Image source: Getty Images. It’s probably an out of sight, out of mind thought for most Americans, but credit scores can play an important role in numerous aspects of day-to-day life. Your credit score, sometimes referred to as your FICO score, is normally associated with your ability to get a mortgage or be approved for... Read More →

Most retirees need as much income from Social Security as they can get. That’s what makes Social Security’s maximum benefit so appealing: The prospect of getting the largest possible monthly benefit check from Social Security seems like an obvious solution to retirees’ financial worries. Unfortunately, getting the maximum amount that Social Security will pay takes... Read More →

By SA Gil Weinreich : A common criticism of financial advice is that the cost of the service inherently guarantees a sub-optimal return on investment. Professional financial advisors probably grit their teeth when hearing the claim that they do not add value. Those making such charges tend to be do-it-yourself investors with or without experience... Read More →

Over 60 million Americans rely on Social Security to cover their living costs in retirement. Whether you’re a current recipient or not, you may be impacted by the changes Social Security will undergo come 2017. Here’s what the new year has in store. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. 1. Finally, an increase — but not exactly... Read More →

After a tumultuous year of headlines and a strong showing for major U.S. indexes, 2016 is finally nearing its end. On this episode of Industry Focus: Consumer Goods , Vincent Shen and Fool.com senior contributor Asit Sharma take some time to reflect by sharing their favorite surprise winners of 2016 in the consumer and retail... Read More →

Under Armour (NYSE: UAA) (NYSE: UA) shares underperformed both the broader market and rival Nike (NYSE: NKE)  in 2016 as investors reacted to the sports apparel specialist’s worsening profit outlook. There’s much more to the business than just slowing earnings gains, though. Here are a few charts that capture Under Armour’s latest business trends and... Read More →

To make your first investment, you’ll need to open a brokerage account . Picking the best discount broker isn’t easy, but we think the decision can be simplified by focusing on the most important factors. Below, we’ll take a look at E*TRADE and TradeStation to show you how they compare to one another on features... Read More →

Premium engineering, procurement and construction company, KBR, Inc. KBR , is on a roll, securing a bunch of contracts across the globe. In particular, the company won multiple contracts for infrastructure projects in Australia, a contract from a state-owned power generation company in Indonesia and another from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at HMAS Cerberus.... Read More →

CIT Group Inc. ‘s CIT shares have gained 10.3% since the beginning of the year, outpacing the 6% growth for the Zacks categorized Miscellaneous Service industry. However, various concerns including mounting expenses and deteriorating asset quality make us apprehensive about its future growth prospects. Moreover, the company has been witnessing downward estimate revisions. Its full-year... Read More →

We are almost at the last leg of 2016, a year that was marked by unprecedented energy market volatility. Oil The year started on a disappointing note with crude prices falling to a 12-year low of $26.21 a barrel in Feb as investors worried about the oversupplied market. The commodity’s collapse threatened the industry’s creditworthiness... Read More →