When a hot new technology shoots out of the gate, investors often get spoiled. They expect demand to keep growing and growing, and have little patience when the industry hits an inevitable speed bump. In recent years, carbon fiber garnered considerable buzz, as the lightweight — yet super-strong — material found its… Read More
Results
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
Investors with a stake in this overlooked land don’t mind the lack of publicity. While it may be a small country of less than 17 million people, its equity market packs quite a punch. In fact, it has posted a stunning return of +3,014% since 1989. That 30-fold increase would… Read More
They say success comes at a price. The same thing applies to capital gains. Most investors forgot that lesson in the 1990s, when high-growth “dot-com” stocks were all the rage. Growth at any price was the name of the game, and some investors paid dearly for it. Read More
Managing a large business can prove daunting when the many moving parts fall out of synch. Yet a fresh set of eyes can help to chart a new course, getting all the pieces moving in harmony. That lesson applies for investors in Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH). New management has begun… Read More
My friend Barbara phoned and invited me to lunch a few weeks ago. When she offered to pay, I knew something was up. Barbara talked about her workout routine, her daughter’s job search, and her upcoming vacation to Panama. After asking me a cursory question or two,… Read More
“There has never been,” President Obama proclaimed this week, “a program of this scale, moved at this speed, that has been enacted as effectively and as transparently as the recovery act.” This is Mr. Obama’s assessment of his $787 billion stimulus package, which marked its first anniversary… Read More
Let’s get down to it. Here’s what Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) sold in the most recent quarter, according to Tuesday’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission: 1 million shares of Carmax (NYSE: KMX) 19.7 million shares of… Read More
Picture this: A congressional staffer laden with a massive, multivolume set of books containing the president’s 2011 budget. We all saw this a couple weeks ago, when Mr. Obama released his blueprint for the government’s next fiscal year. It’s a ridiculous… Read More
Every company has a life cycle. Some, like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) or Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), seemingly come out of nowhere to dominate their industries. Others, like Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) or General Electric (NYSE: GE), have delivered steady returns to shareholders for decades. But let’s face it:… Read More