Weekly jobless claims are a big item for markets Thursday, but the earnings of retailers could ring up some early signals about the holiday season. Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer, reports third quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell, as does department store chain Kohl's.    Read More

China is in the midst of a bull market and strong economic growth. Numbers released Wednesday show China has 16.1 percent growth in industrial production. But is China a good place for investors? Jim Oberweis, editor of the Oberweis report and Peter Navarro, author and business professor at the University of California at Irvine gave their take to CNBC on Wednesday.    Read More

It's been awhile since holiday shopping has been such a wild card for the economy. Wednesday kicks off the batch of major retail earnings, when Macy's reports ahead of the opening bell.   Read More

It's "risk on" in global markets, a trend traders say could help keep stocks heading higher for now.   Read More

Stocks could side step temporarily as investors look for the next catalyst that will break the market out of its current range   Read More

Markets have been hanging on the October employment report, expected to show a drop of 175,000 nonfarm payrolls when it is released on Friday.   Read More

Cisco could put a glow into tech stocks Thursday, but traders say the stock market could again be choppy.   Read More

Traders have been talking about the upcoming Fed statement for days now, because even a subtle tilt in the Fed's posture on interest rates could unhinge the popular "risk on" trade, where investors bet against the U.S. dollar and throw money into risky assets such as stocks and commodities.    Read More

Seesaw moves in the stock market have not discouraged some strategists who believe the market remains in an uptrend, despite near-term choppiness.   Read More

The dollar dropped on the strong economic news, as it gives traders confidence to continue the risk trade (short dollar/long commodities/long emerging markets).    Read More