#-ad_banner-#Economists love to run a series of experiments based on “Game Theory,” testing whether individuals rationally account for the actions of others before making their own moves. When it comes to companies in the dry-bulk shipping industry, only one player has been acting rationally. Read More

Currency investing by the “Main Street” investor, regular Joe’s and Jane’s like you and me, has exploded in recent years, thanks to the expansion of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) universe. Once the territory of hedge-fund managers… Read More

Billionaire investor George Soros and his team of advisors take a “top-down” approach. This means they seek out big, “macro” investing themes, and then work their way down to the best ways to play that theme. Every quarter, they adjust their stakes in a range of companies, either by loading… Read More

If you want to know where an industry is headed, then just peek inside a few checkbooks. If companies are reining in their spending, then they might be saving pennies for a rainy day. But when an entire sector starts forking over unusually large amounts for expansion… Read More

Whenever the topic of inflation arises, the two words that most often come from investors’ mouths are “gold” and “silver.” And while it’s true that gold and silver are inflation hedges that offer large potential returns, they also tend to carry an equally large… Read More

When it comes to stock-picking, it’s better to be early than late. I’d rather buy shares in a promising company and have to wait for the stock to jump than buy in long after others already have. So from time to time, I like to look back on stocks… Read More

Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie “Hatari!” The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a recently plowed field rather than take the long way back to the road. The tires made slow and steady progress — Dad’s old Rover is a tank — and after a few minutes and probably five gallons of gasoline, the nose of the vehicle bounced up and the tires bit into the country… Read More

Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie “Hatari!” The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a recently plowed field rather than take the long way back to the road. The tires made slow and steady progress — Dad’s old Rover is a tank — and after a few minutes and probably five gallons of gasoline, the nose of the vehicle bounced up and the tires bit into the country lane that circles the property. #-ad_banner-#Dad, clearly pleased with himself for conquering the field, didn’t take his foot off the gas and we were soon going nearly 70 miles per hour down a country road with grass in the middle of it. He looked over to me and grinned. “That’s what happens, son,” he said, “when the rubber meets the road!” It became a sort of catch phrase between us. Whenever something really took off, one of us would say, “Well, looks like the rubber met the road,” and we’d both… Read More

It’s a dirty, unglamorous stock. And some would even say the company’s products stink. But, over the years, this stock has continued to offer outstanding returns to investors and traders. The stock shows no signs of slowing yet… In fact, things may just be heating up, making now a potentially profitable time to get in. #-ad_banner-#The stock I’m referring to is dividend champion Altria Group (NYSE: MO), best known for its flagship cigarette brand, Marlboro. But the company is far more than just cigarettes. As the… Read More

It’s a dirty, unglamorous stock. And some would even say the company’s products stink. But, over the years, this stock has continued to offer outstanding returns to investors and traders. The stock shows no signs of slowing yet… In fact, things may just be heating up, making now a potentially profitable time to get in. #-ad_banner-#The stock I’m referring to is dividend champion Altria Group (NYSE: MO), best known for its flagship cigarette brand, Marlboro. But the company is far more than just cigarettes. As the parent company of five tobacco corporations, Altria also manufactures and sells the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, Husky, and Black & Mild tobacco and smokeless tobacco brands. Specializing in so-called “sin industry” products, Altria also owns a wine business and holds a 27% stake in beer company SABMiller (SBMRY.PK), the world’s second-largest beer brewer by volume, behind only Anheuser-Busch Inbev (NYSE: BUD), according to Bloomberg. Since smoking has such a negative buzz and many cities enforce anti-smoking by-laws, you’d think Altria would be pining for customers. But,… Read More