Investors

Today is the day that people who entrusted their money to Bernard L. Madoff have anxiously awaited. Since the financier allegedly admitted in December to running one of the largest investment frauds in history, victims have clamored for him to be carted off to prison. With Madoff expected to plead guilty today, a federal judge will decide whether the defendant will be led away in handcuffs or allowed to remain at his multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartment pending sentencing later this year.

Investors sent Wall Street stocks higher early Friday after the federal government reported the U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September. The payroll gains were in line with analysts' expectations, but the government also reported that the unemployment rate fell from 8.1% to 7.8%. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 59 points, or 0.4%, to 13,634 shortly after the opening bell. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8 points, or 0.5%, to 1,469. The Nasdaq was up 16 points, or 0.5%, to 3,166.

Investors who lost big when Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme unraveled cannot sue federal regulators, despite the government's “regrettable inaction,” a federal appeals court ruled. Madoff victims had sued, arguing that the Securities and Exchange Commission was negligent for failing to uncover the Ponzi scheme even though the regulator received multiple complaints over the years. On Wednesday in New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed those claims, agreeing with a district court that the SEC's actions or inaction are protected under the law. Madoff is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence for his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that came to light in December 2008.

Nestled on a hilltop, the three-bedroom ranch house was once a warren of illegal structures -- occupied by as many as 15 people before the place descended into disrepair and skidded close to foreclosure. The surrounding neighborhood once had a reputation for gang violence. But on a recent Sunday, eager couples -- Asian, caucasian, Latino -- were touring the home. Gone were the moldy walls, the piles of abandoned bedroom junk and the broken-down cars, car parts and washing machines littering the lawn.

The threat of a reduction in the dividend paid by energy giant BP is bringing up bad memories for investors who have suffered similar cuts by other once-reliable companies in the last decade. Under pressure from the Obama administration to show it can foot the bill for the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is contemplating slashing or even suspending the $10.5 billion a year it currently distributes to its shareholders. A decision could come Wednesday after company executives meet with the president.

Even as anxiety-ridden individuals play it safe in low-yielding bank accounts, professional investors are showing renewed confidence in the stock market. Bullishness among institutional investors has reached its highest level since last summer, and their buying has been powering the stock market's surprising early-year advance, according to a new analysis by TrimTabs Investment Research. The Dow Jones industrial average is up almost 4% in the first three weeks of January. It should be noted that such bullishness isn't necessarily positive.

NEW YORK -- Stocks were mixed at the start of the last trading day of 2012, as investors awaited word on whether President Obama and Congress would reach a deal to avert a fiscal crisis.  The Dow Jones industrial average was down 7 points, or 0.1%, to 12,931 shortly after the opening bell. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 4 points, or 0.3%, to 1,406. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 18 points, or 0.6%, to 2,979. The Dow took a sharp late-day dive Friday as negotiations between the president and congressional leaders hit a snag.

Groupon Inc. is seeking to add at least two directors to its board in a bid to regain investor confidence after a restatement of revenue last month, two people familiar with the matter said. The largest provider of online daily deals aims to recruit a new director who could eventually lead its audit committee, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the plan is private. Potential candidates include chief financial officers at publicly traded companies, the person said.

The municipal bond market has stabilized in recent days after a steep, two-week sell-off. A heavy supply of new bonds for sale nationwide this week will show whether tax-free yields have reached levels high enough to lure investors back. On Tuesday, some large muni bond offerings were scaled back, suggesting that investors remained leery. Cash poured into muni bonds in August and September as many investors rushed to lock in yields, fed up with near-zero returns on money market mutual funds and other short-term accounts.

Eighteen people have been charged with fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in a scheme that involved cold-calling investors to bankroll indie-film productions, the FBI and U.S attorney's office said Friday. The indictments allege that since 2004, Burbank-based Q Media Assets and Sherman Oaks-based Cinamour Entertainment LLC solicited $25 million from investors for a handful of films, some of which were never made or went straight to DVD. FBI Special Agent Steven Goldman said the companies used high-pressure sales tactics that misrepresented material facts.