My in-box is flooded. The other applications on my desktop are lining up two by two. It’s been a deluge. I have 40 pages — 40 single-spaced pages — of questions from readers about how they can benefit from government action. This topic has engendered more feedback… Read More

This closed-end fund mimics the tech-rich Nasdaq 100 Index. The fund’s holdings include tech giants Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Cisco, Google and Intel. While the tech sector is not known for its generous dividends, QQQX boosts income… Read More

The last time U.S. federal government spending topped 28% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House and the nation was fighting all-out war on two major fronts. As the chart shows, total federal government outlays have hovered around 18% to 22% since the early 1980s. But based on projections from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) President Barack Obama’s proposed Budget would push total federal spending to near 29% of GDP in… Read More

The last time U.S. federal government spending topped 28% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in the White House and the nation was fighting all-out war on two major fronts. As the chart shows, total federal government outlays have hovered around 18% to 22% since the early 1980s. But based on projections from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) President Barack Obama’s proposed Budget would push total federal spending to near 29% of GDP in fiscal year 2009; the U.S. federal deficit is projected to be more than 13% of GDP in 2009 and close to 10% in 2010. And there’s a catch: both the CBO and the White House are assuming the U.S. economy grows by an average rate of more than +4% over the coming decade, a generous assumption given current economic conditions. This skews the numbers in terms of percent of GDP — actual federal spending is projected to rise from a… Read More

Working for StreetAuthority, I do a lot of different things. In the course of a day, I may be writing an article… editing a newsletter… discussing potential picks with our staff… researching the next investing hotspot… even working with a development team on our new StreetAuthority website… Read More

Question: Why are so many companies suspending or cutting their dividends lately, and what can I do to protect myself from this trend? My problem is not just which securities to avoid, but what about the ones I already own? Answer: This question is on just about… Read More

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said Friday it had hired a veteran Wal-Mart executive, David Porter, to oversee the development of brick-and-mortar retail stores. He will report to Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, who also has ties to Bentonville.    Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) changed computer marketing with its hip advertising. It… Read More

Nobody likes to see daily bloodletting in the market. But look on the bright side. While these downturns can be frightening, think how different investing would be without them. In a perfectly efficient market, we could never buy a stock at a discount, or sell one at a premium —… Read More