Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. beat Wall Street expectations with higher profit and revenue in the third quarter, the last before generic competition starts wiping out sales of Lipitor, the cholesterol blockbuster that has buoyed the company for years.
October is somewhat cursed for the stock market the Crash of 1929, Black Monday in 1987, a slow-motion meltdown in 2008. This time, the demons made a last gasp, but Wall Street still managed to break the jinx.
Humana Inc.'s third-quarter net income jumped 13 percent after another strong quarter of Medicare Advantage enrollment growth, and the health insurer also raised its 2011 earnings forecast, following a lead set the past couple weeks by other big insurers.
Stocks jumped in late afternoon trading on reports that France and Germany have agreed to boost a rescue fund as part of an effort to stem the European debt crisis.
Investors began giving in to fears Thursday that a global recession is already under way, and stock markets shuddered around the world. Selling started in Asia, picked up speed in Europe and sent Wall Street near its worst finish of the year.
Stocks are wavering in early trading as traders weigh slightly better than expected reports on jobs and housing with the possibility that Greece could default on its debt.
If you're only now starting to work on your company's tax return, maybe you shouldn't try to finish it by April 18, the deadline to file returns this year. You might be better off getting a six-month extension of the deadline