Investing

Stocks closed essentially unchanged Friday as mixed economic news and earnings data failed to distract traders from next week's mid-term elections and Federal Reserve policy statement.

Perhaps the greatest debate over the economy this year, has been whether the U.S. is in for a period of inflation or deflation. Gary Shilling explains why he believes deflation is the biggest threat and talks about what you can do to protect your portfolio.

The stock market indexes have not been kind to investors over the last 10 years, but some individual shares have delivered astounding returns. Here's our list of the 10 stocks we all wished we had bought a decade ago.

Consumer outlays increased at the best pace in about four years -- providing some hope that the expansion can continue. The rise from the second-quarter rate of 1.7% was in line with economists' expectations. Soaring imports were a big drag on the growth report.

Some of the day's top online stories for investors, including advice on how to heal the economy, a review of Angry Birds Halloween for the iPad and iPhone, and what happened to Chatroulette?

The automaker said it will repay $2.8 billion it owes to the United Auto Workers retiree health care trust, buy back $2.1 billion in common stock held by the federal government and make a contribution valued at $6 billion to its pension plans.

While stocks in the U.S. are likely to chug along well into next year, there may be better opportunities in international stocks. Sandy Mehta of Value Investment Principals picks three global growth companies now trading at deep discounts.

Some of Thursday's best online stories for investors, including: Secrets of the Fed, the number one reason startups fail, and proof that day-trading is dead.

More mortgage investors appear to be joining the fight to force banks to buy back bad loans. These investors face big challenges in spite of their swelling ranks, as banks are understandably reluctant to pay.

Wealthy investors now have more confidence in the economy than they've had in nearly three years, according to Chicago consulting firm Spectrem, which manages the Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index.