Retail sales fell 2.8% in October to a seasonally adjusted rate of $363.7 billion, marking the largest decline since the data were first tracked by the Department of Commerce in 1992.
For the five-year period ended June 30, the S&P 500 outperformed 68.6% of actively managed large-cap funds.
Legislation requiring hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission will be reintroduced by the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Agents and advisers are overlooking an opportunity for new life insurance sales: the middle market and minorities, said Catherine H .Smith, chief executive officer of U.S. insurance at ING North America Insurance Corp., in Atlanta.
“Ultimately, the consumer ought to benefit from greater regulation, provided that we heed the lesson of the current crisis,” said Christopher “Kip” Condron, president and chief executive of AXA Financial Inc. in New York.
Foreclosure activity rose 25% in October from the same period a year ago, according to the latest data from RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif.
Losses in the financial services industry since early 2007 are inching closer to the $1 trillion mark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg LP.
The number of individuals receiving unemployment benefits reached 3.9 million last week — an increase of 65,000 from the previous week — the highest level since January 1983.
Despite vehement objections from state regulators, Conseco Inc. yesterday completed its transfer of a group of long term care policies to an independent trust.
