The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 13000 for the first time in almost four years, though it failed to hang onto the gains through the day's end.The Dow passed above 13000 a few times Tuesday, rising as high as 13005. It ended the day at 12965.69, up 15.82 points, or 0.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index toyed with a milestone of its own, briefly surpassing its high reached last April before closing up 0.98 point, or 0.1%, at 1362.21. The advance came after a long weekend that s...

Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January, which helped to lift the pace of home sales, according to a report from an industry trade group.

As more women earn high-level corporate roles, more husbands are staying home, raising the kids, and changing the rules

Europe kicks the can down the road, while Athens continues to burn Reuters Greece has finally secured a new $170 billion loan from its European landlords, and the terms are just as unrealistic and doomed-to-fail as you expected. The fact that the country requires a second bailout that's practically the size of its economy -- now crashing through $270 billion and still falling* -- tells you what you need to know about the hopelessness of Greece. The bailout plan offers financial assistance to Gre...

What's the cost of a $4 billion gamble gone wrong?

China's manufacturing sector contracted in February for the fourth straight month as new export orders dropped sharply in the face of the euro area debt crisis, the HSBC flash purchasing managers index showed on Wednesday. Getty Images The PMI, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, rose to a four-month-high at 49.7 in February from 48.8 in January. The PMI has been below 50, which demarcates expansion from contraction, for most of the last eight months. The survey shows the sect...

After more than a year in the making, the Obama administration on Wednesday released its plan to overhaul the corporate tax code.

Stocks pared losses and were slightly lower amid unease about the implementation of Greece's debt deal.The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 10 points, or 0.1%, to 12955, in Wednesday afternoon trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed three points, or 0.2%, to 1360, and the Nasdaq Composite eased 10 points, or 0.3%, to 2939.Wal-Mart Stores, which dragged the blue-chip Dow lower on Tuesday, was again the Dow's worst performer, losing 2.1%. The retailer has lost 5.9% this week.Hewlet...

As if the market needed another bizarro catalyst to ramp even higher courtesy of an even more pronounced drop in corporate earnings courtesy of soaring energy costs, that is just what it is about to get following news of further deterioration in the Nash equilibrium in Iran, where on one hand we learn that IAEA just pronounced Iran nuclear talks a failure (this is bad), and on the other Press TV reports that the Iran army just started a 4 day air defense exercise in a 190,000 square kilometer ar...

Surveys and visa numbers show that members of China's wealthy elite are heading for the exits in search of things money can't buy in China: cleaner air, safer food, better education for their children.

Maybe HP wants to rethink that whole "we're not getting rid of the PC" decision?

Greek unions, the unemployed and communists will protest on Wednesday against spending cuts introduced to secure a multi-billion-euro bailout, and lawmakers will debate a debt swap to avoid imminent bankruptcy. Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images Protesters hold a Greek flag at the steps of the parliament during a 24-hours general strike in Athens. Motorcycle groups and striking journalists are also expected to converge on the capital's central Syntagma square in front of parliament at 4 p.m ...

A federal advisory panel on Wednesday overwhelmingly backed Vivus Inc.'s weight loss drug Qnexa, boosting the chance the Food and Drug Administration could approve a new prescription weight-loss drug for the first time in more than a decade.Qnexa and two other weight-loss drugs were rejected by the agency in the past two years on concerns about potential safety risks of the products. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese.Vivus submitted additional clinical data to the FDA that was revi...

Sales of previously owned U.S. houses rose in January to the highest level since May 2010, adding to signs the housing market is regaining its footing.Purchases climbed 4.3 percent to a 4.57 million annual rate, less than forecast, from a revised 4.38 million pace in December that was slower than previously estimated, a report from National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a rise to 4.66 million. Prices and inventory fe...

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose 4.3% last month, and the inventory of unsold homes contracted to a level considered healthy by economists, positive signs for housing.

A study of Twitter sentiment shows a high level of love for Woody Allen's latest movie.

The euro zone's service sector shrank unexpectedly this month, reviving fears that the economy risks sinking into recession, a business survey showed on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg | Getty Imgaes Markit's Eurozone Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 from January's 50.4, missing even the lowest forecast in a Reuters poll of 44 economists whose predictions centred on a rise to 50.6. A reading below 50 signifies a contraction. "There is a possibility GDP will be flat but chances ...

France Télécom posted a drop in its net profit for 2011 and said competitive pressures are likely to intensify as regulations become more stringent and taxes rise in key markets.

France Télécom has included the possibility of a breakup of the euro zone in its risks assessment, its chairman and chief executive said.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday will roll out a corporate tax reform plan from President Barack Obama, administration officials said on Tuesday, with expectations low for any major tax code overhaul in an election year. Getty Images President Obama The Obama plan will follow such principles as "fairness" that the president laid out in his State of the Union address to Congress last month, the officials said. A cut in the corporate tax rate, which presently tops out at 35 percent, may be inc...