If you were asked to name the types of stocks with the greatest appreciation potential, which sectors would come to mind: tech, energy, financial services, health care? Investors flock to those and other well-known industries for good reason. They all have a history… Read More

In many races, the fabled tortoise always beats the hare. That’s the lesson learned by diversified miner Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO), which tried to race ahead, stumbled badly, and is now running the race at a more moderate and safer pace. At the height of the commodities… Read More

Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. Read More

Emerging markets have certainly been the place to be. In the past 10 years, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) has returned an astounding average of +21.5% a year, compared to +5.1% for the S&P 500. However, this outperformance has been lost on many dividend investors who have likely considered emerging markets an exotic indulgence of growth investors. But emerging markets are an increasing force on the world stage that can’t be ignored — even by income investors. These nations represent 40% of the world’s population and already control two thirds of its industrial output. And their influence is growing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says emerging markets accounted for nearly all of the world’s growth last year, and they’re forecasted to grow at nearly three times the pace of the rest of the world in 2010. Investors don’t normally associate dividends with emerging markets. Many companies in these fast growing economies have used excess cash to fund expansions rather than pay dividends in the past. But things… Read More

I have a little quiz for you. I’ll describe one of the most lucrative commodity plays I’ve ever seen, and you tell me which one I’m talking about. Ready? This commodity is one of the most versatile on the planet. It… Read More

You have to hand it to the executives at Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD). They struggled to raise the $52 billion necessary to buy out the Busch family and all other shareholders and were pilloried in the press for vastly overpaying for the venerable brewer. Management made lofty… Read More

Right now a little fewer than 40 million Americans — that’s almost 15% of the country — has reached retirement age. But that’s the tip of the iceberg. Every day, almost 8,000 Americans turn 65. In just a decade, seniors in the United States will number 55 million. That’s a… Read More

One of the most interesting indicators used in the financial markets is the Baltic Dry Index (BDI). The index, created and maintained by the London-based Baltic Exchange, measures the price of shipping raw materials such as iron ore, coal and grains around… Read More

As we headed into Labor Day, stocks could muster little enthusiasm. A creeping sense that the economy was slowing led to fresh concerns of the dreaded “double-dip” recession. The Federal Reserve was also seeing signs of a slowdown. As a remedy, The Fed began to speak of a tool in its arsenal to help jolt the economy to life. That tool, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), changed the entire perception of the stock market. Investors came to see that… Read More

As we headed into Labor Day, stocks could muster little enthusiasm. A creeping sense that the economy was slowing led to fresh concerns of the dreaded “double-dip” recession. The Federal Reserve was also seeing signs of a slowdown. As a remedy, The Fed began to speak of a tool in its arsenal to help jolt the economy to life. That tool, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), changed the entire perception of the stock market. Investors came to see that the Fed’s move had a real chance of getting the economic ball rolling, which was enough to fuel a heady rally in September that has continued into October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average now sits near its 52-week high. But it’s fair to wonder if this steady gain has already accounted for benefits that may be derived from the Fed’s much-discussed QE plans. And it’s also fair to mistrust these kinds of rallies. The Dow surged more than +10% last February and March only to give back all those gains… Read More

Before the economic crisis took hold, the U.S. dollar began a steady downward drift as global investors started to realize that economic growth would be more robust elsewhere in the world. The dollar’s slump was also due to never-ending trade deficits, which had long been expected to weaken the greenback, and finally did so beginning in late 2004. During the next 30 months, the U.S. dollar, compared to the euro, fell from 0.86 euros to 0.63 — a -25% drop. With concerns about the global economic crisis receding, the dollar is… Read More

Before the economic crisis took hold, the U.S. dollar began a steady downward drift as global investors started to realize that economic growth would be more robust elsewhere in the world. The dollar’s slump was also due to never-ending trade deficits, which had long been expected to weaken the greenback, and finally did so beginning in late 2004. During the next 30 months, the U.S. dollar, compared to the euro, fell from 0.86 euros to 0.63 — a -25% drop. With concerns about the global economic crisis receding, the dollar is back on a downward path. As I noted recently, the dollar “now stands at all-time lows against the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc, a 15-year low against the Japanese yen, and more recent lows against the euro.” [What the Global Currency Wars Mean for Your Portfolio] That recent downward move should have an almost immediate impact: export-related profits are bound to come in higher than forecasts in the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 as those earnings get repatriated back into dollars. Yet it’s the long-term… Read More

I’ve always been a sucker for the home improvement shows on HGTV. That’s why I planned to sit in front of the TV for just a few minutes while folding laundry over the weekend, but it wasn’t until an hour later that I got moving again. One… Read More