Growth hopes boost global equities

[Reuters] - World stocks rose on Monday on hopes the U.S. economy can avoid slipping back into recession, although the International Monetary Fund s chief economist warned of weak growth in both the United States and Europe.

Wall Street faces an economy at a 'crossroads'

Stocks started September with a bang as investors cheered a rare dose of good economic news but investors may need to buckle in for the coming week: It's a holiday-shortened week with little on the docket to set the tone.

Asian Stocks End Higher On U.S. Jobs Report

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The Error-Proof Portfolio: Why Laboring Longer Is Good for Your Wealth

The longer they remain employed, older workers can reap larger Social Security benefits and make their nest eggs last.

European Markets Rise on U.S. Jobs Data

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Asian Stocks Gain After U.S. Jobs Data

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Pros Say: Kass: Last 55 Points of S&P Rally Is Probably Short Covering

[at CNBC] - Some investors may be positioning for the market to break out, but famed strategist Douglas Kass is not one of them.

US stocks close higher for 4th session; banks gain

[at CNBC] - Stocks ended the week with a big gain Friday after a better-than-expected jobs report gave investors another reason to think the U.S. economy is beginning to turn around.

Walsh sets his sights high for BA-Iberia

Speculation grows over potential merger targets – and whether deals would be beneficial

A Stealth Rally in Solar Stocks

Cross-border lending by banks rises

Cross-border lending by banks rose at the start of this year for the first time since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in a sign that the reversal of financial globalisation seen in the past two years is coming to an end

Private equity groups line up bids for Polkomtel

Apax Partners, Blackstone, TPG and CVC Capital Partners are among the big private equity groups working on potential bids for Polkomtel, one of Poland's biggest mobile phone operators

Google warned on China plans

Google's technological lead over Baidu has eroded, the company's former China head has said, highlighting the increasing challenges western internet companies face in the world's most populous internet market

Report into J&J product recalls looms

An internal report into the manufacturing problems over the past year that tarnished some of Johnson & Johnson's best-known products should be completed later this month, Bill Weldon, chief executive, said

BAY STREET-Canada s banks solid, but growth uncertain

[at Reuters] - * Banks results mixed, revenue growth problematic * Stocks considered well valued, gains tougher to come by * Dividend increases could come next year

Is Buy and Hold Dead? Users Weigh In

Hands-off strategy has behavioral benefits, but some users think hard times call for more active approaches.

New Look of Recovery: Steady But Slow

Super-bulls and super-bears are both likely to be confounded by the economy's trajectory from here.

[$$] The Fence-Sitting Crowd

[at Barrons.com] - Stocks rallied 5.3% in the first three days of September after a summer of negativity, showing that investors comfort zone is noncommittal going into a political season where anything can happen.

Texas watchdog reviews Google's practices

The company faces the first broad antitrust probe of its core search business, in its latest fight to contain legal challenges prompted by its spreading influence on online life

[$$] Small Stocks Extend Their Winning Run

[at The Wall Street Journal] - Small Stocks Extend Streak The Russell 2000 rose 4.31% for the week, extending its three-week streak of gains for the longest run since the five-week period that ended April 23. Take-Two Interactive was up 7.3%.

Jobs Report Boosts U.S. Stocks

Stocks tacked on more gains Friday after the Labor Department said the economy lost 54,000 jobs in August, fewer than expected. After weakening when the ISM services index came in below estimates, equities made up most of the lost ground. The Nasdaq rallied 1.5% and closed back above its 50-day moving average. It was up 1.6% at session peak. Bellwethers Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Amazon.com (AMZN) were some of the Nasdaq's biggest gainers.

McDonald's Pushing Smoothies To Boost Margins, Customers

A couple of years ago, McDonald's took a shot across Starbucks' bow when it started rolling out its own line of premium coffees. This summer, the burger giant aimed at the likes of Jamba and others, with a new line of fruit smoothies. With recession-weary consumers cutting back, higher-margin beverages have become more important to the fast-food industry to keep old customers and lure in new ones between typical meal times. McDonald's (MCD) said

