Portfolio

Investors pushed stocks higher in afternoon trading Wednesday, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial average up 144 points, or 1.3%, to close at 11.320.71. Gold, meanwhile, lost some of its luster, shedding 5.6% of its value to close at $1,757.30, its largest one-day decline in more than three years.

Annuities sold at a brisk pace in the second quarter, setting the stage for a record year of sales, according to the Insured Retirement Institute.

U.S. investors may be overly worried about the fate of the euro, and overly confident in the U.S. dollar, according to Kieran Osborne, co-portfolio manager of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Merk Funds.

Two weeks ago, Apple Computer had its day in the sun, briefly surpassing Exxon Mobil in market capitalization to become the largest corporation in the world. Now it’s gold’s turn.

Moody’s downgrade of Japanese debt Wednesday was bad news for the country, but it could present a stock buying opportunity, according to Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ.

On Tuesday, UBS announced plans to cut 3,500 job worldwide, to save $2.5 billion by 2013. Almost simultaneously, the state of Connecticut found that money talks -- if it wants to keep UBS jobs in its state.

Investors have mostly been focused on fast-growing companies that may not be of the highest intrinsic value, but now it’s quality dividend payers’ turn.

In an effort to expand its annuity business, The Hartford is expanding into the structured settlement annuity market, providing tax-free payouts to people who receive settlements related to a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim.

While broker-dealers are placing increasing importance on home office model portfolios, the recent extreme market volatility has made many financial advisors and brokers skeptical of such asset allocation, a report from kasina finds.