The volatility index, a measure of risk and fear in the market, recently spiked to its highest point this year as stocks sold off in the face of the European debt crisis. The… Read More

New IPOs (initial public offerings) offer the promise of huge upside as investors speculate on a young company’s impressive growth potential. Yet just as often, this potential is more hype than reality, so you should only stand on the sidelines as investors’ enthusiasm obscures their ability see real… Read More

Back in March, I told you to forget about investing in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) if you’re interested in growth. That ship has sailed. [Read the original article here.]  But what a nice voyage it’s been… A fun fact for all you Warren Buffett fans: Since purchasing in 1988, Warren… Read More

Savvy short sellers know to avoid crowds. The best of them will speak of “crowded shorts,” which refer to stocks that are so heavily shorted that they may become vulnerable to a short squeeze that instantly pushes them higher. A number of big-time short… Read More

Anyone who has been to the grocery store during the past few years has first-hand experience with just how real the trend in food inflation is. Nowadays, it’s easy to spend close to $4 on a gallon of milk. A carton of eggs… Read More

When President Obama writes his memoirs, he will surely point to Nov. 14, 2011 as one of the worst days of his presidency. That’s when the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear legal challenges against the Administration’s sweeping overhaul of the United States’ health care system. Administration officials spent thousands of hours horse-trading with various members of Congress, ultimately producing a document which, according to one recent poll, roughly two-thirds of voters would like to see altered or overturned. #-ad_banner-#For more conservative voters, the legislation smacks of government overreach and a loss of personal liberty. For liberal voters, the… Read More

When President Obama writes his memoirs, he will surely point to Nov. 14, 2011 as one of the worst days of his presidency. That’s when the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear legal challenges against the Administration’s sweeping overhaul of the United States’ health care system. Administration officials spent thousands of hours horse-trading with various members of Congress, ultimately producing a document which, according to one recent poll, roughly two-thirds of voters would like to see altered or overturned. #-ad_banner-#For more conservative voters, the legislation smacks of government overreach and a loss of personal liberty. For liberal voters, the overhaul didn’t go far enough, leaving too many profits on the table for private insurers, as the “public option” component was negotiated out of existence. Of course the Supreme Court won’t simply hand down a ruling based on a poll of current voter  preferences. Instead, the justices will look at various aspects of the legislation and determine whether any or all aspects need to be rolled back.   With a ruling expected on or before June 25, it’s time to prep your portfolio for the various possible outcomes. (The Supreme Court holds its press conference on Thursday, June 14,… Read More

What do Larry Ellison, Sean Combs, Ted Turner, Bono and Saudi Prince Alwaleed have in common with thousands of other very wealthy people? It certainly isn’t their style of dress, philosophy or even how they made their money.  In fact, these folks couldn’t be more different in terms of just… Read More

For income investors, monthly dividend payers are the gold standard. We depend on regular distributions to help with bills… and having to wait three months for our next payment isn’t always practical.   Luckily, there… Read More

Has Bruce Berkowitz been exposed to kryptonite? His money-management firm, Fairholme Capital, is on a losing streak few could have anticipated. After all, this is a fund that handily outperformed the S&P 500 in 10 out of 11 years through 2010. That streak ended with a loud bang in 2011,… Read More

September 16, 1992, has gone down in history as the day George Soros broke the Bank of England. Britain’s effort to fight against the devaluation of the pound could not counteract the market forces that were… Read More