U.S. stocks ended Friday's session mixed, as strong gains in the technology sector were offset by disappointing results from industrial conglomerate Caterpillar.
For a while, "uncertainty" has been the buzzword economists use to describe the main hurdle holding back the recovery.
U.S. stocks were poised for a lower open Friday, with futures losing momentum after Caterpillar released disappointing earnings.
Investors were hoping for another day of gains, with U.S. stock futures edging higher ahead of Friday's opening bell on the back of relatively decent earnings.
The Dow managed to eke out a fresh 19-month high Monday on Caterpillar's strong earnings, but a selloff in financials hit the broader market at the start of a busy week on Wall Street.
Stocks climbed Wednesday, ending a choppy session higher after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and hinted it would continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Apple introduced its new iPad tablet computer.
The maker of big machinery soared as construction boomed and commodity prices skyrocketed, boosting mining and oil drilling. When the economy tanked, Caterpillar saw sales slump, leading to workforce and production cuts.
Stocks dipped Tuesday as a stronger dollar and some disappointment about DuPont and Coca-Cola's results gave investors a reason to retreat from the recent rally.
Stocks finished higher Tuesday -- with the Dow industrials ending at a 6-month high -- after a volatile session in which investors weighed better-than-expected corporate earnings with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that the economic recovery would be slow.
With 60% of its business outside North America, Caterpillar's geographic diversity helped the world's biggest heavy equipment maker withstand the U.S. economic slowdown - until it spread worldwide. <P>The company hasn't reported a quarterly loss since 1992, but the drop-off in infrastructure projects everywhere has put a pause on Cat's stunning growth. To trim costs, the company announced in January it was cutting 20,000 jobs, or 11% of its workforce. - <I>J.Y.</I>
The heated war of words over "Buy American" laws may be nearing a truce in Congress, but there are still fears among critics that it could spark a new global trade war.
CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser has the latest on the stimulus deal.
President Obama took his economic stimulus proposal back on the road Thursday, urging final congressional passage of the now-$789 billion bill during a visit to a Caterpillar plant in the state that launched his political career.
Thousands of gallons of oil sludge are being cleaned up along a 3-mile section of the Des Plaines River early Monday, following a spill a day earlier that had forced a temporary closure of the river.
The word "infrastructure" was once used mainly by SAT tutors and civil engineers, but now it's this year's hot investing theme.
In a brutal week for the job market, an assortment of companies across various industries announced more than 100,000 job cuts.
Tens of thousands of job losses were announced on Monday as American economists said they expected an already deep recession to worsen in 2009.
Pres. Obama shares the news of massive layoffs and offers a plan to sign The American Recovery and Investment Plan.
During the great global boom in the early years of the 21st century, few companies benefited more than Caterpillar.
The lesson from Wednesday's economic numbers is that even a mild slowdown can inflict plenty of damage on workers.
Fed warning
updated: Fri Oct 19 2007 13:45:00
Steve Barrow of Bear Stearns joins CNN to discuss Ben Bernanke's latest comments about the status of the economy.
U.S. industrial conglomerate Ingersoll-Rand said it would sell its Bobcat machinery business and two other units to Doosan Infracore for $4.9 billion cash, the biggest ever overseas acquisition by a South Korean firm.
Caterpillar Inc, a manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, said Friday its quarterly earnings fell more than expected due to lower sales of diesel truck engines, weakness in North American construction markets, and higher production costs.
A federal judge in Tennessee has granted class-action status to a 2006 case against heavy construction vehicle maker Caterpillar Inc. regarding insurance benefits, the lead attorney representing more than 4,000 retirees and surviving spouses said Friday.
There's a lot working against investors right now. Despite the recent declines, stocks still aren't all that cheap, and the economic picture is hazy. But even in the best of times, trying to predic...
For a while now, I've been saying that big growth stocks are unduly depressed and look like smart choices for bargain hunters. Other market watchers are also singing this song, and savvy money mana...
The dollar has been in a slide for the past three years, and that's generally a good thing for the earnings of big U.S. companies; our products are cheaper for foreigners whose currencies are risin...
A coalition of 52 large employers are reportedly set to announce plans to pressure pharmacy-benefit managers to pass on more of the savings they win from drug manufacturers.
As more American manufacturing jobs are lost to plants overseas, one form of subcontracting may actually help keep U.S. manufacturers more competitive in the global marketplace.
The inability to urinate on demand can cost someone a job.
Money Magazine: Father's Dayupdated: Tue Jun 01 1999 00:01:00
$24.95 Brookstone's "Damaged Screw Removers," screwdrivers with chisel-hard heads, can restore a stripped screw, making it possible to remove it as was intended. They're sold as a pair: standard an...
Money Magazine: Market Benchmarksupdated: Sun Nov 01 1998 00:01:00
MARKET MEASURES % Total Return Level 3 Months 1 Year 3 Years[2] S&P 500 1020.1 -7.5 9.4 22.9 Russell 2000 363.3 -17.2 -17.7 6.4 Morgan Stanley EAFE[1] 1196.6 -12.5 -7.6 3.0 Dow Jones Industrial Av...
THIS MONTH: --Three small stocks that could provide a bull market ride --The next Prozac: A new drug should make Eli Lilly smile. --With gold so hot, some see a meltdown.
Investors who prefer individual equities to mutual funds can find foreign markets vexing. Unless you're willing to take on the inconvenience, added expense and increased risk of buying stocks on fo...
It took nearly a century for the Dow Jones industrial average to climb to the 1000 mark, another 15 years to get to 2000, but then only four more to hit 3000 in 1991. And if the pattern continues, ...
LONG-TERM INVESTORS can't afford to ignore the 30 multibillion-dollar companies in the Dow Jones industrial average. In addition to accounting for almost one of every four dollars invested in stock...
The gold-mining town that became the ghost town when the mine played out is a staple of American legend. Yet cities go on riding the fortunes of one commodity, one company, or one industry until th...
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