Gains Continue As Strong Data Fuel Buying Mood

Stocks logged gains Friday after better-than-expected economic data. Volume was weaker overall ahead of the Labor Day weekend. STR Holdings (STRI) rallied 1.03, or 5%, to 21.86. The stock traded a bit erratically in the latter half of the week. From Wednesday on, the supplier of solar power module encapsulants gained 6%, then lost 5% and finally added 5% once again. In all three moves, the 50-day moving average line may have played a role as a

Home Inns Advances To A 52-Week High

Friday's market surge provided uplift to a slew of top-rated stocks, both domestic and foreign. While technology stocks won a great deal of attention, don't dismiss low-tech companies such as Home Inns & Hotels Management (HMIN). Shares of the Chinese chain of budget hotels shot up 3% as volume swelled. This was the stock's third-straight gain, which put it into a 52-week high. The stock tested support at its 10-week moving average as recently as

Web Retailer Survives, Thrives

Shoppers want a vast selection of merchandise, easy returns and of course low prices. Amazon.com (AMZN) is there to meet those needs. At its start back in 1995, the company only sold books. Now it sells everything from auto parts to video games. The dot-com survivor has grown by adding to its product mix. It now sells music and movie downloads. It also offers its Kindle e-book reader, which competes against Sony's (SNE) Reader and Apple's (AAPL)

Ebix Thrives In Insurance Field

Ebix's (EBIX) mission, as stated on its Web site, is clear: "to be the leading back-end powerhouse of insurance transactions in the world." In the 1990s, this was clearly not the case. The software firm logged losses seven years in a row, from 1994 to 2000. Revenue mostly shrank year to year. But since 2003, revenue has grown at a double-digit pace. Sales jumped from $14 million in 2003 to $98 million in 2009. Profit per share has followed suit,

Leaders Clear Buy Points On Nasdaq Follow-Through

Wednesday's market follow-through gave the green light for investors to hunt for solid breakouts. It also turns your watch list into a ready list. After all, the IBD 100 rallied 4.4% for the week. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq powered ahead 3% in higher volume. The 2.1 billion shares that exchanged hands that day came on Day 4 of a new rally attempt. A follow-through is a good signal that deep-pocketed institutions are moving cash into stocks. If their

Tactics For Tax-Free Cap Gains In '10

Four months from now, on Dec. 31, several key tax cuts of the last decade are due to expire. Among the possible casualties is the 0% tax rate on dividends and long-term capital gains for some brackets. It's still in effect for this year, and though it might not help you if you're in a higher bracket, it could be of use to your parents or children if their income is low enough. The 0% rate applies to any taxpayer[…]

US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Stocks gain after jobs data show recovery hopes

[at Reuters] - Mid- and small cap stocks rose on Friday after the latest data on U.S. employment raised hopes that the economy may not be weakening as feared.

Financial Stocks: Financials rally on relief over August jobs report

[at MarketWatch] - The U.S. financial sector finishes on a high note Friday as better-than-expected jobs data fuel hopes the economic recovery isn t being derailed.

Supply Drives Coffee To 13-Year High, Corn To Two-Year Peak; Copper Rises

Agricultural markets soared for a second straight session Friday, with coffee hitting a 13-year high and corn a two-year peak as supply jitters jacked up prices. Copper also rallied, touching a four-month peak for a third straight day, helped by jobs data that offered a ray of hope for economic recovery. But oil prices fell in response to weak data on the services sector and easing storm concerns in areas where key energy infrastructure is

Verizon Boosts Its Dividend, Yielding 6.5%

Verizon (VZ) announced Friday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 2.6% to 48.75 cents a share, continuing an annual tradition. While a dividend boost is a sign of management's confidence in its business, Verizon's was noticeably smaller -- the smallest increase in four years. The move came amid slowing sales growth and shrinking earnings the past five quarters. Its three-year Earnings Stability Factor, however, remains a pretty stable 4.

Pops & Drops: Take Two, SanDisk...

[at CNBC] - Following are the week s biggest winners and losers. Find out why shares of Take Two and SanDisk popped while Campbell Soup dropped.

Have Broadband, Will Travel

The economies of China and India are still booming. Their citizens are traveling and, increasingly, booking their airfare and hotels online. And the emerging countries offer some of the fastest growth opportunities for online travel bookers. So why aren't investors more worried that Priceline.com (PCLN), one of the globe's top hotel and air-ticketing companies, has mostly stayed away? One reason: The company continues to deliver double-digit

Market Finishes Higher on Recovery Optimism

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Luxury And Outsourcing Are Hard To Beat Today

[at Forbes] - Staffing and outsourcing services stocks gain on Friday with luxury stocks.

