investments news stories on Newser

Ashton Kutcher Could Face Federal Probe

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:19:00 CDT

A guest editorship may land Ashton Kutcher in trouble with the feds. An online-only "Social Issue" of Details touted several tech start-ups and failed to clearly note that guest editor Kutcher is an investor in several of them, discovered Gawker . He may have even run afoul of the law. "If...

10 Bizarre Ways Google Spends Its Money

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:33:05 CDT

Google has made billions, and there are only so many YouTubes or Androids you can buy—so why not spend some of that hard-earned cash in some decidedly stranger ways? Business Insider rounds up the 10 weirdest: Windmills : Yes ... windmills. Google spent $40 million on them, probably because it likes...

Investors Flee Wall St., Bet on the Farm

Polly Davis Doig — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:38:16 CDT

While Wall Street fiddles and the rest of the real estate market largely fizzles, there's a new hot commodity that has investors flocking to it: Farmland, reports the LA Times. Average farm real estate prices have doubled over the last decade, unlike, say, Florida condos, and many Americans and foreigners...

Oprah Hires Star Money Manager

Rob Quinn — Wed, 19 May 2010 05:40:00 CDT

Oprah Winfrey is assembling a hotshot investment team to manage her estimated $2.4 billion fortune. Peter Adamson, currently chief investment officer for billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, will head up Winfrey's investment office, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . The move comes as Winfrey, already one of the richest African...

Brokers Ditch Big Firms, Hang Out Shingles

Harry Kimball — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:35:08 CST

Independent financial advisers are gaining on the big Wall Street firms in managing personal assets, as more brokers leave companies they see as unreliable or tarnished. Those heading for the exits are taking many of their clients with them, creating a net outflow in 2009 of about $188 billion in...

Bailout Is Bad News for Savers

Harry Kimball — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:17:08 CDT

Not fed up enough with just putting your taxpayer dollars directly on the line to bail out the nation’s banks? Allan Sloan has latched on to some insidious “collateral damage” from the government’s rescue plan, those trillions spent “to keep interest rates down to support the economy and prop up...

Buffett Has Worst Year Ever

Harry Kimball — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:11:57 CST

Not even legendary investors can escape this mess. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway posted its worst year ever in 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. A key indicator, book value per share, fell 9.6%, only the second loss since Buffett took control of the company in 1965. Berkshire reported fourth-quarter...

Cramer Shares 'Obama Portfolio'

Rebecca Smith Hurd — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:47:01 CST

America isn’t out of the economic woods, but savvy investors should drop some kindling on their investment fires, James Cramer writes in New York . “Obama’s swift transition and desire to spend trillions to get us moving could prove that happier days will eventually beckon, at least for a handful of...

Time Is Ripe to Pass Cash to Heirs

Matt Cantor — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:05:01 CDT

Sinking stocks offer a window of opportunity when it comes to passing your money on to heirs without incurring huge taxes, Anne Tergesen writes in the Wall Street Journal . Transferring struggling assets to the next generation can mean a big payoff for the heirs when conditions improve—without the estate...