Back in the fall of 2008, virtually every equity-focused mutual fund was falling in value. The selloff was most keenly felt in many closed-end funds (CEFs). Not only did these funds see their portfolio of investments drop in value, but the fund price… Read More
Results
The list of investing mistakes I’ve seen (and as a stock broker in the go-go 1990s and early 2000s, I had an opportunity to see plenty of them) is longer than I care to recall. Over-committing, over-trading, sector concentration, you name it — I saw it all as so many… Read More
Investors are always on the prowl for stocks that would conceivably appeal to Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Warren Buffett. He likes established businesses that throw off ample cash flow and have a strong moat to keep competition at bay. We can speculate… Read More
On Monday, Aug. 8, the S&P 500 took an 80-point dive. That was a buying opportunity. Now, I don’t mean it was a buying opportunity in the traditional “stocks rise in the long term” idea, meaning you should buy on any dip. #-ad_banner-#Truth… Read More
The late, great alternative journalist Hunter S. Thompson once wrote “… when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Thompson would’ve loved the current market conditions. From a once-unthinkable downgrade of U.S. Treasury bonds and the ensuing global turmoil created by the… Read More
When Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) started selling its single-cup coffee brewing systems (known as the Keurig) five years ago, few expected the company to single-handedly revolutionize the coffee industry. These days, former rivals are looking to partner with the company to help get a piece… Read More
Investors are well aware of many of the reasons for having gold as part of their portfolio. Lately, these reasons have swirled around macroeconomic concerns — the U.S. debt rating downgrade, possible sovereign defaults in the eurozone and the possibility of more money printing… Read More
Opportunities like this are rare. They only present themselves when investors are scared, and right now they seem terrified. Let me explain… The recent market turmoil has investors ducking for cover — even seasoned pros have been a bit stunned by the violent pullback. Read More
This market has been painful for many investors. Shares of many large and mid-cap stocks are off 20% to 30% in just the past month or two. And the lower down the food chain you go, the… Read More
In the Chairman’s letter written to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) in 1995, Warren Buffett explained why retailing can be a tough business. He likened it to a “shooting-star phenomenon,” where not taking care of day-to-day details can lead to failure. He also explained that consumers… Read More