Americans prefer bonds
Even as the stock market has rebounded since the financial crisis, Americans are staying away. U.S. investors have pulled $138 billion from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that invest in U.S. stocks since March 2009, while piling $1 trillion into safer bond funds.
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The high cost of patent lawsuits
Over the past two years, tech companies in the smartphone industry alone have spent as much as $20 billion on patent litigation and patent purchases—a sum equivalent to eight Mars rover missions. Last year, for the first time, Apple and Google each spent more on patent lawsuits and purchases than on developing new products.
The New York Times
The price of gas in California
California’s average gas price hit a record high of $4.67 per gallon this week, up 49 cents in the past week alone. Pipeline problems and disruptions at key refineries, including an August fire at a Chevron plant near San Francisco, were to blame. Californians generally pay around 40 cents more per gallon than the rest of the country.
Los Angeles Times
India's stock market takes a beating
A sudden crash in India’s stock market briefly sent the market down nearly 16 percent last week. Errant trades by a Mumbai-based brokerage, attributed to human error, wiped more than $58 billion from the market value of some of India’s biggest companies.
Financial Times
The IMF issues a warning
The International Monetary Fund warned this week that risks of a steep global slowdown were “alarmingly high.” It lowered its global growth forecast for this year to 3.3 percent, down from its July predictions of 3.5 percent.
Bloomberg.com
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The bottom linefeature Fewer jobs, bigger paychecks on Wall Street; Home as the primary workplace; Revenue up in the music industry; The success of community college graduates; Millennials mind their debt
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The bottom line
feature Cattle prices hit a record high; The top 1 percent's new tax rate; The rising cost of college textbooks; Carbon emissions fall; Which microwave would you buy?
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The bottom line
feature Real estate near good public schools; Travel agents make a comeback; Amazon takes on Home Depot and Staples; People receiving disability benefits at record high; How important are high-paying careers?
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The bottom line
feature China's wealthy lawmakers; Google's move into TV; Fastenal tops Apple and Microsoft; Sheldon Adelson's big bets; Housing prices in Detroit move up
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The bottom line
feature Sales of digital music surpass album sales; The business savvy of immigrants; The Kate Middleton Effect; China's luxury car market; A poor market for architecture majors
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The bottom line
feature JPMorgan Chase surpasses BofA; Are the protestors right?; A weak market for music; Italy's debt; Residence visas for wealthy foreigners
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The bottom line
feature AIG repays last of $85 billion loan; Fewer Americans own homes; Credit-card interest rates peak; Consumers hoard the incandescent; Lenders return to commerical property
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The bottom line
feature Default rate on corporate debt falls; Business travel is up; Gold reaches a record high; Hunting industry reaps billions; Average credit card debt drops