Editors Note: Welcome to Love It or Hate It, a regular dual-column feature that will capture the love-hate relationship America has with some of its biggest, most controversial companies. For past co

Following today’s inventory data -- as unleaded gasoline prices are off some 5% to $1.95 but remain near 52-week highs -- it's apparent that this market could be due for a big pullback as the s

A growing pack of bears is now clawing away at China.Much of the world might have bought into the miracle of China, but there's a significant platoon of heavyweight investment strategists and market

George Soros discusses an entirely different crossroads. I've been too cautious the last few months and I own that. I'm usually early, however, and while I certainly see both sides, my sen

Editor's note: The following is an edition of The Lavery Insight economic newsletter by former Merrill Lynch chief economist Jack Lavery.  For more information, or to sign up for a free trial, c

“The big-picture perspective is that things have improved. The question is, how sustainable is this growth going forward?”-- Jan Hatzius, chief US economist at Goldman Sachs (GS), on the

Earnings at Schlumberger (SLB) dropped by 48% during the third quarter as energy prices fell and low demand forced producers to cut back.The world’s largest provider of oil-field services, incl

The mainstream press still looks enthralled with the story of the alleged fraud at Galleon and the technically meaningless milestone of the Dow busting through 10,000.But here at the ‘Ville, we

Rallies -- and rally monkeys -- were all the rage yesterday as major markets reached new 2009 peaks, a performance which played particularly well in Peoria with hometown hero Caterpillar (CAT) (

Demand for oil remains bearish with unemployment near 10%, slow economic growth ahead, and ample fuel supplies on hand. But the weak dollar and fear of inflation has led some to bet on oil as a hedge