Alpha Newsroom

Lone Signal’s website will let Earthlings submit messages for transmission to Gliese 526, a potentially habitable solar system 17 light years away. Would you pay 25 cents to send a tweet to space on the odd chance that an alien might read it? The founders of Lone Signal hope so. The New York startup is launching a new website through which anyone can submit messages that will be broadcast to…

  I’m 59, and I just got a new job. Should I move my IRA to the 401(k) plan or keep it separate? — Louis, Houston Are the fees lower in your 401(k) than in your IRA? Would you like all your retirement dollars in one pot? Do you prefer your 401(k)’s investment options? If the answers are yes, yes, and yes, a roll-in could make sense, says Kevin O’Fee,…

Meet NASA’s newest astronaut trainees. Top row: Josh A. Cassada, Victor J. Glover, Tyler N. Hague, Christina M. Hammock. Bottom row: Nicole Aunapu Mann, Anne C. McClain, Jessica U. Meir, Andrew R. Morgan. NASA has selected another generation of astronauts to travel to new destinations in the solar system, including an asteroid and Mars, and for the first time in its history half of the new candidates are women. Four…

If you are close to retirement, you may want an investment that’s shorter and safer than a typical bond fund. This market is causing some cognitive dissonance, especially for investors worried about risk. Conventional wisdom says the way to reduce volatility in your portfolio is to hold bonds. At the same time, experts are warning that bonds are a chancy play right now. Super-low interest rates will eventually head back…

Click the chart for more stock market daa Investors started the week with a bout of optimism as they wait for the Federal Reserve to provide more clarity about when it may start cutting back on its bond-buying program. For now, it appears investors aren’t worried about Fed chairman Ben Bernanke announcing any tapering this week. (Fed not expected to taper until December) The Dow Jones industrial average rose 160…

More builders say sales conditions are good rather than poor, confirming earlier signs of a housing recovery. Is the housing recovery for real? It looks that way, as a key measure of home builder confidence crossed a major threshold Monday. The National Association of Home Builders’ index hit 52 in June, marking the first time it has been above 50 in seven years. A reading above 50 indicates that more…

Google’s stock split is becoming closer to a reality after a settlement with dissenting shareholders. It has been more than a year since Google announced a bizarre stock split — which would allow the company to issue more shares. The move got held up due to a legal battle, but the split is finally closer to reality after Google settled a case with shareholders this weekend. The settlement dials back…

The Saab 9-7X is among almost 200,000 SUVs being recalled by General Motors because of an electronic part in the door that could short circuit. General Motors is recalling almost 194,000 SUVs in the United States because an electronic module could short circuit, causing a fire. The vehicles being recalled are 2006 model year Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT and GMC Envoy XL SUVs and 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy,…

A fraction of an inch of President John F. Kennedy’s hair goes for $1,000 on Louis Mushro’s online auction site. A lock of Mick Jagger’s hair is up for auction, and is expected to fetch at least $2,000. But Louis Mushro doesn’t care. He’s got more important, and more expensive, hair to worry about. Mushro’s sold 4,500 locks from famous people — from John F. Kennedy to John Lennon —…

Shrek will star in a new series on Netflix. Shrek is coming to the small screen, as part of a deal Netflix struck with DreamWorks Animation on Monday. The multi-year deal to air 300 hours of original TV series on Netflix featuring DreamWorks’ characters is Netflix’s biggest deal to date for original first-run content. It’s also part of a larger plan for DreamWorks to expand into TV production. As is…