Filed under: Earnings Reports , Forecasts , United Parcel’B’ (UPS) , Economic Data , Las Vegas Sands (LVS) , Federal Reserve Friday’s fourth-quarter GDP numbers offered more evidence that the economy is picking up steam, but one of the biggest obstacles to the recovery remains the stubbornly high unemployment rate. We’ll find out whether there’s been any movement on that front when employment data for January comes out this week. The Challenger Job-Cut report and ADP employment data are due Wednesday, and the government’s unemployment rate on Friday.

Filed under: International Business Machines (IBM) , Stocks to Buy I first wrote about International Business Machines ( IBM ) in February 2009 at a price of $91.51, and the stock continues to power higher — clearing psychological resistance at $150. Now may be a good time to consider taking some profits. However, those investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position to go for a bigger gain

Filed under: Transportation , Green A Chicago taxi company will begin using a dozen Ford Transit Connect vans that run on natural gas instead of gasoline. Other cities are likely to follow. Taxi Medallion Management, which is affiliated with Yellow Cab Chicago, bought the small Ford vans as part of its goal to cut its total emissions by 25%.

Filed under: Saving Money , Shopping During the harsh winter of 2011, many of us are too comfortable in front of the fire with our cocoa to go out foraging at the mall for bargains. That’s a huge mistake! February is when merchants clear out old stock to make room for the new; the cold weather gear in favor of stuff for spring. So bundle up and head out for some deals on these February finds: Continue reading What to Buy in February What to Buy in February originally appeared on WalletPop on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:00:00 EST

How can investors gain from the long-awaited progress in employment? Staffing companies that provide permanent as well as temporary help to companies are bound to be one big beneficiary.