Investors often get lost in the details, but for most people, the broad economy is what's most important. Today's economic news provides a decidedly mixed picture. On one hand, a popular index of home prices saw its first year-over-year gain in nearly two years. Yet confidence among consumers is at its lowest level of 2012, with rising concerns about price increases. Add those competing news stories up and you get a more-or-less flat market, with the Dow Jones Industrials
Hurricane-related investment themes took center stage early Tuesday, as New Orleans and the rest of the central Gulf Coast brace for the expected landfall of Tropical Storm Isaac sometime tomorrow. Oil stocks ExxonMobil
Meanwhile, Travelers
Finally, Alcoa
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