Chile is a fast-growing emerging market with abundant natural resources. Yet many investors are not very familiar with this region, so they often miss out on great opportunities. For example, in northern Chile, a low-cost commodity and chemical… Read More

Readers of my articles know I spend little time focusing on biotech stocks. The science behind these companies is often so arcane that analyzing these firms to find the best stocks to invest in is best left to people with a serious grounding in medicine. Even if a biotechnology company’s… Read More

This has been another year of extreme market volatility. In May, after rallying to a new multi-year high in the first four months of the year, the S&P 500 saw a sharp 9% pullback before retracing all those losses in June… Read More

Being the premier name in a business category doesn’t necessarily make it the ideal investment opportunity in that particular sector. Take McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) for example. While it’s the undisputed king of fast food restaurants, its competitor-crushing edge five years ago led to a dangerous complacency, opening… Read More

It’s wise to be very suspicious of richly-valued IPOs. History has shown us time and again that many will end up stumbling badly once they must prove themselves on a quarterly basis. Yet in the early days of trading, these stocks are often accorded valuations that lead you to think… Read More

During the past couple of months, bond investors have been handsomely rewarded. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund ETF (NYSE: TLT) is up 14% since the beginning of March… not bad for one… Read More

So far in 2012, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has been fairly subdued. But the few deals that have been announced have taken the stocks of the firms being acquired much higher. Read More

The United States faces myriad economic challenges, yet somehow, the U.S. stock market has managed to post solid gains during the past few years, as I noted roughly a week ago. The S&P 500 has been one of the top gainers in… Read More

The S&P Index has gained an impressive 11% so far this year. This makes bargain-priced stocks that also have safe, high dividends a bit more challenging to find. But if you do your homework, then even during a… Read More