Hot finance topics

Imagine your rich uncle calls up out of the blue and says, "I’m going to send you six hundred bucks - spend it however you want."
That’s exactly what’s Uncle Sam is about to do for millions of taxpayers. Here’s what every tax filer needs to know about the soon-to-be-distributed stimulus checks.
What is this program […]

Japan has followed the U.S. into every recession in the past three decades. This time may be different.
Since 1970, when the U.S. accounted for 30 percent of Japanese exports, each of its five recessions triggered a decline in Japan's shipments abroad. Now, that figure is only 20 percent, reflecting the success of companies […]

You want to invest on your own, but you don’t want to pick stocks or mutual funds.
Index funds may be your cup of tea – if you like your tea not too hot or too cold, but just right. They’re designed to keep pace with a specific market, sector or investment category.
Index funds won’t fall […]

Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer offered a glimmer of hope on Thursday to fans of the company’s XP operating system, saying the company may reconsider its decision to stop selling XP soon.
But Ballmer was adamant that "most people who buy PCs today buy them with Vista."
"That’s the statistical truth," he told reporters at a […]

The drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Thursday its first-quarter profit fell on higher restructuring costs and taxes, but adjusted results topped Wall Street forecasts.
Its shares rose 47 cents, or 2.2%, to $21.90 in afternoon trading.
The New York-based company earned $661 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $690 million, or 35 cents per […]

Craigslist is firing back at its rival and minority owner eBay, scolding the online auctioneer’s actions as unethical and smelling of a hostile takeover.
In a move that pits two of the Internet’s most popular sites against each other, EBay Inc. sued the online classifieds company Tuesday, alleging it unfairly tried to dilute eBay’s stake […]

Furniture Brands International Inc., the maker of Lane and Broyhill pieces, squeezed a bigger per-share profit from smaller sales.
In an unusual step, the company released preliminary first-quarter results. The final results won’t be released until May 1, according to financial news service Bloomberg.
According to preliminary results, the Clayton-based company’s earnings per […]

Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc. is cutting 8% of its work force and says jobs will be lost at its headquarters in Milwaukee and at its largest plant, in York, Pa.
Chief Executive Jim Ziemer says he hopes employees will take retirement packages.
He says there will be 370 union production jobs cut in the next few […]

Protectionist and populist sentiments run strong among Democrats in three states holding presidential primaries, showing why the campaigns of candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are moving in those directions.
A plurality of Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina blames predatory lenders and mortgage- company greed for the housing crisis that […]

Despite overwhelming signs that the economy is now in a recession, some investors are increasingly pondering another ‘R’ word: Recovery.
Although a turnaround appears to be far off, there are some early signs that Wall Streeters may be already positioning themselves for a rebound.
For example, a recent spate of bad corporate and economic news […]