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The equities analysts at Swiss-based UBS are taking an increasingly dim view of the U.S. and global economies and are suggesting that investors should be reducing their equity exposure from “overweight” to what they call a “neutral tactical stance” of stocks, bonds and cash.

As if the stock market's wild vacillations in the past few weeks weren't evidence enough that few have a firm hold on the U.S. economy's near- and long-term outlook, Fannie Mae this week issued an analysis that says the likelihood of a dreaded double-dip recession is now a 50/50 proposition.

QFS Asset Management, a hedge fund that provides clients with currency, global macro, fixed income and volatility management strategies, this week named Jim Conklin as its new director of research.

With stocks bouncing around like they’re on a trampoline, it can be difficult for investors to find companies that offer any possibility of steady growth or protection against a further slump -- particularly with the economy looking increasingly weak. But a handful of consumer goods stocks might ease their pain.

Missing the 10 best days of stock market performance over many years can hurt your portfolio’s performance -- and the only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to stay invested for the long haul. But one investment firm's research found there's a tremendous flaw in this strategy.

The downgrade of U.S. debt may have led to more market volatility than the Flash Crash. That’s the initial result of comparing the average daily volume of stock trading in August 2011 to the volume in May 2010, when stocks fell nearly 1,000 points at one point in a single day of trading.

Stocks plunged again Thursday on concerns that Europe is still struggling to prevent its persistent debt crisis from spreading to some of its largest economies, pushing several to the brink of a recession.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said it suspended an Illinois broker for 16 months for manipulating trades using spoofing and other tactics.

Fidelity Clearing Canada has enhanced its Streetscape workstation with additional market research news and information as well as syndication data on new issue distribution and reporting.

Aside from a disappointing sales outlook from tech leader Dell, investors had little economic data to react to or run from Wednesday, resulting in a fairly eventless day of trading across the board.

The debt ceiling debate, the nation’s credit rating downgrade, market declines and unemployment are taking a serious toll on investors, causing the Country Financial Security Index to fall 1.3 points in August to 62.4, a record low.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed out its first losing session in four days Tuesday as investors sold shares despite the best efforts of German and French economic leaders to assuage fears that debt issues will hamstring their respective economies.

With the market and economy turbulent, fund managers are steering away from equities and toward the safe haven of cash.

The Retirement Income Industry Association this week announced that Duncan Williams, a graduate instructor in the personal financial planning division at Texas Tech University, and his advisor, Michael Finke, an associate professor and coordinator at the university, will receive the first Academic Thought Leadership Award at the association's Fall Conference & Awards Gala in Boston in October.

Investors worried about the risks inherent in the market’s dramatic volatility over recent weeks and months might do well to pay attention to fund flows and to put their own money where the flows are going and staying.

Hedge funds have been holding their own amid the severe market swings of the past week, with the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index declining only -3.66% month-to-date through Aug. 14. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -11.58% in that time, and the S&P 500 declined -13.18%.

The last two weeks have been a heart-stopping roller coaster ride for investors. But don’t assume that the ride is necessarily over, said Michael Ryan, chief investment strategist at UBS.

Investors came back refreshed and eager to buy Monday, pushing stocks from most every industry higher and suggesting that perhaps -- finally -- the market has stabilized in the aftermath of the debt rating downgrade and sustained gains will become the rule rather than exception.

Sell-side analysts' refusal to admit there wrong after they've gone out on a limb -- only to find their initial opinions were incorrect -- has exposed clients and the markets as a whole to more losses for years, according to a new study.

Wells Fargo is buying up most of Citadel’s troubled investment bank operation, which the Chicago-based hedge fund recently decided to unload after concluding that’s its plan to convert the company into an investment bank was not working out.