During the past year, exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors have welcomed a plethora of new funds to the marketplace. These new funds cover everything from municipal bonds to emerging market financials. But one of the most intriguing of this latest batch is a fund that… Read More

There are few occasions when investors have an opportunity to own a global brand name at a substantial discount.  There are exceptions, but a company whose name has become synonymous with its product is usually the kind of stock that makes for a great core holding, providing stability in difficult times. Read More

Just like the title character in the play Waiting for Godot, the much-anticipated housing rebound has yet to make an appearance on stage. Many had assumed a housing recovery would be underway by now, but we’re still at least a year — or more — away from… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Friday’s early trading are CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE), Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) and J Crew (NYSE: JCG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) $5.13 +18.8% $8.24 $3.85 Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) $3.58 +11.9% $7.90 $2.75 J Crew (NYSE: JCG) $45.64 +4.1% $50.96 $19.55 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Friday’s early trading are CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE), Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) and J Crew (NYSE: JCG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) $5.13 +18.8% $8.24 $3.85 Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) $3.58 +11.9% $7.90 $2.75 J Crew (NYSE: JCG) $45.64 +4.1% $50.96 $19.55 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 12:04PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Time to Take Profits in CKX Shares of CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) are up nearly +20% as word spread that the company’s biggest investor and a just-formed hedge fund are teaming up to acquire the producer of the very popular American Idol and So You Think You can Dance TV programs. (CKX also holds marketing licenses related to Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali). Those buyers are betting that those TV franchises… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRC), BlueCoat Systems(Nasdaq: BCSI) and Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Blue Coat Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI) $22.76 -21.1% $36.25 $13.85 Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) $49.34 -7.8% $70.78 $33.95 Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) $27.36 -6.8% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRC), BlueCoat Systems(Nasdaq: BCSI) and Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Blue Coat Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI) $22.76 -21.1% $36.25 $13.85 Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) $49.34 -7.8% $70.78 $33.95 Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) $27.36 -6.8% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:58AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Top Kill appears to Working, But Sector Stocks Sag BP’s (NYSE: BP) efforts to finally stanch the flow of oil and gas in the Gulf appears to be working. Though it remains to be seen during the next few days if the fix is permanent, this is the first bit of tangible good news in quite some time. But that’s of no help to the many… Read More

Confidence. It’s the number one driver of business. Without it, business managers tend to hold off on new investments, keep inventories lean, and hold on to cash. That’s what happened in the United States in 2008, as sinking confidence led to a vicious circle whereby more and more companies shed workers and slashed orders, because their key customers had done so. Could a similar spiral play out in Europe? It’s too early to tell. Much will depend on how banks react in this current environment. If they cut off lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as happened… Read More

Confidence. It’s the number one driver of business. Without it, business managers tend to hold off on new investments, keep inventories lean, and hold on to cash. That’s what happened in the United States in 2008, as sinking confidence led to a vicious circle whereby more and more companies shed workers and slashed orders, because their key customers had done so. Could a similar spiral play out in Europe? It’s too early to tell. Much will depend on how banks react in this current environment. If they cut off lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as happened here roughly 18 months ago, then that could trigger yet another recession on the Continent. #-ad_banner-# That’s why it is so important to track the actions of leading European banks. We already know that major banks in Ireland and Spain have begun to retrench, which bodes ill for the economies of those countries. But what about the likes of Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), UBS (NYSE: UBS) and Barclay’s (NYSE: BCS)? Those leading financial institutions’ actions will determine whether credit flows or shrinks. France’s Credit Agricole is a clear example. The bank recently announced that it… Read More

It’s rough out there. The market had another wild ride Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting nice gains in the 50- to 60-point range for most of the day before falling off in late-day trading to close down 69 points, below the psychologically important 10,000 mark. Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP), VeriFone (NYSE: PAY), and China Security & Surveillance (NYSE: CSR). Top Percentage Gainers — Thursday, May 27, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP) $38.53 +18.8% $38.25… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Thursday’s early trading are Monsanto (NYSE: MON), Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS) and Education Management (Nasdaq: EDMC). Top Percentage Losers — Thursday, May 27, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Monsanto (NYSE: MON) $48.24 -8.2% $87.40 $48.25 Rambus… Read More

Earlier this month, gold prices hit an all-time high, as the yellow metal fetched more than $1,240 an ounce. Yet gold bugs still think the price can hit even higher highs, back to the nearly $2,000 per ounce figure hit in the 1980s, on an inflation-adjusted basis. That could spell… Read More