If ignorance is bliss, then ostriches — famous for burying their heads in the sand when stressed — might be the happiest birds in the animal kingdom.  There’s just one problem with that theory: ostriches don’t actually bury their heads in the sand. Instead, when overwhelmed or ...

U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday, with the Dow up 100 points and the Nasdaq trading in the red amid light trading volume during a shortened post-Thanksgiving session. How are stocks trading? On Wednesday, the Dow industrials added 184.74 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 35,273.03, ...

Active traders might have to wait till markets close before swarming the shops to take advantage of Black Friday deals. While employees of many non-retail businesses will stretch the Thanksgiving holiday into a four-day weekend, taking off Black Friday, markets will see a partial ...

Oil prices pushed lower on Thursday, as investors grew increasingly unsettled following a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to delay a much anticipated meeting by four days. Price driversMarket drivers Oil prices tumbled briefly on ...

The numbers: Orders for durable or long-lasting goods sank 5.4% in October because of fewer contracts for Boeing passenger planes, but most other manufacturers also reported somewhat weaker demand. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 3.4% decline. If ...

The November U.S. stock-market rally has gotten a big boost from corporations buying back their shares, and computerized trend-following funds adding to their bullish bets, according to data from Bank of America and UBS Group. According to the latest report on client fund flows ...

The global supply of platinum is expected to significantly fall short of demand this year, with the World Platinum Investment Council forecasting a record deficit, along with a rise in industrial demand to an all-time high. The global platinum market is expected to post a deficit ...

U.S. stock futures held at two-month highs as Thanksgiving week began.What’s happening U.S. stocks closed higher Friday, with the Dow DJIA, S&P 500 SPX and Nasdaq Composite COMP each rising for a third straight week. The S&P 500 surged 9.6% over the past three weeks, its ...

The highlight for markets and economists this coming week will be the summary of the discussion at the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting on Oct. 31 – Nov. 1. Markets will be alert for any comments that might give credence to new hopes that the Fed might cut interest rates as ...

Duckhorn Portfolio, a public Napa Valley wine company known for putting California merlot on the map, has struck a deal to buy chardonnay producer Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards for about $400 million. The stock and cash deal will expand Duckhorn’s NAPA, -1.20% ...