Joseph Lazzaro

To say that the bankruptcy filing of MF Global and a Greek referendum on its bailout package have unnerved institutional investors would be an understatement. Where's the Dow headed in the next 3-6 months?

Americans are enormously proud of their country, and frequently boast that the country is better than all of the rest. But two new studies offer a counter-argument to the aforementioned, at least regarding the ease of doing business and the goal of social justice.

It’s convenient to think that the economic and social problems in the United States that Occupy Wall Street has given voice to will go away by passing a flat tax, cutting taxes again on upper-income groups, or perhaps by just ignoring everything. But the economic and social problems are there, Occupy Wall Street or not.

It’s conventional wisdom that because the 2012 Republican nomination race is relatively close, it’s likely to stay a dogfight until the last primary has been held in June. Don’t believe it: Political-science research says the one who wins the New Hampshire primary in January and Super Tuesday on March 6 will be the nominee.

The Statue of Liberty, the symbol of freedom and democracy, the icon of the Golden Door that is the United States of America, the Mother of Exiles, turns 125 years old Friday.

The ink is barely dry on European leaders’ plan to resolve the Greek / Europe debt crisis, and attention has already turned to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Is there enough liquidity in the global financial system or will Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke need to deploy more monetary stimulus to grease the wheels of commerce?

A whirl-wind day in the financial crisis: the European Central Bank renewed loans to key banks, and Germany backed an increase in the bailout fund ahead of a European leader summit to discuss debt-plagued Greece. Is the crisis over? Far from it, but it is a start. Here's how the Greece situation can affect your life.

Telecom/broadband play CenturyLink Inc. (CTL), formerly known as CenturyTel, boasts 15 million telephone access lines, after acquiring Embarq in 2009 and Qwest Communications in April 2011. Where is its stock headed in 2012?

Most Americans, weighed down by the everyday problems triggered by the U.S.'s sluggish economy, probably aren't contemplating the nation's infrastructure; but it's a topic worthy of discussion -- for national asset reasons, and the fact that an infrastructure rebuilding program can boost U.S. GDP growth.

Swiss banks will likely settle an extensive U.S. probe of offshore tax evasion by paying billions of dollars and handing over names of thousands of Americans who have secret accounts, according to people familiar with the situation.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned Iran that the scheduled withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 should not be mistaken for a lack of commitment to democracy in the region.

Diversified, industrial giant General Electric (GE) continues to show impressive order growth in emerging markets -- and that bodes well for the global economy in 2012 and for GE's stock.

The rise of the Occupy Wall Street protest movement is the Republican Party's worst nightmare. It’s an objective data point that no amount of liberal-bashing, Obama-bashing or jingoist appeal to patriotism can blot out: The U.S. economic system of corporate capitalism might need economic and fiscal reforms.

To paraphrase singer Britney Spears, Oops, she did it again. In this case, she is conservative commentator/columnist Ann Coulter, who says the Occupy Wall Street protest movement is a mob and similar to mob uprisings.

If Thomas Hoenig, retired chairman of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, becomes the new vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, will the era of big banks come to an end?

The United States, in perhaps its strongest language since the war on terrorism started 10 years ago, warned Pakistan that it would face serious consequences if it continued to tolerate safe havens for extremist organizations that kill Americans.

The events in Libya probably will not lead to a drop in crude prices as measured by West Texas Intermediate metric, analysts say.

Former Libyan Dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday after being injured during a Libyan rebel attack near his hometown of Sirte. A new Libya is born, a rebel spokesman said.

Washington early Thursday was in uber-data analysis mode, still trying to confirm initial reports that former Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi had been captured, injured and had later died from injuries after Libyan rebels approached his hometown of Sirte.

Unconventional times require unconventional measures. It is time for the American people to start a public, federal bank?

Apple's stock slid Tuesday and Wednesday after a rare earnings miss. Is now a good time to consider the company's stock?

No need to repeat all of the bad news about the U.S. economy. Further, as the stock market's bulls point out, that's history. Looking forward, the picture brightens, and accordingly here's why the bulls think the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is headed higher in the next six months.

The Occupy Wall Street protest movement in the United States represents the arrival of a global wave of social and political turmoil, according to economist Nouriel Dr. Doom Roubini.

Will the shares of semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) benefit from the iPhone 4s/5 Wave, now that Apple (AAPL) has introduced its new smartphone?

You can't blame investors for feeling a bit cautious regarding the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJIA) recent push from 10,700 to 11,140 in the past month. The stock market's bears say it's a false rally, and the Dow is likely to fall. Here's why.

Ford (F), which did not accept U.S. Government assistance, has rebounded after a restructuring, and is well-positioned to capitalize on U.S. job growth, when it returns with gusto. Is now a good time to consider Ford's shares?

The American Association of Retired Person (AARP) is not politically subtle regarding its latest t.v. advertising campaign -- it says, in so many words -- Congressman or Congresswoman: if you cut benefits from Social Security or Medicare -- you'll be voted out of public office.

House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who earlier called the Occupy Wall Street coalition growing mobs, Sunday dropped that description of the activists, but he didn't apologize for his evaluation of the coalition seeking economic and fiscal policy reform.

Amid what appears to be increased support by a portion of the electorate for substantive economic and fiscal policy change, President Barack Obama begins a three-day, two-state bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia for what the administration hopes will be a momentum builder to pass a revised jobs bill.