2016 Investment Forecast: Expect Less, Buy Antacid
New York — Investing is becoming more of a grind. Expect it to stay that way. Analysts, mutual-fund managers and other forecasters are telling investors to expect lower returns from stocks and bonds in 2016 than in past years. They’re also predicting more severe swings in prices. Remember that 10 percent drop for stocks that freaked investors out in August? It likely won’t take another four years for the next one. The good news is...
Chemical Giants in Mega Merger
Two of corporate America’s oldest institutions, chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, will merge into a $130 billion behemoth — and then split again into three companies — in one of the largest megadeals of the year, the companies said Friday. Since their founding in the 19th century, both companies have invented and sold some of the most transformative discoveries in modern chemistry, changing how our homes are built and painted...
What Customers Need To Know
Change is coming to local drugstores after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Tuesday it is buying rival Rite Aid Corp. for about $9.4 billion. The deal combines two of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, helping them to better compete in the rapidly consolidating health care industry. Drugstore chains face increased competition from mail-order pharmacy services and pharmacies inside grocery store chains. But what will it mean for...
Nasdaq Record Extends on Google
New York — The Nasdaq composite index rose Friday to an all-time high for a second day after Google jumped on better-than-estimated earnings, while a decline in energy shares muted gains in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Google soared 16 percent, the most in more than seven years, and Facebook added 4.5 percent to a record. The Nasdaq Internet index gained 2.6 percent. The S&P 500’s energy group dropped 1.1 percent as...
S&P 500 Growth Scare Over
New York — Relax, earnings didn’t fall last quarter. That’s according to data on Standard & Poor’s 500 Index profits updated by Bloomberg, which shows companies in the benchmark gauge are on track to deliver income growth of 0.2 percent in the three-month period. As recently as March, analysts estimated that profits would slide by 5.8 percent. Warnings that plunging oil and the rallying dollar would halt a string of quarterly...
