Retail Leads Black Friday Rally

Retailers’ sales sink as homes out-perform expectations

(NEWSER) - Stocks rose slightly today as retail woes were somewhat offset by August home sales that outperformed expectations, MarketWatch reports. Led by Microsoft, which rode the release of “Halo 3” to a 1.5% jump, the Dow climbed 19.59 to 13,778.65. The S&P dipped 0.52 to 1,517.21, and the Nasdaq closed at 2,683.45, up 15.50. More»

Growth fits economists' predictions

(AP) - The economy grew slightly faster over the summer as Americans spent a little more freely: The GDP grew at a 2% rate during the third quarter, in line with what economists had forecast. It marks a slight improvement over last quarter, when the GDP grew at a 1.7% rate. Consumers helped boost last quarter's economic growth with 2.6% growth in spending, the biggest quarterly increase since the end of 2006, before the recession hit. More»

(NEWSER) - Markets were off today on news that credit raters might downgrade England and other countries, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though oil remained stable, the stocks of construction-related firms like Home Depot, Caterpillar, and Alcoa plunged; the price of gold surged. The Dow was off 129.91 to 8,292.13. The S&P fell 15.14 to 888.33. The Nasdaq ended 32.59 lower at 1,695.25. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks plummeted at today’s open after Standard & Poor’s warned it might downgrade the UK’s credit rating, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow tumbled 126 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P each fell more than 1%. Investors now fear other major economies, including the US, could face downgrades. Job data were mixed, with initial claims falling 12,000, but continuing claims climbing 75,000 to a record 6,662,000. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks headed higher at today's open as rallying commodity prices gave traders hope about the economy. The Dow rose 65 points, while the Nasdaq rose 0.8% and the S&P 1%. Oil prices topped $60 a barrel, sending Exxon and Chevron slightly higher. Bank of America, meanwhile, rose 6% after a $13.5 billion stock sale that generated half the capital the government has demanded it raise. And Target was up more than 5% after better-than-expected earnings. More»