Charge it! Visa stock hits new high

Most people don't think of credit card companies as being warm and fuzzy but that's not stopping investors from buying.

Visa's stock hit a new 52-week high Tuesday and MasterCard is just shy of that mark for its stock.

It's been a long road.

Back in 2005, a group of merchants sued Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) and other credit card processors for allegedly conspiring to fix so-called swipe fees at unfairly high levels. MORE

Pioneer of money market funds cleared of fraud

A civil court cleared former Reserve Primary Fund executives Bruce Bent Sr. and Bruce Bent II of fraud charges Monday, ending a three-year case in which the Securities and Exchange Commission accused them of misleading investors about the fund's exposure to Lehman Brothers.

While the jury of seven in New York's Southern District unanimously cleared the Bents of fraud, they handed down a guilty verdict against their firm, Reserve Management MORE

Fossil gets burned by Europe

Fossil's stock took a beating Tuesday, making it the second-worst performer on the S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP), after the company reported weak revenue and cut back its sales outlook for the current quarter.

Fossil (FOSL) reported third-quarter sales of $684.2 million, falling short of the $713.1 million analysts had expected. Earnings fared better. Fossil beat earnings-per-share forecasts by 9 cents. But Europe, once again, reared its ugly head MORE

Apple supplier getting crushed

Investors are bailing out of Cirrus Logic (CRUS), the Apple (AAPL) supplier that just issued a strong earnings report and upbeat outlook.

So, what gives?

Well, early Thursday, Felt & Co. downgraded Cirrus' stock to hold from strong buy, citing gross margin concerns and pricing pressure headwinds. Felt analyst Jeffrey Schreiner also cut his price target on the stock by $10 to $44. He said Cirrus remain innovative over the long MORE

Pandora plunges on talk of Apple launching rival service

Shares of Pandora plunged nearly 18% Thursday, following a news report that said Apple was planning to launch a rival Internet radio service next year.

Thursday afternoon, Bloomberg reported that talks between Apple and major music labels had intensified recently. Citing people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg said a deal to launch an ad-supported Internet radio service could be reached by mid-November, with a potential launch date sometime during the MORE

Vegas baby! Casino stocks are paying off

Investors betting on casino stocks are seeing a nice payoff Thursday.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN), which operates casinos in Las Vegas and Macau, blew past analysts' expectations, reporting earnings per share late Wednesday of $1.48 and announcing a special $7.50 dividend. Aptly named Wynn also said it expects to double its quarterly dividend to $1 in fiscal 2013.

One note of caution: revenue was just in line with estimates. That's symptomatic of MORE

Investors slam the book shut on education stocks

It's not a good day to be a Phoenix -- the slogan used by Apollo Group's University of Phoenix.

Late Tuesday, Apollo (APOL), the biggest for-profit education provider, reported revenue that fell short of forecasts as enrollment at the University of Phoenix shrank. And the company also cut its guidance.

To make matters even worse, University of Phoenix said Wednesday that it plans to close 115 locations and 25 campuses. That MORE

Earnings kick-off: Alcoa and KFC-owner Yum Brands

Tuesday brings the unofficial start to third-quarter earnings season, with aluminum producer Alcoa (AA) and KFC-owner Yum Brands (YUM) reporting after the closing bell.

Alcoa is typically considered the kick-off to earnings since it's the first major Dow (INDU) component to report. It's also considered a bellwether of the economy because of its global reach.

But Yum may actually grab the spotlight because of its large presence in China, where report MORE

Investors still shunning HP

Investors continued to punish Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Thursday, a day after the company issued a grim outlook for 2013.

Hewlett-Packard extended the previous day's decline, after getting hammered on Wednesday. The stock has had a rough year, sinking more than 40% so far. That makes HP the worst Dow (INDU) performer by far this year.

In fact, it's been a tough couple of years for HP as the company struggles to stay MORE

Deutsche Telekom in talks to buy MetroPCS

Could MetroPCS finally be getting its knight in shining armor? Investors sure think so.

Deutsche Telekom confirmed Tuesday that it was in talks with MetroPCS to merge the beleaguered wireless carrier with its T-Mobile USA unit.

MetroPCS has been bleeding subscribers. But it has a nice cash cushion. At the end of the second quarter, MetroPCS had $2.3 billion of cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments. That's nothing to sneeze MORE