Since the real estate bubble burst in 2007, many people have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. As a result, banks and financial firms have seen profits decline as short sales and foreclosures pile up. Read More

Amid talk of a “fiscal cliff,” there is at least one bright spot on the U.S. economic horizon: Consumer spending. In October, consumer spending saw its largest gain in half a year, rising 0.8% from the previous month, while income growth notched up… Read More

It’s official: The stock markets are now in a correction. At least the Nasdaq is, having fallen more than 10% from its 52-week high (it’s more than -10% right now). The challenge with… Read More

There is a big difference between a great company and a great stock. And nowhere is it more apparent than in the high-growth cloud-computing sector. Companies that specialize in cloud services and infrastructure have seen big gains in sales and earnings in the past… Read More

After digesting the earnings reports served up over the past couple of weeks, my stomach hurts. That’s because there have been so many high-profile misses, on the bottom line and especially on the… Read More

When a stock runs up fast, it’s natural for investors to want to just close their eyes, hang on and hope it’ll go even higher. And a lot of times it does. But we all know we’re taking a chance if we play investments like that. Surging stocks are often… Read More

The investment takeaway from this earnings season is unmistakable: Growth is slowing as companies do their best to ensure that current sales don’t fall below the levels seen in late 2011. And this changing growth dynamic is slowly causing investors to… Read More

I am always on the lookout for stocks I can hold for the long haul because they are so valuable, I cannot afford to let them go. The first thing I look for is a company in a segment with strong demand during good times and bad. This means I… Read More

Some investors think if it’s good enough for Warren Buffett, then it’s good enough for them. And he likes banking giant Well Fargo (NYSE: WFC). The stock has traded in a sideways range largely between $32 and $36 for the past eight months. The initial upside objective on a channel… Read More

Few stocks are better indicators of economic growth than Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT). With strong international diversification and sensitivity to economic cycles, the company is closely watched by fund managers and analysts alike for clues about the trajectory of the country’s gross… Read More