Wall Street had another rising day, with the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 reaching new record highs. But one tech stock tanked and the momentum took a bunch of others in the sector down with it. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) closed 25 points higher, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) added 8 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) was up 3 points. One of the top gainers on the S&P 500 was used car giant CarMax (KMX). Its share price zoomed higher by 16.5 percent with revenue and profits hitting record levels. The still lackluster economic recovery is causing many to drive off lots in used cars instead of new vehicles. And the hottest model over the past two years? The Nissan Altima. Automotive retailer AutoNation (AN), which runs new and used dealerships, also got a boost, rising more than 5 percent. It was a different story for software giant Oracle (ORCL), which was one of the S&P 500's biggest losers. Its stock fell 4 percent on sagging earnings. Social media stocks fell too. Pandora (P) was down 1.5 percent as was Groupon (GRPN), LinkedIn (LNKD) lost almost 1 percent and Amazon (AMZN) fell less than 1 percent two days after unveiling its first smartphone. But poor Radioshack (RSH). Its stock hit a new low, trading below a dollar a share for the first time after falling almost 10 percent. Since the beginning of the year the stock is down 64 percent. One analyst has a price target of zero on the stock. Ouch. (We hope you don't have that one in your portfolio.) And Darden's (DRI) earnings weren't very appetizing. Profits came in much lower than expected and guidance was weak. The stock fell 4 percent. It is selling its Red Lobster chain and trying to focus on revamping Olive Garden. Solar stocks had a bright day, though. Shares of SunEdison (SUNE) shone brightly rising 1.5 percent on news it was acquiring some solar farms in Massachusetts. Other solar stocks also basked on the day. Canadian Solar gained 6 percent, and SolarCity (SCTY) was up 1.5 percent. In the pharmaceutical sector, there were some clear winners and losers. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) was up 3.5 percent, Eli Lilly (LLY) gained by 3.5 percent as well, but Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) was down 4 percent. What to Watch Monday: The National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for May at 10 a.m. Eastern time. These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements: Micron Technology (MU) Sonic (SONC) -.
Apart from the health costs (which are worth considering), smoking can drain your finances. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $5.51, according to the American Lung Association. If you're a pack-a-day smoker, that means you're burning through $2,011.15 per year. That's enough to take your significant other on an one-week vacation -– including airfare, hotel and restaurants. If that's not compelling enough, consider this: If you invested $2,011 per year ($167 a month) for 10 years, compounding yearly at a reasonable 7 percent growth rate, you'll have $27,690 within a decade. And the power of compounding only picks up the longer it has to play out. Even if you never added to that stash after the first decade, at that rate, the value will about double every 10 years. And that's not even touching on any medical bills you may face.)
1. Smoking There's a reason that some people call the lottery a "voluntary tax" -- or, more harshly, a "tax on people who are bad at math." Even if you're "just" buying a $1 scratch-off ticket each day, you're still throwing your money away. The odds of winning small lottery prizes are low, and the payouts are stacked heavily in favor of lottery. And the odds of winning a large lottery drawing like Mega Millions or Powerball are one in hundreds of millions. To put it in perspective, you have a (much) better chance of being struck by lightning. And what if you're gambling with bigger stakes, such as slot machines or casino table games? Then we don't need to tell you how much you lose for every dollar you "make," because chances are, you're painfully aware of it.
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