Hedge funds are snapping up gold, pushing their net long positions to levels not seen for almost two years. Meanwhile, analysts are split over what 2015 will hold for the precious metal. Speculative investors bought gold for a fourth successive week...
More Americans purchased homes in December, yet total sales slipped in 2014 as first-time buyers struggled to find houses. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales of existing homes rose 2.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted...
Even as U.S. stocks post the longest stretch of 1 percent swings since 2012, volatility expectations are falling across asset classes. A Bank of America Corp. gauge of market swings in stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities has dropped from a...
A ranking of America's top jobs found that financial advice increasingly is a terrific profession, moving up 16 spots on the U.S. News and World Report list from last year. “Financial adviser” ranked No. 25 of the 100 Best Jobs...
Paying for retirement is a daunting prospect for many workers who are now approaching the end of their careers. Longer life spans, money lost in the stock market plunge and fears about the efficacy of Social Security are enough to...
The U.S. concluded its best year of job growth in 15 years as the unemployment rate fell to a postrecession low last month, signs of strength that mask continued challenges of stagnant wages and a stubbornly high number of Americans...
IF A large factory opens in the next six months, it is a safe bet that Britain’s most powerful politicians will be on hand to celebrate the fact. With a general election looming in May, and with the economy top...
WHEN does the level of debt in an economy become “too much”? It is a very hard question to answer, not least because debt is a highly useful tool, allowing business to invest for the future and consumers to smooth...
Even as unemployment keeps falling, wages just aren’t picking up. With nobody confidently able to explain why, the Federal Reserve should have the confidence to take it slow on raising rates. The U.S. added 252,000 jobs in December, the Labor...
A mixed December jobs report likely keeps the Federal Reserve on course to remain patient about raising short-term interest rates, meaning no action at least until April and probably longer. Payroll employment growth has clearly picked up and the jobless...
After six straight months of plunging oil prices, U.S. shale drillers have sent the clearest signal to date that they’re retreating. Thirty-five horizontal rigs, their weapon of choice for reaching oil deposits in tight-rock formations such as North Dakota’s Bakken...
Believing as I do in the sage advice of Mr. Graham, I recently set out to quantify my growing unease with the heights obtained by the bull market of the last five-plus years. As you read below, please realize that...
European government bond prices surged to highs after weak manufacturing data reinforced hopes that the European Central Bank will expand its asset-purchase program to include government debt early this year. The yield on the 10-year German bund sank below 0.5%...
Pacific Investment Management Co.’s biggest mutual fund suffered about $19.4 billion in withdrawals in December, the 20th straight month of redemptions, capping a year that included the surprise departures of Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian. Redemptions from the Pimco Total Return Fund (PTTRX) in...
The U.S. economy enters 2015 with the strongest momentum in at least a decade and as the fittest of all the industrialized nations. The question is whether that muscle can help yank the rest of the world out of its...
