If you follow the foreign exchange markets, you are probably aware of the Canadian dollar’s rise against its U.S. counterpart. Canada’s currency has now eclipsed the value of the U.S. dollar — it now takes roughly $1.05 U.S. dollar to buy one Canadian “loonie.” The rising… Read More

It may sound too good to be true. But, it isn’t. I’ve found a stock that’s up more than 600% in the past two years — and it still has room to run. Best of all, a recent pullback has made shares a lot cheaper. But this may… Read More

In the world of investing, no news can often be good news. A wide range of energy sources have been hit by bad news in recent months. Yet one key energy source has been out of the spotlight, but is likely to actually benefit from the unfolding events of 2011. Read More

A few weeks ago I named railroad stock Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) as the most undervalued name in the S&P 500. That stance hasn’t changed. But, being the most undervalued name in the large-cap world doesn’t mean it’s the most potent railroad… Read More

In case you couldn’t tell from the $4-a-gallon gasoline prices in your area, oil prices have been on the move. $80 per barrel, $90, $100… All have been sped past like interstate mile markers. The chart below pretty much says it all. As you can see,… Read More

In investing, assets that have performed well in the past have a good chance of continuing to do well in the future. This is especially true when the factors that have driven the outperformance remain in place to drive the future performance. Investment research firm Lipper recently released data detailing the best investments of the past decade. Below is an overview of the top five performers of the past 10 years. As you will see, a couple of recurring factors have driven the stellar results, so I expect them to continue to do so for many more years for a… Read More

In investing, assets that have performed well in the past have a good chance of continuing to do well in the future. This is especially true when the factors that have driven the outperformance remain in place to drive the future performance. Investment research firm Lipper recently released data detailing the best investments of the past decade. Below is an overview of the top five performers of the past 10 years. As you will see, a couple of recurring factors have driven the stellar results, so I expect them to continue to do so for many more years for a number of these top performers. 1. Precious metals Annual gains in the past decade: 25.4% Precious metals such as gold and silver were used in the past as currencies, but these days they qualify primarily as an alternative asset under the commodity asset class. In addition to gold and silver, this category also consists of metals such as platinum, palladium and diamonds. This investment class collectively had its best decade in more than 30 years, as demand for metals increased for… Read More

Gold is one of the most malleable and least reactive elements known to man. It’s used for both practical and symbolic purposes. Historically, gold has been one of the most common forms of monetary exchange throughout human history. Its secondary place to paper currency did not come about until the 20th century. And after continuously rising to new highs even after a multi-year bull market, one other thing can be said about gold: It can also make traders a lot of money… With gold rallying to… Read More

Gold is one of the most malleable and least reactive elements known to man. It’s used for both practical and symbolic purposes. Historically, gold has been one of the most common forms of monetary exchange throughout human history. Its secondary place to paper currency did not come about until the 20th century. And after continuously rising to new highs even after a multi-year bull market, one other thing can be said about gold: It can also make traders a lot of money… With gold rallying to record highs almost daily, it’s seen increasingly as a way to protect oneself against worldwide currency inflation. Inflationary worries were prominent news this trading week. China’s central bank raised its interest rates — for the fourth time since mid-October — to head-off price increases running at nearly 5% a year. The European Central Bank also raised rates for the first time in nearly two years, in order to curtail rising food and energy costs. In the United States, rising interest rates may… Read More

In the 1920s, about 40% of the U.S. labor force worked on farms. Today, less than 2% of U.S. workers are employed in agriculture. The United States increasingly relies on imported agricultural goods for any number of products. Recently, inclement weather across the globe has caused a… Read More

Judging by the number of companies that have lined up to pull off an initial public offering (IPO) in coming weeks and months, we may be looking at a banner year. If the performance of IPOs that made their debut since the year began is any guide, investor interest is likely to be quite strong. That’s because virtually every company that has come public in 2011 is already trading up (except for Netherlands-based Tornier (Nasdaq: TRNX) which is off just 2%). In fact, the biggest… Read More

Judging by the number of companies that have lined up to pull off an initial public offering (IPO) in coming weeks and months, we may be looking at a banner year. If the performance of IPOs that made their debut since the year began is any guide, investor interest is likely to be quite strong. That’s because virtually every company that has come public in 2011 is already trading up (except for Netherlands-based Tornier (Nasdaq: TRNX) which is off just 2%). In fact, the biggest IPO of the year has just gone public. Hospital chain HCA (NYSE: HCA), which is going public for the third time, sold $3.79 billion worth of stock today. The fact that enough investors were corralled for the deal is a sure sign of investor appetite for new issues. [My colleague Andy Obermueller profiled HCA just last week. Read his article here.] It always pays to look over the list of recent IPOs. First, you may find companies that have only moved up slowly since their debut, even as analysts are… Read More

Throughout the past few years, I’ve been focusing on the remarkable turnaround at Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). Management’s rejuvenation efforts will be talked about in business schools for decades to come. Yet, as shares marched from below $2 in early 2009… Read More