Small investors quitting Wall Street: SEC boss
(AFP)

AFP – The head of the US stock market watchdog said on Tuesday that individual investors have been turning away from equities since a May crash that exposed weaknesses in Wall Street’s trading structure.

Summary Box: Stock market snaps a three-week slump
(AP)
AP – SEPTEMBER RALLY: The stock market had its first winning week in a month after better news on employment and manufacturing lifted shares.

Summary Box: Stocks charge higher as gloom lifts
(AP)
AP – STRONG START: The stock market started September with a blast on Wednesday, vaulting higher as gloom over the economy seemed to lift. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 255 points.

Paris, Frankfurt exchanges gain in early deals
(AFP)

AFP – Share prices in Paris and Frankfurt were showing modest gains in early trading Monday but analysts said investors were cautious ahead of key economic data to be released later in the week.

China Life first-half profit up 7.4 percent
(AP)
AP – China Life Insurance Co., the country’s biggest life insurer, said Thursday its first-half profit rose 7.4 percent as premium growth offset weak stock market returns.

Time is on investors’ side
The stock market is in short-term disarray, but big buying opportunities are emerging for long-term investors.

Bomb threat called into Mexico City stock market
(Reuters)
Reuters – A bomb threat was called into Mexico City’s stock market on Monday, Milenio television reported, but traders said operations at the bourse were unaffected.

China Everbright Bank makes strong debut in Shanghai
(AFP)

AFP – China Everbright Bank soared on its Shanghai stock market debut Wednesday in the mainland’s second-largest initial public offering of the year after AgBank’s record-breaking effort.

Market Wrap-Up for Aug.16 (STRA, DE, EOG, SYY, JCI, more)

Thanks to the Federal Reserve deciding to keep interest rates at near-record lows, the rewards for people that love to save are almost non-existent at banks today.

Talk to any of your older friends and relatives who like to research CD rates are and you’ll see the look of disgust on their faces. At Dividend.com, we are continuing to carry the torch for what people need to be doing today with their hard-earned capital. We are not wildly bullish about the stock market, but at the same time, we see areas of potential opportunity for investors to continue the discipline of putting their money to work.

When we see the carnage of momentum trades heading south, as in this morning’s case of Capella Education (CPLA) (which opened up today down almost 20%), we feel fortunate to not be pushing investors to taking extreme risks in the market. Trading is a tough game, and for most, a dangerous game. In the case of for-profit education play, CPLA, and others such as ITT Educational (ESI) and Strayer Education (STRA), the last 2 weeks have been bloody. Capella was trading at $93 a share two weeks ago, and just sunk to below $60 earlier today. Data out from the Department of Education is showing that only 20% of students are repaying their federal student loans. This has caused a panic in the education sector that new government regulation could be forthcoming. Again, if you are one to take risks in the market at times, adopt a form of discipline that will limit your losses.

Elsewhere, the market was able to creep up off of earlier lows. Trading was mixed all around, with stocks like Deere (DE) and Johnson Controls (JCI) finishing higher, while EOG Resources (EOG) and Sysco (SYY) lagged. Volume continues to drag, with 3.14 Billion shares traded on the NYSE and 1.6 Billion shares traded over on the NASDAQ.

As always, be sure to check out our currently “Recommended” dividend stocks on our Best Dividend Stocks List. See you tomorrow!

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.

How the major stock indexes fared Tuesday
(AP)
AP – The stock market had a half-hearted comeback Tuesday after the Federal Reserve announced it would take small steps to stimulate the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average, down about 100 points before the Fed announced its plans, recovered to a loss of 54. The other major market indexes also bounced back from their lows.