Dow and S&P Best 1st Trading Week of September since 1982

[at CNBC] - The Dow and S&P snap a 3-week losing streak as both benchmarks managed their best first trading week of September since 1982 and all ten main sectors of the S&P rose for the week, with four up by more than 4% led by Financials.

New Heart Valves Set To Conquer America

If you want a heart-valve replacement without having your chest split open, you'll have to go to Europe. There you'll have two choices, both from U.S. companies. The procedure is called transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAV. Using special catheters, new valves can be implanted, either through an artery or through the chest wall. Edwards Lifesciences (EW), based in Irvine, Calif., offers both options for its novel Sapien valve in Europe.

Stocks Close Higher For 4th Session; Banks Gain

[at CNBC] - Stocks closed higher for the fourth straight session Friday after a better-than-expected jobs report gave investors another reason to think the U.S. economy is beginning to turn around.

Dow back in the black for 2010

Stocks closed near session highs Friday, with the Dow erasing its losses for the year, as investors welcomed a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market.

How the major stock indexes fared Friday

[AP] - The stock market had its first winning week in a month after news on the economy started getting better. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 128 points Friday, its fourth straight day of gains.

Options In Focus: Mmm, Mmm Good?

Campbell's Soup (CPB) was anything but "Mmm, Mmm Good Food" for bulls Friday. The company announced in-line profits of $0.30 per share and may have disappointed with its bracketing but weak FY11 top and bottom line outlook. One thing's for sure though, the stock went from enjoying a tasty-looking cup-shaped base with high handle to simmering on the back burner with bulls as shares racked up losses of -3.45% to $36 intraday. One other thing is

Energy Stocks: BP, Mariner Energy rise with energy stocks

[at MarketWatch] - Energy stocks embellish what s been a bullish week for the sector, trading broadly higher on the heels of the monthly U.S. jobs report.

Stocks rally as jobs data spurs optimism

[Reuters] - Wall Street closed a stellar week on Friday after recent economic data, including a stronger-than-expected labor market report, bolstered optimism that the economy would not fall back into recession.

Wall Street takes cheer from employment data

US stocks rose, extending this week's rally, after a better-than-expected August jobs report eased fears about a slowdown in the pace of the economic recovery

U.S. Stocks Extend Recent Gains

Indexes ramped higher Friday, extending recent gains. It was the fourth straight winning session for all but the Nasdaq. The tech-heavy index rose 1.5%, while the NYSE composite and S&P 500 climbed 1.3% each. The Dow tacked on 1.2%. Volume slipped on both exchanges ahead of the Labor Day weekend. Staffing service providers were the session's top group after the Labor Department revealed that employers cut fewer jobs in August than expected.

Indexes Ease From Highs; Volume Turns Mixed

Stocks were coming a bit short of reaching their morning highs. Still the major indexes were on pace for weekly gains. In late trading Friday, the Nasdaq rose 1.2%, while the Dow, NYSE composite and S&P 500 each climbed 1%. Volume was tracking higher on the NYSE, slightly lower on the Nasdaq. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) gapped up and gained 4% in fast trade. The stock is in a cup-with-handle base with a 94.08 buy point. Wynn's Accumulation/Distribution Rating has improved[…]

3D adds new depth to ever-evolving TV landscape

The contrast between technologies at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin underline rapid advances set to revolutionise the humble 'box' that has sat in most living rooms since television became the focal point in family homes

HP says cost for 3Par deal worth it

Hewlett-Packard says its victory over Dell in the bidding war for storage technology company 3Par, should secure its lead over its rival in the important data storage segment

U.S. Stocks Recover More Lost Ground

Stocks continued to slowly regain some of this morning's lost ground. The Nasdaq climbed 1.3%, still down from 1.6% at its session peak. The S&P 500 gained 1.2%, while the Dow and NYSE composite rose 1.1% each. Turnover was again tracking higher, but the pace has slowed even more ahead of the long weekend. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances (ULTA) bolted 18%, extending session gains. Earlier the stock cleared a 25.99 buy point from a double-bottom