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First of all, at this time, no one has the slightest idea of what happened, and we won't have any idea "what happened" for a while. So while the various investigations - and cover-ups - go on, let's not pretend that any of the "causes" pointed to explain the reason the Dow bottomed so badly at 2:46 p.m. on Thursday, May 6. EXCEPT that - no matter where you look, with, as always, at least so far,
Online advertising revenues among the four largest Web advertising companies (Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), Microsoft (MSFT), and AOL) ramped up 10.2 percent in the fourth quarter to $9 billion. This marks the second quarter of positive growth following last year’s advertising recession, and growth accelerated from 1.2 percent in the third quarter.
America is in financial crisis but instead of the financial oligarchy being broken up to permit essential reform they are continuing to use their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed. Unfortunately, our legislators seem unwilling to act against these powerful financiers, opting instead to succumb to their power and influence and continue to give them what they deem
Markets rose on Monday, with retailers ringing up gains after a report showed the holiday-shopping season was better than expected. Roy Williams, CEO of Prestige Wealth Management and Doug MacKay, president and CIO of Broadleaf Partners shared their market outlook for next year and where investors should put their money in 2010.
The dollar slumped on Friday after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy shed more jobs in December instead of recording the slight increase in payrolls economists expected.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 77.50, +0.03, +0.04%) , which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, traded at 77.470, compared with 77.945 ahead of the repor
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. economy is limping -- not sprinting -- out of the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.

While the economy is likely to grow at a steady but unspectacular 3% pace in 2010, the prospects for significant job growth are dim and the unemployment rate could still be in the 10% neighborhood at this time next year, economists say.

Growth of 3% would be far slower th
Data coming this week will likely underscore how far home sales have recovered from the depths of the housing bust that sent global financial markets into a tailspin beginning in 2007. Prices have fallen sharply from 2005 peaks, making home buying more affordable, and Washington has thrown in a sweetener in the form of an $8,000 home buyer's tax credit.

Economists from Barclays Capital think T
U.S. stock investors in the week ahead will grapple with an increasingly familiar theme -- that better economic data may ring a death knell for the era of the ultralow rates that helped markets rebound this year.
"From the market's perception, the Fed is probably closer to having to raise rates at some point," said John Stoltzfus, senior market strategist at Ticonderoga Securities, a New York b