The markets had pulled back about 5% by Thursday. Technically, stocks were over sold. We were due for a bounce. “Buy the dip” was on everyone’s lips and then on Thursday morning, GDP for the third quarter came in at 3.5%–an upside surprise. Stocks exploded. Sounds easy, right? Think again.

Until recently most professionals simply lumped men and women together when it came to planning for retirement, savings or other investment goals. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that the genders do differ in their investment needs and I want my women readers to understand that.

The economic numbers have been positive. The same could be said for overseas market data as well. Third quarter earnings, for the most part, have also been robust. So why isn’t the stock market resuming its winning ways? I believe it is a classic case of selling the good news.

Most days you’ll find Anton Schutz, the portfolio manager of the Burnham Financial Industries Fund (BURFX), in and around Rochester, N.Y. far from the canyons of Wall Street in lower Manhattan. It certainly hasn’t hurt his fund’s performance however, since it ranks among the top two percent of all U.S. equity funds this year, according [...]

On the surface, Americans might think that a weakening dollar means that there is something going wrong with our country. Quite the contrary, a declining greenback could actually help the economy recover sooner than hoped, and the stock market knows this.

That’s right, thanks to an initiative by President Obama, announced earlier this month; you can contribute all those unused vacation days to your 401(k). So if you’re the type that just can’t stay away from the job, start lobbying your employer to amend your benefit plan.

More than leaves are falling on this, the first week of October. As if a starter gun were fired as the third quarter came to a close, stock markets around the world declined simultaneously. I warned last week that a pullback was in the offing and I for one would use this as an opportunity [...]

As the price of an ounce of gold bullion gyrates around the $1,000 mark, I continue to receive numerous calls concerning the precious metal from clients, readers and even people who would normally never consider investing in financial markets. What is it about gold that brings out the best and worst in us?