DailyFinance

Clocks and stocks both went back last week, with the Dow%u2018s daylight savings being depleted 0.11% as markets endured their first weather-related shutdown for 27 years. ACCO Brands, which makes Trapper Keepers, surged some 26.41%, while Generac gained 31.06% to reach the highest level in its history in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

With less than a week to go before Election Day, there are usually a few clear indicators that one candidate has momentum, some idea of how the remaining undecided voters are going to break. It was obvious in 2008. Between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012, that's just not the case.

One of the biggest challenges for early retirees, aside from needing to save enough extra money that it can last though a longer retirement, is that there are early withdrawal penalties on most pre-tax retirement accounts. Luckily, there are many ways to dodge those penalties.

You may have heard of reverse mortgages as a way for seniors to tap the equity in their homes to pay for living expenses, but there are other ways that older homeowners are using their homes to get by.

Many baby boomers who haven't saved enough to retire well are contemplating delaying retirement. But if working into your 70s isn't possible (or appealing), moving to a place with a lower cost of living can help stretch your savings and finance a better quality of life.

America's middle class has gotten a lot of attention in the 2012 election, but what, exactly, does "middle class" mean? If you've ever wondered -- and wondered whether or not you're a member of it -- take a peek at our middle-class quiz.

Consumer confidence surged in October to its highest level in nearly five years. Americans were encouraged by recent declines in the unemployment rate. And they responded by spending more on cars and trucks, at retail businesses and on goods produced at U.S. factories.

Hurricane Sandy caused the evacuation of more than a million homes in the Northeast and an estimated $10 billion to $20 billion in damages -- a costly and long cleanup process that for many homeowners looks seemingly insurmountable. But it can be done.

Two years ago, nobody knew anything about Foster Friess, Sheldon Adelson or Frank VanDerSloot. Today, these deep-pocketed money men are household names. But while super PAC supermen are exciting, they're hardly the only folks giving to political campaigns, and you can find out about the less-known names too.

Investors looking to predict how the stock market will move have produced countless beat-the-market strategies over the centuries. The latest is a theory that suggests tweets and status updates can be used to foresee a company's fluctuations on Wall Street. Crazy ... but could it work?

Carl Icahn is making a move on Netflix. The infamous activist investor and corporate raider has taken a nearly 10% stake in the DVD rental and video streaming giant, which means he must see a way to make a profit on its recent troubles. So does Icahn have a buyer in mind?

Facebook, which surged some 15% last week amid news its nemesis was arrested, slumped yesterday after the less welcome freeing of a stock lockup. Beacon Roofing Supply jumped to an all-time best but it looks like the roof is once again about to cave in on our debt ceiling.

Starting Thursday, Boxee TV will be sold exclusively at 3,000 U.S. Walmart stores. The $98 device features a built-in antenna to grab free over-the-air broadcast TV, and it also tethers to the Internet to stream YouTube, Netflix, and Pandora. Is this a way for you to ditch your cable bill for good?

AT&T; and T-Mobile have signed an agreement that lets subscribers to either company roam on either network in devastated parts of the country where Hurricane Sandy has left users with poor cellular coverage.

Syria's ongoing civil war has claimed more than 28,000 lives, left 1.5 million people homeless, and sent 500,000 Syrians into exile. But as far as CFOs are concerned, it's still a better place for foreign investment than debt-battered, austerity-riven Greece.