Let’s tip the cap to Vikram Pandit. Though he was just shoved out the door as CEO of Citigroup (NYSE: C), he did a commendable job of fixing a very broken business.  Back in July, I noted that Pandit was re-orienting this banking… Read More

Value investors use a number of filters to identify stocks that have the potential to deliver big gains. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and price-to-sales (P/S) ratio are among the most popular tools. Low ratios are used… Read More

It might be one of the most controversial statements I’ve ever made. You aren’t likely to hear anyone else say it, as it goes against one of investors’ longest-held beliefs.#-ad_banner-# I think diversification actually hurts your returns. Read More

Some of the best investment opportunities happen when pessimism is high. And right now, there is an unusual amount of pessimism hanging over third-quarter earnings season.#-ad_banner-# That’s because for the first time in three years, total S&P 500… Read More

Since the market crash of 2008, many investors have understandably become more conservative and have turned to safer alternatives — bonds, metals, real estate, blue-chip… Read More

It may be one of the wildest reversals of fortune in modern history. As the 1990s were coming to a close and the nation was increasingly getting “online,” AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) was sitting on top of the world. Its famous “You’ve got mail” notification even spawned a box-office hit.#-ad_banner-#… Read More

Every country has its icons. In America, we have the bald eagle, baseball and apple pie. Of course, we also have a plethora of corporate icons. These are American companies that personify the essence of the country.#-ad_banner-# Now, I would never buy a stock, or even a product, just because… Read More

Wall Street analysts aren’t known for their boldness. They tend to analyze and value companies on the basis of what lies ahead in the next month or quarter, refusing to predict where a company — and its stock — may be headed in… Read More

Warren Buffett made billions with his trusted buy-and-hold model. But in the past 12 years, with investors battling abnormal amounts of volatility and getting burned in the dot-com bubble of 2000, the 9/11 attacks, the housing crash of 2006, the financial crisis of 2008 and the U.S. credit rating downgrade in 2011, many investors have chosen to abandon the buy-and-hold strategy to stay more nimble. Take a look at the… Read More

Warren Buffett made billions with his trusted buy-and-hold model. But in the past 12 years, with investors battling abnormal amounts of volatility and getting burned in the dot-com bubble of 2000, the 9/11 attacks, the housing crash of 2006, the financial crisis of 2008 and the U.S. credit rating downgrade in 2011, many investors have chosen to abandon the buy-and-hold strategy to stay more nimble. Take a look at the chart below for a closer look at how volatility has rocked the market ever since the dot-com implosion of early 2000 — it’s truly remarkable: S&P 500 Monthly Chart 1950-2012 This volatility trend has driven the growing popularity of technical indicators designed to help investors decide when to buy and sell stocks. Unlike fundamental analysis, which uses earnings, dividends and valuation, technical analysis… Read More

In the fast-changing world of tech stocks, there are few true buy-and-hold opportunities. Great stocks such as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) come to mind. Few other tech companies have been… Read More