According to new research from Child Trust Fund provider, Family Investments, the monthly cost of being a student has risen 28% since 2004. Full time students now face total living costs of £718 up from £561 in 2004. If the cost of living continues to rise at current rates, those students [ Read More → ]

European equities markets were lower again Wednesday on more bad economic news from the United States as new home sales dropped to the lowest on record in July, while durable goods orders rose there last month, but by much less than had been forecast. After the National Association of Realtors reported [ Read More → ]

WASHINGTON — It’s starting to feel like another recession. Businesses are ordering fewer goods. Home sales are the slowest in decades. Jobs are scarce, and unemployment claims are rising. Perhaps most worrisome, manufacturing activity, which had been one of the economy’s few bright spots, is faltering. “The odds of a [ Read More → ]

AMSTERDAM — , the Dutch bank and insurance company, Wednesday reported a sharp rise in second quarter earnings, mostly because it avoided some of the losses it made a year ago on stocks, bonds, and real estate-related investments. Net profit was euro1.09 billion ($1.44 billion), up from euro79 million in the [ Read More → ]

The markets are signaling that a bout of deflation may be coming. Many economists still dismiss the threat. But if they are wrong, and deflation does set in, what would it mean for stocks, bonds, gold and other investments? The last time deflation fears gripped the markets was in 2003, when [ Read More → ]

Market volatility in the second quarter took a bite out of assets that manages, but the Baltimore company reported Friday that profit rose nearly 60 percent as clients invested more money in its mutual funds. The money manger’s reported quarterly net income of $158.5 million, or 59 cents per share, [ Read More → ]

DES MOINES — Workers with a 401(k) retirement account will soon know exactly how much they’re paying in fees. The Department of Labor released new rules this week designed to force companies that provide 401(k) plans and services to employers to spell out all the fees charged. Most people don’t know that [ Read More → ]

SITUATION Affluent couple wants cash for big spending plans STRATEGY Structure investments for less future risk SOLUTION Reduced income volatility, smoother cash flow — In Toronto, a couple we’ll call Jonas, 44, and Anna, 41, have achieved material success. Jonas, a real estate broker, and Anna, a corporate manager, have combined take home pay [ Read More → ]

The oil that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico has stained some “socially responsible” mutual funds. These portfolios aim to invest based on environmental, human rights, corporate governance and other criteria. Yet a number of major socially responsible funds and indexes included BP PLC on April 20, when the spill [ Read More → ]

Jim Deramo says his former company’s bankruptcy was a blessing. Tom Hurwitch is glad he is no longer a cog in the wheel at a huge management consulting firm. And former portfolio manager James Wiess feels liberated from the shackles of the stock market. Like about 104,000 others in Massachusetts who [ Read More → ]