The Federal Reserve's actions can have a marked influence on the economy and financial markets. For instance, some market analysts believe that the Fed's massive, multi-year bond-buying program coupled with a record-setting period of near-zero interest rates fueled the six-year bull market for stocks. Now investors are awaiting news of when -- and by how much -- the Fed will raise short-term rates, and what that action might mean for stocks.(1) While many market watchers have

Recent stock market conditions in China present a classic illustration of the boom/bust cycle that periodically disrupts financial markets. While bubbles and subsequent busts occur in the investment world from time to time, there are typically some telltale signs to help investors recognize when there is trouble brewing. When Is a Bubble a Bubble? Most investors now agree that the U.S. stock market boom of the late 1990s -- particularly the boom in technology stocks -- repres