With the end of quantitative easing (QE) closer to becoming a reality, interest rates slowly climbing up, bonds bleeding value and the market swinging in all directions, investors are looking everywhere for new places to put their money.#-ad_banner-# Let me say up front that stocks are the best way to build wealth over time, but… Read More

With the end of quantitative easing (QE) closer to becoming a reality, interest rates slowly climbing up, bonds bleeding value and the market swinging in all directions, investors are looking everywhere for new places to put their money.#-ad_banner-# Let me say up front that stocks are the best way to build wealth over time, but diversification is important, and “alternative” strategies are certainly worth considering. Unfortunately, for those hunting that kind of escape route, most alternative assets — hedge funds, private equity, real estate and anything else you can invest in beyond stocks, bonds and cash — have generally been reserved for the “elite class” of accredited investors with a… Read More

AuEx Ventures, a Reno, Nev.-based enterprise with fewer than 10 employees, went public in mid-2005 at $0.50 a share. The company’s mission? To find new precious metals deposits in Nevada. Thanks to the use of high technology, combined with detailed knowledge of the local… Read More

In the 1980s and ’90s, an investor theme emerged that likely played a role in a 20-year upward move for the stock market. #-ad_banner-# In that era, baby boomers reached financial maturity, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on housing, leisure, retirement savings plans, transportation and many other categories. Financial pundits sought ways to suggest profitable ways to track baby boomer… Read More

In the 1980s and ’90s, an investor theme emerged that likely played a role in a 20-year upward move for the stock market. #-ad_banner-# In that era, baby boomers reached financial maturity, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on housing, leisure, retirement savings plans, transportation and many other categories. Financial pundits sought ways to suggest profitable ways to track baby boomer spending, coining the phrase “boomer investing.” Of course, as the oldest baby boomers (born right after World War II) are now near retirement, and younger boomers pass their peak spending ages as well, it’s time to shift gears and focus on the next massive demographic trend. The “millennials” or “echo boomers,” mostly born in the ’80s and ’90s, which are set to overtake the economy. How big is this group? Demographers suggest that there are (or were) 77 million baby boomers. The millennials: 82 million. Skinflints… Read More

I’ll never forget the dot-com boom. It was an unbelievable time to be involved in the financial markets. Tiny companies with only a dream and a sketchy business plan were able to raise millions if their name included the dot-com suffix.  Things became so crazy that a close friend confided to me that he felt embarrassed to be making so much money in such a quick and easy fashion by getting in on Internet IPOs. Once a hyped Internet company’s stock debuted,… Read More

I’ll never forget the dot-com boom. It was an unbelievable time to be involved in the financial markets. Tiny companies with only a dream and a sketchy business plan were able to raise millions if their name included the dot-com suffix.  Things became so crazy that a close friend confided to me that he felt embarrassed to be making so much money in such a quick and easy fashion by getting in on Internet IPOs. Once a hyped Internet company’s stock debuted, shares would often move 2 to 5 points higher. If you were investing during this time, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Internet has truly revolutionized the way we live. Not only has it enriched investors untold amounts, but it has empowered everyone in ways never thought possible.  If you missed out on the lucrative Internet revolution, a second revolution has started to emerge. This revolution will dwarf the first one in… Read More

A couple months ago, I asked some people I didn’t know if I could take over their house for a day. I had no idea whether the people living there would jump at the chance to pick up a few bucks, or call the cops. I was betting on the former, with good reason… You see, the house is located just off the campus of one of the largest universities in the Midwest. And better yet, it sits just a few blocks from the football stadium. You know the mantra: location, location, location.#-ad_banner-# To… Read More

A couple months ago, I asked some people I didn’t know if I could take over their house for a day. I had no idea whether the people living there would jump at the chance to pick up a few bucks, or call the cops. I was betting on the former, with good reason… You see, the house is located just off the campus of one of the largest universities in the Midwest. And better yet, it sits just a few blocks from the football stadium. You know the mantra: location, location, location.#-ad_banner-# To mark the 40th anniversary of some of the best pre- and postgame house parties in the history of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my former roommates and I intend to relive the magic. During homecoming weekend this October, we’re inviting a few dozen of our closest college friends for a homecoming of our own. That is, if we can get the house. One of the current occupants, a student, told me I’d have to get in touch with the new tenants, who were moving into the house the day after he and his four roommates were moving out. So it goes… Read More

