I applaud Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for pulling out all the stops in an effort to supercharge the economy. The unlimited quantitative-easing (QE) measures, capital infusions and ultra-low interest rates… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this… Read More

A deep-pocketed mining conglomerate has just anted up $9 billion to make a high-stakes wager on energy.  Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) is best known for its massive metals hoard, most notably the Grasberg complex in Indonesia, which is the largest gold mine and… Read More

In coming months, moviegoers will be treated to a pair of hagiographic films about Steve Jobs. In early April, we’ll get to see Ashton Kutcher’s impression of the legendary tech visionary. Some time later in 2013, a script Aaron Sorkin — the man behind… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this nearly left-for-dead sector.#-ad_banner-# In fact, January 2013 was the industry’s best January since 2008. U.S. sales soared 14% to more than 1 million units compared with the year-ago period, while individual companies reported between 16-27% sales gains during the same period. Total unit sales hit more than 15 million in… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this nearly left-for-dead sector.#-ad_banner-# In fact, January 2013 was the industry’s best January since 2008. U.S. sales soared 14% to more than 1 million units compared with the year-ago period, while individual companies reported between 16-27% sales gains during the same period. Total unit sales hit more than 15 million in the first month of the year, signalling an even better year than 2012, granted sales continue on this trajectory.  The surging stock market, with the S&P 500 posting its top-performing January in more than 12 years, combined with a slow-but-steady improvement in the U.S. employment picture have fuelled the rebound. Clearly, this industry rises and falls in lock step with the U.S. economy, so it’s often viewed as a proxy for the entire domestic economy.  In case you haven’t guessed it… Read More

A deep-pocketed mining conglomerate has just anted up $9 billion to make a high-stakes wager on energy.  Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) is best known for its massive metals hoard, most notably the Grasberg complex in Indonesia, which is the largest gold mine and third biggest copper mine on the planet. With operations on four continents, the company holds 102 billion pounds of copper reserves, 40 million ounces of gold, 266 million ounces of silver, 2.5 billion pounds of molybdenum, and 700 million pounds of cobalt.#-ad_banner-# Starting soon, this world-class… Read More

A deep-pocketed mining conglomerate has just anted up $9 billion to make a high-stakes wager on energy.  Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) is best known for its massive metals hoard, most notably the Grasberg complex in Indonesia, which is the largest gold mine and third biggest copper mine on the planet. With operations on four continents, the company holds 102 billion pounds of copper reserves, 40 million ounces of gold, 266 million ounces of silver, 2.5 billion pounds of molybdenum, and 700 million pounds of cobalt.#-ad_banner-# Starting soon, this world-class asset portfolio will be joined by millions of barrels of crude oil and trillions of cubic feet of gas.  On Dec. 5, Freeport McMoRan extended a bold $9 billion buyout offer ($20 billion including the assumption of debt) for two mid-tier exploration and production (E&P) firms.  The first target is McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR), which, as you might guess, once belonged to Freeport McMoRan. MMR gained its independence via spin-off in the mid-1990s. After amassing 255 billion cubic… Read More

Despite popular opinion, I’ve never been a big believer in investing in gold. There’s a reason gold is the currency of pirates, drug dealers and James Bond villains. I… Read More

The stock market has outperformed even the most optimistic forecasts so far this year. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up nearly 10% in just the first six weeks of 2013. While not… Read More

Investment bankers are a fickle lot. When the market takes a tumble, they tell their soon-to-go-public banking clients to withdraw their plans for an initial public offering (IPO). But when the market is stable and rising, as has been the case in recent months, then they scramble back to those clients, telling them the time to complete the IPO has arrived. As long as the market avoids an… Read More

Investment bankers are a fickle lot. When the market takes a tumble, they tell their soon-to-go-public banking clients to withdraw their plans for an initial public offering (IPO). But when the market is stable and rising, as has been the case in recent months, then they scramble back to those clients, telling them the time to complete the IPO has arrived. As long as the market avoids an air pocket in 2013, then the coming year could prove to be a very active period for IPOs. Indeed, we’re off to a good start: There have been $5 billion worth of IPOs completed thus far this year, according to Dealogic. The tech-heavy slate of upcoming IPOs will be led this week by a debut for Xoom, a fast-growing online money-transfer service. Here are 10 other fast-growing tech companies that are currently being cajoled by investment bankers to take the plunge. A few of them may end up in your… Read More