In what appears to be a bet consumers will stick with discount retailers even after the economy rebounds, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its Wal-Mart holdings by almost 90 percent during the summer.  It added almost 18 million shares, currently worth almost $1 billion, in the third quarter.   Read More

With today’s rally, the S&P 500 is once again back above the 1,100 level. The index has hovered above that threshold intraday on five different trading sessions during the past month. However it has fought some resistance there, failing to close above that level on each of those days. In fact, the S&P has not closed above 1,100 since October 2, 2008.    Read More

These days in the newspaper industry, you can't expect positive news to come from an ad increase - the only upside is when cost-cutting works.   Read More

After hours, the traders poured over the latest earnings from Apple and Texas Instruments. What do their numbers say about tech firms reporting later this week?   Read More

The close on Friday, a big earnings day, was less than stellar. Volume was poor, and two stocks were down for every one that advanced.    Read More

This week all eyes are on Gannett; its stock has been flying higher, up more than 500 percent excluding dividends since hitting a low of $1.95 in March.   Read More

Up 180% over the past 3 months, find out which stock is on its way to become the biggest gainer in the S&P this quarter.   Read More

Despite a pull back in the U.S. equity markets last week, the S&P and Nasdaq Composite are having their best September since 1998 so far, while the Dow is on track for its biggest % gain in September since 2007.  Even though September ranks as the worst month historically on average for all three indices, the Nasdaq Composite has traded up 12 sessions out of 19 as of Monday's close while the Dow and S&P have finished up 11 days of 19.   Read More

The argument that the market advanced on merger news is silly: the important point is that the market has bounced at least three times on the modest 2 to 4 percent pullbacks that we have seen since June, so it is simply continuing a trend.    Read More

As we approach another quarter and month end, with just four days to go, the Dow is on track for its best third quarter since 1939, the S&P is on course for its biggest Q3 gains since 1970, and the Nasdaq Composite is having its best Q3 since 1997, based on September 24 closing levels.  Will the markets continue to hold on to gains or sell off by the end of the year?    Read More