Legend has it that the term “blue chip” stems from poker, in that it represented the poker chip with the highest value in the game. These days, the term is ubiquitous in the stock market and refers to a large, stable company that is financially sound, has well-known brand and… Read More

If you had a crystal ball in the 1960s, you probably would have seen that Japan would turn out to be a great investment. The country’s economy was growing nicely, family birth rates were high enough to ensure a young workforce, its education… Read More

My phone is an old Nokia about the size of a small brick. It doesn’t take pictures, tell me the weather or connect to the Internet. That’s the way I like it. In a world that has grown increasingly complex, I feel like a… Read More

There’s an old Wall Street adage: “Buy what you know.” It’s not bad advice, as it points investors toward stocks they can reasonably assess. For the year so far, though, sticking with what you know would have kept most investors clear of the market’s best performing industry, as none of… Read More

As anxiety over U.S. economic performance increases, so too does the price of gold. Surging to more than $1300 per ounce, the precious metal hit a new record the September 20th trading week, following news that the Federal Reserve may undertake quantitative easing to combat the threat… Read More

In the debate between growth and value investors, it’s usually a contest between high growth and higher valuations and low growth and very low valuations. But what should investors do with a company that is seeing revenue and cash flow actually shrink? It’s been a longstanding question dogging the newspaper industry. In a worst-case scenario, cash flow turns outright negative and bankruptcy has been the only option. For the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI), things have not been quite that… Read More

In the debate between growth and value investors, it’s usually a contest between high growth and higher valuations and low growth and very low valuations. But what should investors do with a company that is seeing revenue and cash flow actually shrink? It’s been a longstanding question dogging the newspaper industry. In a worst-case scenario, cash flow turns outright negative and bankruptcy has been the only option. For the New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett (NYSE: GCI), things have not been quite that dire, and bankruptcy is quite unlikely. But is there any reason to search for value in these industry survivors? The short answer: a qualified yes. In this piece, I’ll focus squarely on the New York Times, although many of the conclusions may apply to Gannett as well. There’s no need to re-hash all of the twists and turns at the Times, but it’s helpful to pit the positives against the negatives. The positives: Rising national market share as regional rivals sharply re-trench and cede important national coverage… Read More

Any casual observer of the energy markets is probably aware that during the past two years, a bit of dichotomy has developed between natural gas and crude oil. On the one hand you have a global commodity — a transportation fuel… Read More

A common pitfall companies encounter has to do with challenging marketplace conditions, be it changing customer habits or competition from rivals that attempt to steal away its business. Others have a habit of self inflicting their wounds. Changing market conditions, foreign competition, fickle consumers — these are… Read More

After a sharp plunge in 2009, many companies are reporting vastly improved results this year. But until the economy is firmly in growth mode, further profit gains may be hard to come by. But a small minority of… Read More