The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell 0.9 points from 38.6 in December to 37.7 in January — its lowest level since the board began keeping records in 1967.
Those with an average income of nearly $200,000 spent 6.4% less on luxury goods such as fashion accessories, electronics and upscale home furnishings in the fourth quarter of 2008 than they did in the third quarter, according to a study.
Waddell & Reed Financial reported a fourth-quarter loss of $730 million, or 1 cent per share, compared with a profit of $35.1 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier, due to a severe decline in assets under management.
Lincoln National Corp. has announced that it will lay off 5% of its employees, or approximately 540 positions, according to published reports.
While incoming contributions to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund dropped 43% last year, its grant making to non-profit organizations increased.
Who would be better at running an independent broker-dealer than an independent rep?
The severe market downturn is wreaking havoc on an independent-broker-dealer industry, putting all sources of income under siege and flattening already thin profit margins.
Disenchanted brokers are migrating slowly to independent channels, adding to the coffers of major custodians like Charles Schwab & Co. and Fidelity Investments.
The brokerage industry may have to pony up as much as $1 billion to replenish the Securities Investor Protection Corp. fund, should SIPC's liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC of New York deplete its reserves.
The latest attack on short selling could come in the form of a reinstatement of the so-called uptick rule, which requires that a stock moves upward in price before it can be sold short.
Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services today cut its credit ratings on AFLAC Inc., placing the Columbus, Ga., health carrier on CreditWatch with negative implications.
Tracking the value of a wine cellar full of “investments” will get a little easier starting Monday when the London International Vintners Exchange launches the Liv-ex Claret Chip Index, the first fine-wine weekly price index.
A bipartisan group of seven House members today sent a letter to Treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, asking him to set up an office of insurance information if he is confirmed.
England officially entered into a recession in its fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, according to data released today.
Shares of AFLAC Inc., a Columbus, Ga.-based health insurer, plunged after a research note from Morgan Stanley aired concerns about the company’s capital levels.
GE Asset Management Inc. of Stamford, Conn., today agreed to add the GE Investments Total Return Fund to Pacific Life Insurance Co.’s variable annuity platform.
AllianceBernstein LP reported a 73% fourth-quarter-profit decline, while CIT Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp posted fourth-quarter losses stemming from bad loans.
The Denver-based company’s earnings fell to $7.8 million, or 5 cents a share, from $51.6 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.
Fund managers are becoming increasingly optimistic about improving economic growth and the prospects of inflation, but they remain cautious over U.S. equities and emerging Chinese markets, according to Merrill Lynch’s January global fund managers survey.
The New-York based investment firm blamed the drop, in large part, to incurring $215 million in losses from investments in hedge funds and real estate products.
