Markets: News  

U.S. stocks rally on European agreements

U.S. stock rally reduces second-quarter losses after European Union leaders agree to steps to bolster the economies of the region's more troubled nations. See full story.

Q2 earnings outlook the most negative since 2001

Companies are wrapping up their most negative earnings outlooks for a single quarter in more than a decade, led by Ford, Procter & Gamble and others that took a beating in moribund international markets. See full story.

Congress approves student loan, highway bill

Senate lawmakers approved a $120 billion highway bill Friday that would renew federal funding for transportation projects for the next two and a quarter years. See full story.

International stock funds in a world of hurt

'Stop the world, I want to get off' must be a common refrain these days for international-stock-fund shareholders. A tumultuous quarter left bailed-out countries and burned out investors, writes Myra Saefong. See full story.

Bond funds could be on borrowed time

In a world where financial rescues dominate headlines, U.S. government bond funds played hero yet again, rescuing portfolios in a tough second quarter. See full story.

Might gold's continual failure to respond to positive sentiment conditions mean that bullion has entered into a major bear market? That possibility needs to be taken seriously. See full story.

It's a situation that seems to defy supply-and-demand logic: If there's more demand in the housing market, wouldn't the cost of borrowing funds to buy a home be significantly on the rise? See full story.