Following the stock market in August was simply exhausting. The S&P 500 entered the month with a six-session losing streak at 1,293 and then managed to fall another 14% by August 8 to 1,119. A few more neck-snapping moves after that, and we’re now back up above the 1,200 mark… Read More

Defense contractors have taken a major beating in the market this year, and many defense stocks currently sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios near five-year lows. Share prices have declined because of fears surrounding potential defense spending cuts. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, President Obama has proposed… Read More

In recent weeks, the only investors to rack up profits have been the short-sellers, who have been riding the downward market to ai their bets on falling stocks. But as stock prices appear to have stabilized (at least for now), should these short-sellers start to think about covering their positions?… Read More

Well, that party sure ended with a thud. The spectacular run enjoyed by many energy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the past year has taken a different turn. Specifically, I’m talking about funds that track oil equities. Part of the move higher was certainly attributable to the… Read More

Since the end of the second quarter, the stock market has fallen fast and hard. The major market indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq, are down more than 8%. This has wiped out gains for the year, though the Dow has recently rallied back to… Read More

For nearly two years, economists have warned that China’s economy may soon be hit with a jolt — a jolt that will be felt round the world. Although their concerns have proven unfounded so far, the day of reckoning may finally be at hand. Why now?… Read More

Over the decades, companies have sought to find the right amount of debt to carry on their balance sheet. Just enough debt is a good thing — it can boost earnings per share (since fewer shares… Read More

There is one thing is on every investor’s mind right now: safety. As of last week, fears of a global economic slowdown erased close to $3 trillion in market value from U.S. stocks since July 22. #-ad_banner-#And the… Read More

Every two weeks, investors have a chance to parse the level of short interest among all stocks on the major exchanges. It’s helpful to glance at these lists, which can be found on The Wall Street Journal’s website, Nasdaq.com and elsewhere to see which companies are increasingly in the targets… Read More