Robert Hughes

According to data from FactSet, more than 80 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported first quarter earnings through this morning. Overall, earnings reports have been better than expected, with almost 72 percent beating analyst expectations. Despite the beats, earnings growth overall remains negative, with reported earnings per share down about 7.8…

U.S. equity markets have rebounded sharply since mid-February but the performance gap between large caps and small caps is significant.

The economic outlook is modestly upbeat, but rife with risks. As we approach the seventh anniversary of the end of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the economy has made substantial progress. There are reasons to believe that later this year businesses could feel more confidence in hiring and making other investments. But obstacles…

With fourth quarter corporate earnings reports nearly complete, and the beginning of first quarter 2016 earnings reports less than a month away, a final look at the tally suggests corporate earning power remains challenged by slow growth.

With the backdrop of mixed economic signals in recent weeks, two reports this week suggest some good news for U.S. consumers.

Consumers continued to add debt to their balance sheets in January, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Monday.

When it comes to personal savings, Americans are doing better than many people think. But there’s still a lot of room for improvement, especially when you look at it in a historical context.

Wages – average hourly earnings – rose a decent 0.3 percent in January for production and nonsupervisory workers, and an even more impressive 0.5 percent for all workers. Both are up 2.5 percent from a year ago, about as strong a gain as we’ve seen in the current expansion, but well below the peak rates…