It’s been a rough year for those in the branding business at big corporations. SEC investigations, massive product recalls and oil spills (among more traditional factors like competition and slowing sales) have taken a toll on the reputations, as well as the stock prices, of some of America’s most well-known… Read More

What a roller coaster. On Friday the markets drop about -3%. As of the close today, most of that has been made back. I know investors are wondering what they should do.  In most cases, I think the answer is “nothing.” As Warren Buffett said, “I buy on the assumption… Read More

With all of the attention paid to quarterly results, investors often lose sight of the bigger picture. Suddenly, a solid growth story becomes a lagging stock. And that’s when you need to pounce. Because when the short-term noise recedes, investors will return to that stock in force. Read More

There’s an old adage in Detroit. You make money selling cars, but you also make money helping consumers finance those purchases. And there’s never been a better time to be a lender. Big firms can borrow money at super-low interest rates, but consumers still need to pay 6%, 7% or… Read More

Love is a fickle thing. When oil prices surged past $100 a barrel in 2008, investors fell madly in love with alternative energy stocks. But when oil prices crashed, and when signs emerged that government budget problems would curtail the industry-friendly subsidies, so did investor ardor for this young industry. Read More

As a trader, I believe it is critically important to have one of three biases at all times: bullish, bearish or neutral. Certainly, I can be bullish with regard to one segment of the market while being bearish on another. In fact, I consider 30 different aspects… Read More

It’s not a stretch to figure out from its name that Conceptus (Nasdaq: CPTS) is a leading player in the birth control market. Its mainstay procedure, called Essure — which can be performed without general anesthesia at a doctor’s office in less than 10 minutes — received… Read More

When Walmart (NYSE: WMT) first started trading on the New York stock exchange in 1972, investors were reasonably impressed with the company’s slow and steady growth trajectory. But that was a lost decade of stocks, and the Arkansas-based retailer mostly flew under the radar. Ten years later, though, investors knew… Read More

70 million represents a lot of people for a country, much less for a bank’s customers. It’s nearly a quarter of the United States’ population. In fact, you could add every person in California and Texas together and still not reach the 70 million mark. And that… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Monday’s early trading are PetMed Express (Nasdaq: PETS), Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV). Top Percentage Losers — Monday, July 19, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week… Read More