Earnings from blue chip companies are helping drive the Dow higher today. Indeed, the surprising earnings have been helping blue chip stocks, while the Nasdaq drops and the S&P 500 struggles. Of course, it is worth noting that the Dow Jones Industrial Average only includes 30 companies. If those companies are all reporting pretty decent earnings, it is bound to help matters.
This is happening even as unemployment continues to rise. But, with earnings in focus, it is little surprise that unemployment isn’t doing much to slow down the Dow. The fact that there are fewer works to be paid is …read more

You can get the financing you need for business if you get the community involved.

Bank of America Corp-owned Merrill Lynch & Co announced today that they have agreed to pay $75 million to settle a class-action lawsuit against the company. The plaintiffs were employees who had lost money by investing in Merrill Lynch stock through their retirement places.
In their lawsuit, which was filed in November 2007, the plaintiffs said that the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. They say that Merrill Lynch offered stock as part of their retirement plans even when it was “imprudent” to do so, given the company’s debt. The lawsuit helps employees who invested money from September 2006 …read more

Today’s strategy idea for investing in a down market has to do with
dollar-cost averaging. This is a technique that helps you invest regularly, in a measured manner, and in a way that is sometimes considered less risky than lump-sum investing. Many beginning investors use dollar-cost averaging to overcome a fear of investing.
Many long-time investors use dollar-cost averaging in portions of their
portfolios that are considered less risky.
Dollar-cost averaging
If you have an investment account — such as an IRA or a 401(k) — you are already engaged in dollar-cost averaging. This is also sometimes referred as fractional share investing. In dollar-cost averaging, …read more

You don’t have to be a broker mogul to care about the stock market… or speculate about it.
So here’s a quick question for you. If you had $10,000 to invest, how would you invest it in this market? Gold? Currencies? Equities?
Here’s where I’d spend my money:
Apple. I think Apple is going to continue to introduce new products and make good marketing decisions (the iPhone’s silly tie to AT&T notwithstanding).
Lowe’s and Home Depot. There is a lot of concern about the housing market so I think some folks might be tempted to shy away from …read more