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After reaching its highest point since the beginning of the recession, 46.7 in June, the RBC Consumer Outlook Index retreated by three points to 43.7 in July.

After rising in the first quarter, The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence retreated sharply in the second quarter to 55, down 12 points from 67. While still above 50, which reflects a more positive than negative outlook, the reading seems to indicate chief executive officers are bracing for slower growth.

American workers lapsed into investing inertia after the market collapsed in 2008, but standing still actually benefited many and helped their workplace retirement plan balances rebound by 31% between 2007 and 2010, Vanguard said this week.

SIX Swiss Exchange and Liquidnet said Thursday they had launched a trading platform that will allow global financial institutions to draw on five previously untapped European markets in finding buyers or sellers.

PayPal revolutionized how consumers pay for goods online. It's not about to be usurped by the mobile payments movement. Its parent, eBay Inc., is paying $240 million to buy Zong, a company that allows consumers to charge purchases to their phone bills.

Wells Fargo Funds Management has launched the Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target 2055 Fund, a target-date fund benchmarked against the Dow Jones Target 2055 Index and sub-advised by Global Index Advisors, State Street Global Advisors and Wells Capital Management.

The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor, a daily poll of 8,200 consumers tracking their confidence in the economy and spending intentions, recorded its largest one-month decline in June, falling 4.4 points from 89.5 to 85.1—indicating that the majority of Americans believe the economy and their own personal finances are worsening.

Hedge fund managers have turned decidedly bearing on U.S. equities and the economy, according to a survey of 87 managers by TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge.

Wealth management firms are risking losing clients to competitors, losing a chance to gain new business through client referrals and are missing opportunities to deepen relationships with existing high-net-worth investors, according to a new study by Aite Group, an independent Boston-based research and advisory firm focused on the financial services industry.

According to a new Barclay's Wealth report, emotional trading can cost even the most well-heeled investor about 20% in returns over a decade. Still many persist in making too many trades in the pursuit of huge returns.