For the week ending Friday, September 5, 2008,  the U.S. markets ended in negative territory for the week after weak employment data and declines in auto and retail sales pointed to weaker consumer spending and a greater economic slowdown. The unemployment rate jumped to a 5-year high, soaring to 6.1%.  On Thursday, the three major Indices fell back into bear market territory by dropping 20% from their market peaks set last fall. Both the Dow & Nasdaq Composite had their worst daily closes since July 26, with drops of more than 340 points for the Dow and 75 points for the Nasdaq.   Read More

On a wild week in the markets which saw Friday close off its lows as the Dow swung within an almost 200 point range, the markets all close in negative territory for the week by about 3% or more.   Read More

Investors sent The Dow and the overall stock market sharply lower on Thursday amid signs that the economic slowdown is showing no sign of improvement.    Read More

The biggest complaint is the vicious moves in either direction. As one veteran trader told me this morning: "What I buy on Monday, goes down on Tuesday..what I short on Tuesday, goes up on Wednesday."   Read More

Yesterday, Kohl's and JC Penney reported August same store sales slightly better than expected. Today Wal-Mart, Target, Gap, American Eagle (reaffirms third quarter guidance), Pacific Sunwear all reported sales above expectations. However, department stores did not fare as well.   Read More

Rapid changes in the commodities market have left some investors badly bruised to say the least. However lower gas prices are good, right? Should you cheer or fear the drop in oil?   Read More

Retail should be getting slammed by a weak back-to-school season. So, how come shares are up?   Read More

It's been a tough year so far for the markets with the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq down 13%, 13% and 10% respectively on a year-to-date basis.  How will things look when everyone comes back from their vacations and the holiday weekend and volume begins to pick up again?  Here is what history has shown happens after Labor Day...   Read More

Democrat Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on Americans making over $250,000 per year.  That may seem like a lot of money, but it depends a lot on where you live.     Read More

Cory Scott is a second-semester MBA student at the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.  He's already wading into the tricky waters of managing investments.  There's about $350,000 in his fund, the student-managed Shollmier Fund, and it's up an average of 7.5 percent per year over the last three years.   Read More