Analyst Articles

When the market hit new lows in March, it was understandably hard for investors to pull the trigger. They knew they’d be buying into an investment landscape rife with risk. Hindsight is 20/20. Just six months later, investors can see the returns they might have captured had they taken the… Read More

First GM needed a bailout. Then AIG. Then the banks. Now, the country that sits atop the world’s largest oil field says it needs one, too. Saudi Arabia says it will lose $19 billion a year in oil revenue beginning in 2012. OPEC stands by the claim. Oil ministers fear… Read More

A few months ago the nation was locked in the throes of the financial crisis. Markets were crashing. Experts spoke of financial calamity and depression. Hope evaporated. This was to be a financial disaster for the ages. Look what’s happened. The Dow Jones… Read More

Not sure how to best judge the dividend safety of an investment? Let Standard & Poor’s do it for you. “AAA” credit ratings are hard to come by. The S&P sets the bar extraordinarily high for its top tier. These are the elite of… Read More

Bill Gates owns about 700 million shares of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) — 713.1 million to be exact. His cache of Microsoft stock is worth a tidy $18.7 billion. Every time the price of Microsoft moves up a penny, Gates’ wealth grows by $7.1 million. Read More

Income investors are exposed. The U.S. government has racked up $10 trillion in debt and Washington continues to spend more money we don’t have. No one’s talking about balancing the budget: The Obama Administration estimates budget deficits will soar to $1.8 trillion this year and $1.3 trillion… Read More

I have a game I like to play. A little con. It generally involves two pigeons. One is a friend, the other is Bill Gates. It never fails. I’m always amazed at how little people know about financial information. When I show someone the SEC’s site, for instance, he or… Read More