If you regularly shop at department store chain Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), you may have spotted an unusual merchandising misstep in the spring of 2012. The retailer, which had built a long-standing reputation for solid designs, good quality and reasonable prices, started to carry less appealing merchandise that spring. Many shoppers browsed but went home empty-handed.#-ad_banner-# Just a few months later, you would have seen this problem appear on Kohl’s financial statements. In the second quarter of its 2012 fiscal year (which ended July 30, 2012), Kohl’s unsold… Read More

If you regularly shop at department store chain Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS), you may have spotted an unusual merchandising misstep in the spring of 2012. The retailer, which had built a long-standing reputation for solid designs, good quality and reasonable prices, started to carry less appealing merchandise that spring. Many shoppers browsed but went home empty-handed.#-ad_banner-# Just a few months later, you would have seen this problem appear on Kohl’s financial statements. In the second quarter of its 2012 fiscal year (which ended July 30, 2012), Kohl’s unsold inventory of goods stood at $3.5 billion, or 83% of that company’s quarterly sales base. Just a year earlier, that percentage stood at 73%. Investors willing to take the time to track this retailer’s inventory levels (as a percentage of sales) were the first ones to realize that Kohl’s was in trouble. By the time the next quarter’s results came out, this balance sheet ratio had swelled to a company record 107%. (What that means… Read More

A couple months ago, I asked some people I didn’t know if I could take over their house for a day. I had no idea whether the people living there would jump at the chance to pick up a few bucks, or call the cops. I was betting on the former, with good reason… You see, the house is located just off the campus of one of the largest universities in the Midwest. And better yet, it sits just a few blocks from the football stadium. You know the mantra: location, location, location.#-ad_banner-# To… Read More

A couple months ago, I asked some people I didn’t know if I could take over their house for a day. I had no idea whether the people living there would jump at the chance to pick up a few bucks, or call the cops. I was betting on the former, with good reason… You see, the house is located just off the campus of one of the largest universities in the Midwest. And better yet, it sits just a few blocks from the football stadium. You know the mantra: location, location, location.#-ad_banner-# To mark the 40th anniversary of some of the best pre- and postgame house parties in the history of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, my former roommates and I intend to relive the magic. During homecoming weekend this October, we’re inviting a few dozen of our closest college friends for a homecoming of our own. That is, if we can get the house. One of the current occupants, a student, told me I’d have to get in touch with the new tenants, who were moving into the house the day after he and his four roommates were moving out. So it goes… Read More

The U.S. Treasury will run out of money sometime in mid-October, and Congress won’t return from its August vacation until Sept. 9. In addition to the debt ceiling, lawmakers still… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative:… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative: capital spending, also known as capital investment or capital expenditures (or capex, for short).#-ad_banner-# Although capital spending has moved up from the crisis-era lows, it still remains far below typical levels. Analysts at Goldman Sachs who have studied the spending patterns see “the U.S. reaching a near 50-year low in private non-residential fixed investment when measured against GDP.” These analysts believe it would take… Read More

I remember when the housing bubble burst back in 2007. Most people thought it would never make a comeback. Some went so far as to predict it would take America 50 years or more for the housing sector to climb back to pre-recession levels. Well, just a short five years later, I am pleased to say that housing is back. #-ad_banner-#The latest housing data from the Commerce Department from July shows that new home purchases are up 6.8% and median home prices gained 8.3% since a year ago. Read More

I remember when the housing bubble burst back in 2007. Most people thought it would never make a comeback. Some went so far as to predict it would take America 50 years or more for the housing sector to climb back to pre-recession levels. Well, just a short five years later, I am pleased to say that housing is back. #-ad_banner-#The latest housing data from the Commerce Department from July shows that new home purchases are up 6.8% and median home prices gained 8.3% since a year ago. And a survey by Standard & Poor’s found that housing in 20 of the largest U.S. cities — from Boston to Los Angeles — posted gains in June. After going through what was the housing market‘s darkest hour, housing is now one of the most popular investments in America. But that’s only half the story. There’s a much larger force in play behind the uptrend in the housing market. And it’s not what you’d expect. Read More