By now most investors are aware of the immense impact China has had on global commodity markets. In many cases, prices have exploded upwards as the country’s billion-plus people modernize its economy. But… Read More

Do you know what the National Academy of Engineering named as the world’s greatest engineering feat? It wasn’t the pyramids. It wasn’t Hoover Dam. It wasn’t the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at 2,717 feet, either. It was the United States’ electrical grid. Read More

If I had to pick a stock that offered indefinite growth potential, I’d bet big on a fungus. My choice for “The Best Growth Stock to Hold Forever” is a biotech pioneer called Dyadic International (OTC: DYAI). Most people have never heard of this little Florida-based gem, but in the coming years, I think it will rise to prominence as one of the nation’s leading bio-industrial concern, supplying several key sectors of the economy with vital tools to carry out a host of manufacturing tasks. This maker of specialty enzymes has this lock… Read More

If I had to pick a stock that offered indefinite growth potential, I’d bet big on a fungus. My choice for “The Best Growth Stock to Hold Forever” is a biotech pioneer called Dyadic International (OTC: DYAI). Most people have never heard of this little Florida-based gem, but in the coming years, I think it will rise to prominence as one of the nation’s leading bio-industrial concern, supplying several key sectors of the economy with vital tools to carry out a host of manufacturing tasks. This maker of specialty enzymes has this lock on the future because it owns a special fungus called C-1. In the hands of genetic engineers — Dyadic CEO Mark Emalfarb calls them “gene jockeys,” C-1 can be programmed to generate vast quantities of enzymes. One of the key areas that will be effected is the pharmaceutical industry. Many of today’s leading drugs are the result not simply of a certain chemical formula — made by mixing those chemicals together and stamping out pills — but of certain biological processes. That is, the medicine you take, one way or another, is the result of a process… Read More

Four years ago this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an important milestone: 12,000. A year later, in October 2007, the venerable index moved past 14,000. But by October 2008, headlines blared “Dow 8,000” before eventually bottoming at 7,200 in March of 2009. A furious rebound has the Dow back on the rise, surging +54% in the past 19 months to a recent 11,100. A continued march back to 12,000 is no sure thing, as serious headwinds remain, leading some to expect we’ll see “Dow 10,000” before “Dow 12,000.”… Read More

Four years ago this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an important milestone: 12,000. A year later, in October 2007, the venerable index moved past 14,000. But by October 2008, headlines blared “Dow 8,000” before eventually bottoming at 7,200 in March of 2009. A furious rebound has the Dow back on the rise, surging +54% in the past 19 months to a recent 11,100. A continued march back to 12,000 is no sure thing, as serious headwinds remain, leading some to expect we’ll see “Dow 10,000” before “Dow 12,000.” One thing’s for sure: recent history tells us that the Dow is unlikely to stay put where it is right now. Volatility is the name of the game these days, so let’s look at three positive and three negative catalysts that could push or pull the Dow to the next milestone. Any of these factors may play out over the next six months. The positive catalysts: 1. Sustained profit growth. Earnings season is off to a robust start. Thus far, more than 80%… Read More

Back in the heady pre-recession days, all was right with the world. Global production was booming and precious metals prices were through the roof. Since then, gold has punched through to reach record prices, as producers work furiously to get it out of the ground and investors continually snap up… Read More

Deflation has become a central  concern these days. The Federal Reserve sweats the notion of falling prices across the economy, as it tends shrink asset values even as debts against those assets remain constant. And companies hate deflation, because it usually… Read More

Talk about timely. Several colleagues of mine were recently discussing what investors should do when that stock you love seems like it already left the station. We ended up covering the topic on our sister site, InvestingAnswers.com. [See: “What to do When You’ve Missed the White… Read More

There are a lot of folks that visit Washington, D.C. in April to see the famous cherry blossoms. The same goes for touring New England when the leaves start to change in the fall. But one season that seems ignored despite being every bit as beautiful —… Read More

I spend the vast majority of my time hunting down securities I believe are significantly undervalued and investigating those in great detail I believe have considerable upside potential. However, it’s also a valuable exercise to spend some time on the opposite end of the spectrum and analyze what I find… Read More