Markets

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh threw his support behind the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency and took an upbeat view of the U.S. economy in an interview on CNN's Sunday talk show GPS.

The statements come as Singh prepares for a state dinner hosted by President Obama in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday -- and in the wake of India's $6.7 billion gold purchase from the International Monetary Fund earlier in the month. The 200-metric-ton purchase made India the ninth-largest holder of gold reserves in the world and set...

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Galleon's Raj Rajaratnam gears up for a legal showdown

By Vishesh Kumar | Nov 22nd 2009, 7:30PM EST Filed Under: People, Investing

With a mountain of evidence ranging from a cooperating witness to wiretapped confessions by an accomplice all but admitting guilt, prosecutors in the Galleon Group insider trading case might think they have an airtight case. But billionaire Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam seems to be bracing for a fight.

Last week Rajaratnam's lawyers took to the offensive and succeeded in having cooperating witness Roomy Khan's criminal background included in the hearings. Khan, a former employee of both...

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FDIC Chair Sheila Bair has it right: It's time to change bankers' incentives

By Peter Cohan | Nov 22nd 2009, 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Economy, Investing

fdic-chair-sheila-bair-has-it-right-its-time-to-change-bankers-incentives I have to hand it to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair: The former University of Massachusetts economics professor gets it right on key policy issues. She's right about ending the doctrine of too-big-to-fail, and now she's proposing an idea that I've been pushing with no effect for years. That is, to align the interests of the banks that bundle assets and sell them as securities -- so-called asset-backed securities -- with those of ABS investors.

Before getting into the details of her proposal,...

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Traveling abroad for better returns

By Sheryl Nance-Nash | Nov 22nd 2009, 11:00AM EST Filed Under: Investing

While there's no place like home, sometimes you have to get out of your own backyard -- and that includes investing. Impressive growth in emerging economies such as China and India will boost investments that provide exposure to these markets, says the new Emerging Wealth report from consultancy Watson Wyatt. "We believe that emerging market economies will continue to grow strongly, due to a mix of rising productivity, economic and financial reforms and favorable demographics," says Craig Mercer, Watson Wyatt's senior investment consultant, in a prepared statement.

But...

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CEO's Corner: Prudential's Christine Marcks says no need to retire the 401(k)

By Latif Lewis | Nov 21st 2009, 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Investing

If you've checked the balance on your 401(k) lately, you're likely breathing a mini sign of relief as the Dow's bounce back above 10,000 helps replenish some losses suffered during the recession.

But as stocks remain volatile and the recession hampers retirement planning for millions, we sought advice from Christine Marcks, CEO of Prudential Retirement, the retirement arm of financial services giant Prudential Financial.

In our conversation, Marcks outlines a game plan for laid off workers and describes new tools available for today's pre-retirees. Despite what some published reports say, the 401(k) is still very relevant, Marcks adds.

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The SEC can't let up in its newly invigorated battle against insider trading

By Peter Cohan | Nov 21st 2009, 9:00AM EST Filed Under: Investing, General Electric , Microsoft, Morgan Stanley

Recent revelations about alleged insider trading at hedge funds make me wonder if the average investor has a fair shot at investing in stocks. The most recent story pertains to a $15 billion hedge fund that closed back in May.

And last month, the $3.7 billion Galleon hedge fund was shuttered after its founder was arrested with many others. I think it's great the SEC is starting to focus on the problem. I hope the fear of getting caught will stop insider trading by hedge funds altogether.

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A lonely wiki on Wall Street

By Elizabeth Harris | Nov 20th 2009, 6:30PM EST Filed Under: Investing

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Last month the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street, which collects all manner of physical financial artifacts ranging from ticker tape to board games like "Rich Uncle: The Stock Market Game," launched a wiki with hopes of gathering financial tales, too.

But the site has attracted just one main contributor since it went live in October. The featured personal story was posted by "Ninja Dad," a finance executive who writes about the pre-credit crisis days of freewheeling loans to homebuyers like his daughter with no income, no job or assets, (aka the NINJA borrower).

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Stocks end lower as investors grow skittish about the rising dollar

By AP | Nov 20th 2009, 4:40PM EST Filed Under: Investing

The stock market ended a losing week with light selling as investors grew uneasy about a rising dollar and spiking demand for the safest government debt. After two strong weeks, investors tried unsuccessfully to extend the market's rally after major stock indexes closed at 13-month highs on Tuesday. Disappointing reports on housing and worries about flagging demand at technology companies sapped strength from the market's eight-month rally.

Stocks fell for the third straight day Friday as a disappointing earnings report from computer maker Dell (DELL) weighed on technology shares. The Nasdaq composite index, with a big representation of tech stocks, logged the weakest performance of the major indexes for...

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With a name like Smucker, the stock's got to be good

By Dan Burrows | Nov 20th 2009, 4:20PM EST Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Earnings, Stock Picks

Cash-strapped consumers are eating more meals at home and that's slathering J.M. Smucker's (SJM) bottom line in sweet, sticky profits.

The packaged-food maker said Friday that fiscal second-quarter earnings boomed more than 170%, blowing past Wall Street's estimates by 18 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters. Even more impressive, revenue leaped by 52%.

Smucker may be best known for its eponymous jams and jellies -- other brands include Jif, Hungry Jack, Crisco and Pillsbury -- but it's the Folgers coffee business the company acquired from Procter & Gamble (PG)...

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Is construction headed for a rebound? Autodesk numbers give a good clue

By Alex Salkever | Nov 20th 2009, 12:40PM EST Filed Under: Technology, Economy, Investing

Several years ago, when I was doing research for hedge funds, I spent a month talking to Autodesk (ADSK) resellers. Autodesk's AutoCAD software suite is the standard tool used by designers and architects in the construction trade, and it dominates its market much like Adobe's Creative Suite dominates the print, graphic and interactive design fields. Its resellers are the hundreds of consulting organizations and systems integrators that sell Autodesk licenses to customers in the construction business. Like many big software companies, Autodesk relies on a huge reseller channel for the majority of its sales volume.

What my favorite resellers all told me was that they like to play construction-related...

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