Personal Finance News

Buffett Offers Possible 22% Profit to Arbitrage Traders on Burlington Deal Warren Buffett is giving arbitrage traders the chance to capture annualized earnings of 22 percent on his bid for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

Gold Producer Stocks Poised to Underperform Bullion: Technical Analysis Gold stocks are near their most expensive level relative to the price of bullion in 14 months, a sign that they may start to underperform the metal, according to WJB Capital Group Inc.

Obama Says U.S. to Pursue Job-Creation Measures as Unemployment Rate Jumps President Barack Obama said his administration will continue to pursue measures that will stimulate job growth after the Labor Department reported the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent last month.

Imation, Callaway Golf Trade Below Book Value: Statistical Spotlight Imation Corp. and Callaway Golf Co. were highlighted on Bloomberg Television’s “Statistical Spotlight” as debt-free companies that trade below their book value.

Emerging Market Corporate Bonds Better Bet Than Sovereigns, Ashmore Says Emerging market corporate bonds are a better investment heading into 2010 than emerging market sovereign debt, because yields and company default rates remain attractive, according to Ashmore Investment Management Ltd.

Taxpayers May Shift Income to 2009 as U.S. Government Seeks Stimulus Cash The U.S. government is spending $787 billion to stimulate the economy, the deficit is $1.4 trillion and Congress is debating costly changes to health care. The taxpayers’ bill to pay for it isn’t far behind.

JPMorgan Chase Raises Stakes in Credit-Card Wars With 100,000-Mile Bonus JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest credit-card lender, and British Airways Plc will offer new customers 100,000 airline miles, intensifying the battle for affluent spenders.

Credit-Card Law Moved Up by House on Concern Banks Imposing Rate Increases The U.S. House voted to move up the start date of a law that limits rate increases on existing credit-card balances, after lawmakers said banks are heaping finance charges on cash-strapped consumers.

Health Insurers Rally Most in S&P 500 After Republican Election Victories Cigna Corp. led a rally in health insurers after Republicans won elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, spurring speculation their victories will bolster opposition to Democrats’ plans to overhaul the industry.

Emerging-Market Stocks to Extend Gain as `Bubble' Avoided, Prudential Says Emerging-market equities, heading for their best year in a decade, will lead a first-half advance in global stocks in 2010 as export and domestic demand pick up, according to Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC.

Real Estate Price Plunge Turns American Homeownership Into Perilous Path Kajal and Vishal Dharod paid $559,000 in 2006 for a new four-bedroom house built in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Today, it’s worth about $360,000.

Personal Bankruptcies in U.S. Increase to Highest Since 2005 Law Revision More Americans filed bankruptcy in October than in any month since changes to U.S. bankruptcy laws in 2005 as unemployment and falling home prices prevented consumers from paying their debts.

Vanguard's Low ETF Fees Help Late Arrival to the Market Increase Share Vanguard Group Inc., the largest U.S. manager of stock and bond mutual funds, is gaining market share in exchange-traded funds, a business its founder John Bogle has criticized for encouraging speculation.

Scotland's Aberdeen, Standard Life Cool on Outlook for Asian Bull Market Scotland’s two biggest fund managers say it’s getting tougher to make money from Asian stocks.

Stock Analysts Proving Right on Earnings With Investors Refusing to Agree Wall Street forecasts for the fastest U.S. earnings increase in two decades are failing to convince investors to pay a premium for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

Bonds Bust Bernanke Drive to Cut Consumer Rates With Credit Cards at 12.6% For all of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s success in lowering interest rates, U.S. consumers are still being charged more than double on some loans relative to what banks pay to borrow.

U.S. Stocks May Be Starting `Real Correction,' CLSA Strategist Wood Says U.S. equities may be headed lower as technical indicators point to weakness and as economic figures disappoint investors hoping for a recovery, according to Christopher Wood, chief strategist at CLSA Ltd.

Investors Sensing Rout in Global Poll as Stocks Gain Most in Seven Decades An eight-month, 68 percent rally in global stocks failed to convince investors and analysts that it’s time to take on more risk or dispel their concerns about U.S. economic policies and its banking system.

Buffett Beats Gross in Bloomberg Global Poll as Investor With Most Wisdom The Oracle of Omaha retains his pre-eminence as a market visionary, outshining a new wave of financial strategists and the best-known central bankers.

Stock Market `Bubble' to End as Stimulus Effects Fade, Morgan Stanley Says The global stock market rally, which resembles the bull run between 2003 and 2007, will end as government spending slows after so-called easy money boosted asset prices, according to Morgan Stanley.