted people sometimes make rash decisions, like pawning Grandma’s engagement ring or holding up a convenience store. Read More

We know you’re beyond unhappy. Let’s call it what it is: anger. We’re right there with you. There are no good explanations anymore for why supposedly defensive dividend-paying stocks have been taken out and shot, one by one, it seems. Read More

The first quarter is history. Not all the numbers were pretty, but the safety-first Income Portfolio did hold overall losses to 1 percent. Read More

The broader market averages saw their worst first quarter since 2001; the S&P 500 was off about 9.5 percent. After outperforming the major averages handsomely in 2007, the Advantage Portfolio underperformed the S&P 500 in the first quarter of 2008, declining 12.3 percent. Read More