Today’s essay is a little different than you’re used to. I’m not going to talk about any specific investment. Nor am I going to tell you about a stock that I think is about to take off. Frankly, what I have to tell you is much bigger… and much more important to your success as an investor. It all begins back nearly three decades ago. You see, I began my investment career while I was still… Read More

Today’s essay is a little different than you’re used to. I’m not going to talk about any specific investment. Nor am I going to tell you about a stock that I think is about to take off. Frankly, what I have to tell you is much bigger… and much more important to your success as an investor. It all begins back nearly three decades ago. You see, I began my investment career while I was still in the U.S. Air Force. I spent 20 years in the service, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring. During those two decades I served in Spain, Germany, Japan, Korea (at least 10 times), Iceland and Guam. In my spare time, I earned my MBA and became more serious about investing. I taught myself the ins and outs and read anything about the topic that I could get my hands on. (When I was stationed in Iceland, I would study the Financial Times for hours on end while my station was… Read More

A sharp plunge on Monday, Aug.8, a stunning rebound on Tuesday, another pullback on Wednesday. When will it all end? It’s increasingly clear that very low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios aren’t grounds enough to bring out value investors. Instead,… Read More

Shares of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) have produced only meager returns for investors in recent years, but all that may be changing. That’s thanks to an ambitious growth plan that may boost cash flow by 50%… Read More

Traders have long admired the performance of Steve Cohen, the manager of hedge funds at SAC Capital. Recently, Cohen and his firm have been in the news because of an… Read More

It’s no secret that J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) has become a retail disaster over the past five years. The top line has fallen each year since 2007, from… Read More

After reading through hundreds of press releases in the just-completed earnings season, I’m not surprised that CEOs are quite excited about their company’s prospects. However, with every company putting a positive spin on its operations and outlook, it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. One distinguishing factor: the executives and directors who back up their words with actual insider buying. Committing thousands of dollars to buy company stock is a huge… Read More

After reading through hundreds of press releases in the just-completed earnings season, I’m not surprised that CEOs are quite excited about their company’s prospects. However, with every company putting a positive spin on its operations and outlook, it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. One distinguishing factor: the executives and directors who back up their words with actual insider buying. Committing thousands of dollars to buy company stock is a huge vote of confidence. Throughout the past winter, insider buying activity was relatively dormant as an ever-rising market led most insiders to think about cashing in options rather than buying fresh shares. Yet in the past month, we’ve seen a notable upturn in insider buying activity. Here are three stocks that have seen renewed interest from insiders. (Credit to InsiderInsights.com for data on insider activity.) 1. Read More

As you probably know, we are in the midst of one of the greatest bull markets of all time. Fueled by an unfettered fiscal-easing policy with central-bank assurances that pro-growth intervention will continue until the economy is back… Read More

Using the wrong words can be dangerous. Confuse “sapo” for “sopa” in Spain, for instance, and you’re going to get a frog instead of soup. Fail to listen to the Rolling Stones song “Beast of Burden” closely, and your friends will be howling when you croon, “I’ll never leave your pizza burnin’.”#-ad_banner-# In the bond world, the stakes are even higher. As with any investment, words are all you have to help you understand what you’re buying and what… Read More

Using the wrong words can be dangerous. Confuse “sapo” for “sopa” in Spain, for instance, and you’re going to get a frog instead of soup. Fail to listen to the Rolling Stones song “Beast of Burden” closely, and your friends will be howling when you croon, “I’ll never leave your pizza burnin’.”#-ad_banner-# In the bond world, the stakes are even higher. As with any investment, words are all you have to help you understand what you’re buying and what the risks are. Here are two of the most confusing yet most fundamental. Make sure you understand what they mean before your next foray into the market. Yield to Maturity (YTM) Yield to maturity is one of the most misunderstood bond terms because it involves math that looks hard. But don’t let it faze you. First of all, the math… Read More

Using the wrong words can be dangerous. Confuse “sapo” for “sopa” in Spain, for instance, and you’re going to get a frog instead of soup. Fail to listen to the Rolling Stones song “Beast of Burden” closely, and your friends will be howling when you croon, “I’ll never leave your pizza burnin’.”#-ad_banner-# In the bond world, the stakes are even higher. As with any investment, words are all you have to help you understand what you’re buying… Read More

Using the wrong words can be dangerous. Confuse “sapo” for “sopa” in Spain, for instance, and you’re going to get a frog instead of soup. Fail to listen to the Rolling Stones song “Beast of Burden” closely, and your friends will be howling when you croon, “I’ll never leave your pizza burnin’.”#-ad_banner-# In the bond world, the stakes are even higher. As with any investment, words are all you have to help you understand what you’re buying and what the risks are. Here are two of the most confusing yet most fundamental. Make sure you understand what they mean before your next foray into the market. Yield to Maturity (YTM) Yield to maturity is one of the most misunderstood bond terms because it involves math that looks hard. But don’t let it faze you. First… Read More

Every stock investor has heard about the importance of diversification. In fact, I have emphasized many times in my articles just how critical being properly diversified is when managing a successful long-term portfolio. Diversification is not just critical for a long-term portfolio — it is the primary key for survival in the stock market. Massive bull markets, like the one taking place now, can have the negative effect of causing investors to become complacent, take too many risks, and… Read More

Every stock investor has heard about the importance of diversification. In fact, I have emphasized many times in my articles just how critical being properly diversified is when managing a successful long-term portfolio. Diversification is not just critical for a long-term portfolio — it is the primary key for survival in the stock market. Massive bull markets, like the one taking place now, can have the negative effect of causing investors to become complacent, take too many risks, and not diversify correctly. I know from experience that it is difficult not to go “all-in” on a hot stock. During the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, one Internet stock in particular just seemed to be going up day after day.#-ad_banner-# Noticing the uptrend, I decided to liquidate my portfolio and go all-in with this stock. Ignoring everything I knew about diversification, I used all of my capital and leverage, purchasing a large number of the… Read More