Markets

U.S. stocks are set for a sharply higher open following gains in overseas stock markets after the Group of 20 meeting. Finance ministers of the major countries agreed to maintain stimulus measures as unemployment in the U.S. and overseas keeps rising. With little in the way of economics data and earnings, investors mostly are following news of several potential deals.

More here: Before the bell: Futures climb as Wall Street eyes deals

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More IPOs in the pipeline as Macau casino stocks surge, Japanese insurance companies gain

By Lauren Cooper | Nov 9th 2009, 7:00AM EST Filed Under: Economy, Investing

Shares in Asia rose Monday with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbing 1.7% to end the session at 22,208. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4% to close at 3,176 and in Japan the Nikkei Index was up 0.2%, ending the day at 9,809.

In Hong Kong, banks led the rise with both Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (IDCBF) and China Construction Bank Corp. (CICHF) moving up 3.1%. As the banking sector remains strong in the territory, China Minsheng Banking Corp. is planning to sell up to $4 billion in an upcoming Hong Kong IPO.

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Michael Mauboussin's 'Think Twice': A cautionary tale for investors

By Vishesh Kumar | Nov 8th 2009, 9:10PM EST Filed Under: Economy, People, Investing

Whether it's the "irrational exuberance" of the last decade or the apocalyptic view that prevailed last winter, investor psychology tends to be shortsighted and veer toward extremes. But investors need to overcome myopia and getting lost in the moment, Michael Mauboussin, the chief investment strategist of mutual fund giant Legg Masson Asset Management argues. And in his new book Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintution (Harvard Business School Press), he attempts to outline how all decision-makers can be aware of and counter their own biases.

Investors need to test the worldview that spirals out of a situation...

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Tom Sosnoff: A Q&A with the $600 million man behind Thinkorswim

By Daleela Farina | Nov 8th 2009, 6:00PM EST Filed Under: Technology, Economy, People, Investing, Media, Southwest Airlines

In an era when so many things have gone so wrong on Wall Street, the story of options trader Tom Sosnoff stands out as one thing that's gone right. Sosnoff is co-founder of online brokerage firm Thinkorswim, the top-rated online broker in Barron's and one that's amassed some $3.6 billion in client assets from more than 70,000 trading accounts over the course of a decade.

Sosnoff, who spent 10 years as an options-market maker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, created Thinkorswim in 1999 and sold it this year to TD Ameritrade (AMTD) for more than $600 million. Now

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Franklin fund bought into Cadbury hoping for buyout deal

By Douglas McIntyre | Nov 8th 2009, 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Kraft Foods

franklin-fund-bought-into-cadbury-hoping-for-buyout-deal Some of the money managers at fund and money management firm Franklin Resources (BEN) must be clairvoyant. They bought Cadbury (CBY) shares before Kraft (KFT) made its buyout offer for the U.K. company. Franklin now owns at least 7.2% of Cadbury's shares.

Speaking at a conference in Vienna, Franklin fund manager Anne Gudefin, whose Mutual Global Discovery Fund holds the Cadbury shares, said "We have an idea" of...

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Why 10% jobless rate means misery for many, buying opportunity for some

By Matthew Scott | Nov 7th 2009, 3:00PM EST Filed Under: Economy, Investing

As news broke that the U.S. jobless rate crossed the dreaded 10 percent mark, many investors braced for the market's reaction. The response to word that unemployment reached levels not seen since 1983? The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 17.46 points to 10,023.42 and the S&P 500 ended the day at 1,069.30, up 2.67 points. Not exactly a sell-off.

So did news on Friday of 10.2 percent unemployment represent a buying opportunity? For those who follow market trends, it did.

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Nomura's Joseph Mezrich sees market rally continuing as profits recover

By Anthony Massucci | Nov 6th 2009, 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Retirement, Company News, Columns, Economy, People, Investing, Earnings

Bears who warn the U.S. stock market has gone too far too fast -- the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 18 percent year to date -- may not get much vindication anytime soon. Investors should see stocks continue to rally as long as corporate profits keep recovering, says market expert Joseph Mezrich (pictured), Nomura Securities International's head of quantitative research.

And the signs look good. The estimated earnings growth rate for the Standard & Poor's 500 during the fourth quarter is 216 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. Even stripping out the volatile financial sector, the other eight out of nine sectors are expected to show a blended growth...

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What to do about Fannie and Freddie: Restructure -- or terminate?

By Matthew Scott | Nov 6th 2009, 4:00PM EST Filed Under: Company News, Investing, Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae's (FNH) report of a third-quarter loss of $19.76 billion and subsequent plea to the federal government for $15 billion in additional aid is sure to intensify a big question that so far has gone unanswered: What can be done to stem the bleeding at the giant mortgage lender and its sibling Freddie Mac (FRE)? Given this week's bankruptcy filing by CIT, which will probably lead to the loss of $2.3 billion in taxpayer money, Fannie Mae's request for another $15 billion will strike many as throwing more good money after bad.

Fannie Mae had previously posted...

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The goofy Galleon gang: Wacky hedgies play cops and robbers...with real cash!

By Bruce Watson | Nov 6th 2009, 2:30PM EST Filed Under: Economy, People, Investing, Media

As the full extent of the Galleon Group's insider trading comes to light, its story is starting to resemble something out of the movies. Although Raj Rajaratnam's house has already been compared to the homes in both The Sopranos and Goodfellas, the sad truth is that the real-life criminal ring lacks both the class of Tony Soprano's gang and the gravitas of Joe Pesci's. As details emerge, the whole mess seems to fall closer to the cartoonish excess of Animal House.

The central member of the gang -- the Otter, if you will -- may well be Zvi "The Octopussy" Goffer. Robert Khuzami, director of the Securites and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement, noted...

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