Long-term interest rates will creep higher as the economy gradually gains strength. The wild card is Washington, where talks are under way to avert tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled to start in January.

The money manager's job is supposed to be straightforward: Take people's cash and put it to work. The more money that comes in, the bigger the manager's paycheck.

If Washington allows tax cuts to expire at the end of the year, taxes on dividends will nearly triple for the highest-paid Americans, leading to a possible collapse of the products.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 286 points Wednesday, its best day this year.

U.S. stocks are opening higher after retailers reported better February sales and applications for unemployment benefits hit a four-year low.

Stocks rose broadly Tuesday after fears that the U.S. would slip into a recession pounded the market over the last four weeks. Indexes briefly slipped from their highest levels of the day after an earthquake was felt throughout the Northeast.

The stock market stabilized Monday as investors looked for cheap stocks after a four-week losing streak.

Scrambling to protect themselves against a U.S. default, investors are buying gold and foreign currencies, using derivatives to bet on a stock market collapse and taking out complicated insurance policies.