Lowe's struggles against Home Depot

As the housing market heats up, so is competition among home improvement retailers.

A day after Home Depot (HD) delivered earnings and revenue that were much better than forecasts and raised its guidance, Lowe's (LOW) reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit for the first-quarter on declining sales.

Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock blamed "cooler than normal temperatures and greater precipitation" for the soft sales figures. In contrast, Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said his company continued to MORE

SodaStream pops on strong outlook

SodaStream shares jumped 13% Tuesday, as investors welcomed the company's upbeat outlook and analyst upgrades.

"Our goal is to be a billion dollar company by 2016," said CEO Daniel Birnbaum, at SodaStream's very first analyst meeting. That would nearly double the $550 million the company expects to rake in this year.

The optimistic CEO suggested that he thinks the company could hit the milestone even earlier, as consumers continue to embrace the MORE

JPMorgan exec Bisignano departs

Another one of Jamie Dimon's key executives is leaving JPMorgan Chase, the firm announced Sunday.

Frank Bisignano, co-chief operating officer along with Matt Zames, is leaving the bank to run First Data Corp., a payments processing company owned by private equity firm KKR. Zames, who now appears to be the clear frontrunner to lead JPMorgan (JPM) when Dimon retires, will be the sole COO of the bank.

Related: What could cause the next MORE

Apple's tax dodge

Instead of using its own cash hoard to reward shareholders, Apple plans to go into debt for the first time ever.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said late Tuesday that the company will double the amount it returns to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by 2015, but will "access the debt market" to pay for it.

Borrowing money seems odd for a company like Apple (AAPL), which has $144 billion in cash. But more than MORE

False White House explosion tweet rattles market

A fake tweet from the account of the Associated Press sent stocks tumbling more than 140 points within minutes, erasing all of the day's gains and then some, before bouncing back just as rapidly.

The erroneous tweet, which was posted around 1:07 p.m. ET, said "BREAKING: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured." The tweet was up for a few minutes before AP's account was suspended, and MORE

Coach stock surges after earnings

Coach is back in the game! Shares of the luxury handbag maker jumped 10% Tuesday after the company blew past earnings and revenue expectations thanks to solid sales growth around the world.

Overall revenue climbed 7% during the fiscal third quarter to $1.19 billion, with sales rising 7% in North America and 6% in international markets. Sales in China were among the strongest, climbing a whopping 40%.

"We're pleased with...the progress we're MORE

I lost $2,000 on Apple, but still betting on recovery

When 21-year old Tom Pszeniczny decided to make his foray into investing, he figured Apple was a pretty safe bet.

In the days leading up to the iPhone 5 launch event last September, the Drexel University student bought six shares of the iPad and iPhone maker for $665 a piece.

While Pszeniczny wasn't looking to make a quick buck, the following week seemed promising. On the day the iPhone 5 went on sale, MORE

I lost $50,000 in Bitcoin crash, but I'm still a believer

At the start of the year, Simon Lang was about $1,000 in the hole on his initial Bitcoin investment. But as the price of the digital currency ballooned to an all-time high of $266 last week, Lang found himself $60,000 richer.

But that didn't last very long.

As Bitcoin prices tumbled to around $50 earlier this week, the value of his stake shrank to about $11,000.

"I was surprised at how fast the price went MORE

Bitcoin bubble begins to burst, price plunges 60%

It may be the beginning of the end for the Bitcoin bubble. The price of the virtual currency, which has increased almost 20-fold this year, plunged 60% Wednesday in the span of just five hours.

Bitcoin prices hit a high of $266 earlier in the day before dropping as low as $105 in choppy afternoon trading. It later bounced back to about $145, but that's still about 45% below the high.

The currency, MORE

Wall Street sours on gold

Wall Street is turning its back on gold.

Both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank lowered their year-end forecast for the precious metal this week, citing an improving U.S. economy.

Goldman slashed its target to $1,545 per ounce for 2013, down from its previously estimate of $1,610. The bank also lowered its outlook for 2014 to $1,350 an ounce, down from an earlier forecast of $1,490.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank reduced its year-end forecast MORE