Portfolio

The IRS audited 0.96% of individual tax returns in fiscal 2013, declining for the second straight year and reaching the lowest rate since 2005.

Emerging-market stocks rose for the first time this year after the International Monetary Fund said it will raise its forecast for world growth.

China’s stocks rose, led by energy companies after Offshore Oil Engineering Co. reported a jump in profit. A gauge of small-company shares headed for a record.

Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross said investors should focus on shorter-maturity debt as the slow pace of U.S. inflation signals the Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate will remain at almost zero until at least 2016.

State Street Corp., the second- biggest provider of exchange-traded funds, plans to introduce its first actively managed stock ETFs in partnership with MFS Investment Management.

The IRS has concluded that $720 million of student-loan bonds issued by a New Hampshire authority are taxable, leading the issuer to move toward requesting an administrative appeal and asking the IRS to reopen its audits of the bonds.

Meet the most productive young advisors in America. The top ten advisors talk about how they got started, how they grow their business and what makes them stand out.

It has been quite the ride for gold: from under $500 an ounce decade ago, to above $1,900 in 2011, gold gained more than 400%.

Investors prizing Princeton University bonds have fueled gains relative to top-graded municipal debt.

The Affordable Care Act -- along with its accompanying enrollment Web site and new taxes and tax breaks -- has opened up a host of questions for the taxpaying public, ramping up the usual levels of pre-tax season taxpayer confusion.