Investments

Eurozone worries contributed to a modest dip in investor confidence in December, according to a State Street analysis.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext said they have decided to push back the deadline for completing their merger until March 31.

Everybody loves a winner and if you or your clients held any of these top-performing Dow component stocks in their portfolios this year, there’s a pretty good chance they did quite well for themselves in 2011.

Stocks closed largely unchanged in languid trading Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial average trimmed 2.65 points to finish at 12,291.35. Trading volume was predictably light in the first session following the holiday weekend.

Aston Asset Management has launched the Aston/Silvercrest Small Cap Fund, sub-advised by Silvercrest Asset management Group, a high-quality, value-oriented boutique headquartered in New York.

Knight Capital Group has launched two actively managed exchange-traded funds run by subsidiary Astor Asset Management. The funds are the Astor Active Income ETF Fund and the Astor SP Growth ETF Fund.

Aston Asset Management has launched the Aston/Silvercrest Small Cap Fund, sub-advised by Silvercrest Asset management Group, a high-quality, value-oriented boutique headquartered in New York.

Knight Capital Group has launched two actively managed exchange-traded funds run by subsidiary Astor Asset Management. The funds are the Astor Active Income ETF Fund and the Astor SP Growth ETF Fund.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose 9.3 points in December to 64.5 (1985 = 100), following a 14.3-point rise in November, The Conference Board said Tuesday.

There are plenty of ETF choices out there for investors. Some might make more sense than others, according to S&P Capital IQ.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index rose 0.5% in November to 118.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.9% rise in October and a 0.1% bump in September.

Don’t rule out emerging market and high-end retail customers in 2012, according to a forward-looking analysis by Fidelity Investments’ Sector Portfolio managers.

Don’t rule out emerging market and high-end retail customers in 2012, according to a forward-looking analysis by Fidelity Investments’ Sector Portfolio managers. In coordinated press conferences this month, the managers pointed to numerous areas of growth they expect in the coming year.

State and local governments will be able to issue a total of $32.821 billion of private-activity bonds under a national volume cap next year — 1.2% or $379.96 million more than in 2011.

With approval from the U.S. Justice Department in hand and approval from the European Commission still to be achieved, NYSE Euronext is looking for a period of relative quiet through the end of the year on its quest to merge with Deutsche Boerse.

Financial advisers will remember 2011 as “The Year of Volatility” or “The Year of Uncertainty,” according to a survey of 200 financial advisers polled by the SEI Advisor Network, an asset management and back-office administration service provider to financial advisers.

Investors opted to view the glass as half full Friday, pushing stocks higher despite conflicting economic reports on personal income and home sales.

Retail sales are likely to rise this holiday season over last year — and that could mean a boost for some retail-oriented mutual funds.

The merger of NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse has been cleared on the New York side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Investors were encouraged Thursday by a surprising drop in weekly jobless claims – down to their lowest level in three and half years – and economic data showing rising consumer confidence as the Dow Jones Industrial average rallied up 62 points to finish at 12,169.65.