With record highs in sight, stocks face roadblocks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If Wall Street needs to climb a wall of worry, it will have plenty of opportunity next week. Major U.S. stock indexes will make another attempt at reaching all-time records, but the fitful pace that has dominated trading is likely to continue. Next Friday's unemployment report and the hefty spending cuts that look like they about to take effect will be at the forefront....

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Stock futures tick higher ahead of GDP, jobless data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged modestly higher on Thursday as investors were reluctant to make big bets following a sharp two-day rally and ahead of a rash of data. Investors will also be keeping an eye on the debate in Washington over sequestration - U.S. government budget cuts that will take effect starting on Friday if lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on spending...

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Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.“I...

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Stock index futures signal mixed open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited a second round of testimony in Congress by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for signs of whether the Fed will continue its economic stimulus program. Economic data was also in focus with U.S. durables goods and homes data due out at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330) GMT and 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT),...

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Stock futures tick up after sell-off, Italy woes remain

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday, indicating equities would partially rebound from the previous session's steep drop, though concerns persisted over the state of Italy's economy and government makeup. In Italy's election, groups opposed to economic reforms posted a strong showing, resulting in a political deadlock with a comedian's protest party leading...

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Stay a Step Ahead of the New Medicare Surtax

Many tax rates were up in the air as 2012 wound down: dividends, capital gains, estates, to name a few of the biggies. But one new tax was poised to move full steam ahead for 2013 regardless of whether Congress took action to avert the so-called fiscal cliff: the 3.8% Medicare surtax. (The tax also affects trusts and estates, but for this article, I’ll focus on how the tax affects individuals.)The...

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Stock futures advance, Barnes & Noble up early

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Monday, suggesting the recent rally for equities remains intact in spite of concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve could curtail its stimulus sooner than many expected. * Stocks have been strong performers so far this year, with the S&P 500 jumping 6.2 percent in 2013. Pullbacks have generally been slight, with investors using any dip...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large. Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling. Talks on the U.S. budget...

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Stock futures rise after HP earnings, German data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Friday, indicating the S&P 500 may halt a two-day losing skid, boosted by positive economic data from Europe and better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard. The S&P 500 <.spx> has dropped 1.9 percent over the past two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly...

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Wal-Mart holiday profit rises despite lackluster sales

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a larger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as a lower-than-anticipated tax rate helped to overcome some weakness in sales at its major Walmart U.S. unit that persisted into the beginning of February. The world's largest retailer also raised its dividend payout. Its shares fell 1 percent in premarket trading. Wal-Mart...

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Stock futures flat with data, Fed minutes on tap

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, ahead of data on the housing market and inflation, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting. Housing starts and permits for January along with the January producer price index are due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast the housing starts...

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Stock futures edge higher after seven-week rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday, indicating the S&P 500 will build on its seven-week winning streak ahead of data on the housing market. * The S&P 500 <.spx> has risen for seven straight weeks, its longest streak since January 2011, and is up 6.6 percent for the year. * The strong start to the year was fueled by legislators in...

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Euro, dollar up after G20, stocks ease on growth concern

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro and the dollar rose against the yen on Monday after the G20 decided not to criticize Japan for its expansionist policies, but shares eased as Europe's weak growth outlook weighed on sentiment. Financial leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies promised on Saturday not to devalue their currencies to boost exports, aiming to defuse talk of currency wars...

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Millionaires Say They’re Better Off Than in 2007

The good old days for the wealthy are now back.A survey from Northern Trust found that three quarters of millionaires surveyed said they are better off, or as well off, as they were in 2007 – the peak for both wealth and sheer numbers of America’s millionaires. Most cited improved investment returns as their reason for feeling better off.(Read More: US Will Add Five Million Millionaires By 2017)That...

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Florida hit by "tsunami" of tax identity fraud

MIAMI (Reuters) - Bruce Parton was only a few weeks from retirement after 30 years as a mail carrier in sunny Florida. He never lived to fulfill his retirement plan of moving back to a quiet life in the Catskill mountains of New York, not far from where he grew up on Long Island. Instead, he was gunned down on his daily mail route in December 2010 by members of an identity...

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Cancana Announces Strategic Plan to Spin Off of Its Gold and Diamond Assets and Sets Date for the Annual Meeting of Its Shareholders

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Feb 15, 2013) – Cancana Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CNY) (the “Company” or “Cancana”) is pleased to announce that its annual meeting of its shareholders will be held on April 12, 2013 in Victoria, BC. The Company is also pleased to announce its plan to spin off its gold and diamond assets.The Board of Directors of the Company has determined that would...

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G20 defuses talk of "currency war", no accord on debt

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations declared on Saturday there would be no 'currency war' and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets in an indication of concern about the fragile state of the world economy. Japan's expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by financial policymakers from the G20, which groups...

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Buffett, Brazil's 3G team up for $23 billion Heinz buyout

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett and Brazilian financier Jorge Paulo Lemann are teaming up to buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co for $23.2 billion, in what could be the first step of a wave of mergers for the food and beverage industry. Analysts and people close to the deal said Heinz could be a good starting point to consolidate similar staple food companies, particularly given the larger ambitions...

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