When I landed in Amman, Jordan on June 25, 2010, I could speak exactly two words of Arabic: “shukran” (thank you) and “momtaz” (awesome). Speeding down the highway in the back of a sweltering taxi, I learned my third: ghebara (dust). Clouds of dust stretched to the horizon. The wind… Read More

Just one more year. That’s the goal as we cajole our cars to stay on the road for a little longer. Yet there invariably comes a time when an aging car is no longer worth the hassle. By the time the odometer hits 150,000 miles, the repair bills start piling… Read More

Remember the good ‘ole days, when you could buy a can of soda for less than 75 cents? Now, you pay nearly triple this price at most convenience stores. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an alternative? Thanks to a growing Israeli company called Soda Stream International (Nasdaq: SODA),… Read More

With political leaders considering changes to taxes and fiscal policy that could have significant economic effects, the market is likely to be driven by irrational fears or hopes. After a deal is… Read More

Emerging markets have experienced staggering growth in the past 10 years. And even though growth rates have recently slowed due to weakness in the global economy, they are still expanding at a much faster pace… Read More

Serious economic storm clouds have emerged, and when you consider that the S&P 500 is on track for its fourth straight year of gains, a tumble in 2013 is downright plausible. Here’s a sage piece of advice: If you own high-quality companies that appear to sport low valuations, hang on… Read More

In late November, I dissected the current and projected valuations for all the major sectors, further breaking them down by market cap. The purpose of the exercise was to pinpoint which slivers of the market were the best-positioned to make big… Read More

VC Market Intelligence is a new monthly infographic from Visual Capitalist that summarizes a macro view of the last month of markets. At the beginning of each month, we will highlight changes in economic indicators,… Read More

Does the 1% invest differently than the vast majority of us? Do they invest smarter? What, if anything, can the 99% do to narrow the gap? Here’s the good news: Investment advice, strategies and… Read More

Few companies can claim they actually contributed to changing the world. But less than 30 years ago, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) did change the world as they defined the standards for personal computers (PCs). With Intel providing the hardware standards and Microsoft defining software, those two companies… Read More