[05/11/16]  U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, under pressure from disappointing Disney and Macy's earnings, amid sharp gains in oil following a surprise inventory draw. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) closed down 4.44 percent for its worst day since Aug. 18, 2011. The ETF is down more than 15 percent over the last 12 months. Read moreComments are closed

[05/04/16]  United States and global stock indexes moved lower a second day on Wednesday after a dismal report on job creation gave investors concern over the state of the economy.

The data followed a round of economic news out of China and Europe a day earlier that also suggested sluggish growth.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 12.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,051.12, and the Nasdaq composite fell 37.59 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,725.64.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 99.65 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,651.26.

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[04/27/16]  The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but kept the door open to a hike in June while showing little sign it was in a hurry to tighten monetary policy amid an apparent slowdown in the U.S. economy. In a statement that largely mirrored the one issued after its last policy meeting in March, the U.S. central bank's rate-setting committee described an improving labour market but acknowledged that economic growth seemed to have slowed. It also said it was closely watching inflation and noted that global economic headwinds remained on its radar, though it made no mention of the risks they posed, as it had...

[04/26/16]  Orders for long-lasting goods manufactured in the United States rebounded far less than expected in March, according to a report released on Tuesday, as demand for vehicles, computers and electrical goods slumped. Consumer confidence ebbed in April, another report showed. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods, items ranging from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more, increased 0.8 percent last month; they declined 3.1 percent in February. Nonmilitary capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, were unchanged, and such orders for February were revised down, to a decrease of 2.7 percent, from a decrease of 2.5...

[04/04/16]  New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in February and business spending on capital goods was much weaker than initially thought, the latest indications that economic growth slowed further in the first quarter. The Commerce Department said on Monday new orders for manufactured goods declined 1.7 percent as demand fell broadly, reversing January's downwardly revised 1.2 percent increase. Orders have declined in 14 of the last 19 months. They were previously reported to have increased 1.6 percent in January. The department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell by a steeper 2.5 percent in February instead of the 1.8 percent drop reported last month....