It’s no secret that share price appreciation goes hand-in-hand with earnings growth. If only it were that simple. Screening for companies with the strongest outlooks will only get you so… Read More

The objective: buy low, sell high. Sounds easy enough. But old Wall Street pros would say, “not so fast.” A stock trading at or near its 52-week low has not necessarily hit bottom — nor is it necessarily a bargain. What investors might think of as a… Read More

Investors tend to avoid companies that generate too much revenue from one key customer or project. If that project ends, sales could easily plunge. That fear is the key reason behind a sharp sell-off in shares of Dyncorp (NYSE: DCP), a key government… Read More

The main character in Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s 1965 book, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, is an eccentric philanthropist. He thinks it’s unfair that babies don’t all start with an equal playing field. “I think it’s a heartless government that will let one baby be born owning a… Read More

The short seller is the one trader most investors love to hate. Often misunderstood and maligned, the short seller bets prices will fall rather than rise. This doesn’t earn the short seller much popularity with most investors (who usually buy a stock hoping it will rise), but it can be… Read More

Anyone can get lucky once in a while. The same goes for the so-called “experts” on Wall Street. But when the overwhelming majority of experts agree on a handful of stocks, investors should take notice. When a stock has, say, 20 analysts covering it — and all 20 think the… Read More

Insurance stocks often look like lousy investments in a slow economy. Demand for policies can shrink as unemployment rises, and rivals undercut each other on price to snag whatever market share still remains. But you want… Read More

In a highly uncertain environment, one thing is clear. The demand for health care will not merely continue… It will dramatically increase in the years to come. Health care has always been a “defensive” industry, as people get sick no matter… Read More

Certain stocks are either loved or hated. Investors shun them when sales and profits are sliding, yet become quickly enamored when results start to improve. But any rebound in a company’s operating picture can come in fits and starts, so when speed bumps emerge in the story, momentum-chasing investors tend… Read More

Investors have suffered through 14 bear market plunges in the post-WWII era. Fortunately, those declines have been followed by 14 bull markets. The bounce-backs are typically far more powerful, but predicting the inflection points… Read More