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Nearly half, 48%, of chief financial officers and senior comptrollers expect the economy to improve over the next six months, a marked improvement from the 30% who thought so in October, a survey of 318 executives by accounting and audit firm Grant Thornton found.

Barclays has reduced its forecast for U.S. GDP, but remains optimistic about the second quarter.

Advisors are struggling to come up with a better retirement income portfolio solution, which we believe we have found. This is not just about dividends. Inflation is a major concern long term that advisors not only need to be aware of when building retirement portfolios but must have an effective portfolio management solution.

According to the FINRA survey, in addition to these worries, fewer than half of current retirees said they were working with a financial professional to handle their retirement assets. Only one in five reported having a written plan for retirement.

The popularity of hedge funds, particularly among institutional investors, propelled total assets under management to a record $2 trillion in the first quarter, according the latest report from Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc.

Last year, total annuity sales through banks declined 25% from the prior year, which itself was down 18% from the year before that, according to Kehrer-LIMRA. Yet newly release data from the Michael White-ABIA Bank Annuity Fee Income Report shows that income from annuities was down just 1.8%.

Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., plans to soon introduce a bill that would require all new munis to be taxable direct-pay bonds with a 25% federal subsidy rate — a proposal drawing a frosty reception from issuers and underwriters.

Richard Davis, the top executive at U.S. Bancorp, said he has no intention of making customers feel as though they, or their debit relationships, are being held hostage.

A decade after its launch, Bank of America Merrill Lynch's 401(k) platform for small businesses is approaching 1 million participants — and it's expanding beyond its signature 401(k) focus.

Two straight quarters in the black is not good enough for Grayson Hall, the chief executive of Regions Financial Corp., to proclaim "mission accomplished."