stocks

Bill sponsor says the tax would be imposed for two years at a rate of 1/100th of a penny, rather than a quarter of a penny.

Q. With the election and the mess Obamacare seems to be in, is this a good time to buy health companies?

Q. When I give stocks to my grandson, what does he start with for a cost basis: the price of it when I give it to him or the price when I purchased it?

Q. What’s the best time of year to sell stocks? If I want to sell from my IRA once a year so I can take a distribution, is there a better time to do it?

Q. Are microcaps and penny stocks the same thing?

Q. I’ve never invested before. How much money do I need to start picking stocks, or should I use a mutual fund?

Stock indexes inched upward Tuesday, led by gains in energy companies as the price of oil closed above $50 a barrel for the first time in almost a year.

Stocks closed modestly higher on Friday, ending three days of losses, after the U.S. government's disappointing jobs report added to speculation that the Federal Reserve might keep interest rates low for another year.

Q. I bought 100 shares of PSE&G in 1979 for $17 a share. Through the years I had dividend reinvestments. In 1982 I transferred the shares to some brokerage house, which was bought by another company in 2015. I sold 500 shares, but now the brokerage can’t get me a cost basis, saying they didn’t have the shares long enough. I gave them all my info and they can’t do their job. What do I do?

Q. So many stocks are down this year. How can I decide which ones will go back up?