Stocks, Stock Market | featured news

Despite intense last-minute lobbying by major Hollywood studios, talent guilds and others, the first futures contract based on movie boxoffice results was approved Monday and are expected to start trading this year.

U.S. stocks edged higher, bolstered by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that the economy is unlikely to slide into a second recession, but worries about European finances persisted after Fitch Ratings warned that the U.K. faces budget challenges.

Stocks plummeted across the Asia-Pacific region on Monday and the euro hit fresh four-year lows on renewed fears that the European debt crisis may be spreading.

Stocks tumbled Friday after the Labor Department said hiring remains weak and Hungary became the latest European country to report its economy is in crisis.

The stock market rebounded Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected increase in pending home sales restored investors' optimism about the economy.

Stock futures tumbled Tuesday after the euro fell to a new four-year low....

The stock market tumbled again Thursday after another drop in the euro and disappointing U.S. employment news darkened investors already bleak view of the world economy. Interest rates fell sharply in the Treasury market as investors once again sought the safety of U.S. government debt.

The European economy was once again the focus of Wall Street Wednesday morning after Germany enacted a ban on a certain form of short-selling. Europe's monetary woes have dragged on U.S. equity markets for months as investors weigh the potential long-term impact of a sluggish economy in the region and the possibility that this slowness could upend the global financial recovery. Stateside economic data on consumer prices, meanwhile, continues to point to a slow--but steady--recovery. Stronger than expected earnings reports from Hewlett-Packard, Deere and Target did little to lift stocks in early trading.

U.S. stock exchanges and regulators will likely propose market-wide safeguards to be launched in a six-month pilot program, starting June 14.

The euro began the week by hitting a four-year low against the dollar and Chinese equities joined the decline in global stocks Monday, adding a new element of concern to the recent market turmoil.