Bullish Blog

AP - A Colorado Springs man and his two oil and gas companies have agreed to pay $510,000 to settle civil fraud allegations, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.

Investor's Business Daily - Investors yanked $26.36 billion from stock funds in July -- the most since $44.84 billion in January. July trumps June's outflow figure of $4.82 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute.

AP - Wall Street barreled higher Thursday after a better-than-expected reading on the gross domestic product and a drop in jobless claims gave investors some reassurance that the economy is holding up. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 200 points.

The blue chips surge as second-quarter GDP growth is revised higher, but Dell earnings disappoint. Oil falls even as Tropical Storm Gustav moves toward the Gulf Coast and its oil and gas rigs. Tiffany profit nearly doubles; Sears results disappoint.

Reuters - Shares of MBIA Inc. jumped before the open on Thursday after the bond insurer agreed in a deal to reinsure $184 billion of municipal bonds backed by its rival FGIC Corp.

AFP - European stock markets steadied on Thursday in subdued trade that focused on the banking sector after overnight gains in New York and earlier in Tokyo, dealers said.

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose sharply on Thursday as the government reported the economy grew at a surprisingly robust clip in the second quarter and oil prices eased, driving gains in major industrial and financial companies.

Reuters - Chinese central government departments misused or mismanaged more than 46 billion yuan ($6.73 billion) last year, including using disaster relief money to build government offices and diverting funds to speculate in stocks, the National Audit Office said on Thursday.

AP - Wall Street barreled higher Thursday after a better-than-expected reading on the gross domestic product and a drop in jobless claims gave investors some reassurance that the economy is holding up. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 200 points.

With legions of users abroad 'unlocking' the red-hot phones from Apple's carrier and with a product line vulnerable to a US recession, the electronics innovator is losing out both here and abroad.