Pop quiz: Who’s the most credit-worthy borrower in the world?      Seven U.S. companies have “AAA” credit ratings, the highest available from Standard & Poor’s. Among these titans of industry are such names as Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway.      But one… Read More

The minutes of the Fed‘s late January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting provide some grim reading. Fed members drastically lowered their expectations for U.S. economic growth in 2009 and 2010 and indicated a great deal of uncertainty as to the timing and… Read More

The Baltic Dry Index is a measure for what it costs to transport by sea. When it’s down, shipping stocks are down. The index peaked in May 2008 at an all-time high of 11,793. From May… Read More

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said Friday it had hired a veteran Wal-Mart executive, David Porter, to oversee the development of brick-and-mortar retail stores. He will report to Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, who also has ties to Bentonville.    Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) changed computer marketing with its hip advertising. It… Read More

Nathan, some investors may feel we’ve found ourselves in uncharted territory during this market, but you seem to think value investors should be salivating right now. Why? Nathan Slaughter: There are always bargains to be had in the market. Unfortunately, during normal conditions value hunters looking for deeply underpriced… Read More

Nobody likes to see daily bloodletting in the market. But look on the bright side. While these downturns can be frightening, think how different investing would be without them. In a perfectly efficient market, we could never buy a stock at a discount, or sell one at a premium —… Read More

    I know the government can keep secrets and stage cover-ups. But who knew they were hiding a secret market-timing signal, right under my very nose?  I’ve looked at everything — from hardcore economic statistics to Super Bowl winners — to get an edge on the… Read More