Health care reform is going to be unimaginably expensive, costing roughly $1 trillion in the next decade. One of the many ways Uncle Sam plans to raise the necessary cash is with a 2.3% tax on the sale of all medical devices, starting in 2013. That’s obviously… Read More

In a recent interview with Money magazine, finance guru Roger Ibbotson stated that, as an investor, what is “most relevant to you is whether and how you’re doing something different from what everybody else is doing.” For those not familiar with Roger Ibbotson, he is worth getting… Read More

The fact that 151,000 jobs were created in October is impressive. The fact that August and September jobs numbers were upwardly revised by a collective 110,000 was even more impressive, as it underscores that things were not quite so bleak as had been feared a few months ago. Read More

$138 billion — that’s the enormous sum earned by the five largest oil companies back in 2008 when crude oil prices surged to all-time highs near $150 per barrel. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) alone earned more than $45 billion, a figure which now stands as the record for… Read More

As earnings season winds down, insider activity heats up. That’s because insiders (classified as company executives, directors and beneficial owners) get the green light to buy or sell their company’s stock on the open market once earnings… Read More

I don’t want to bury the lead, so let me start with my prediction: the economy will add over... Read More

I don’t want to bury the lead, so let me start with my prediction: the economy will add over 2 million jobs in the next 12 months. But before we get to that, let’s add some context. To... Read More

What’s the opposite of a value stock? A company with a large market value but a tiny or non-existent revenue base. These companies often hold a great deal of promise to their backers, but can also be a… Read More

There’s a balance between performance and stability when it comes to stock prices. Equities priced under $5 per share can offer huge percentage returns, but are generally volatile. Stocks priced more than $10 are generally more predictable, but offer a muted upside. In between $5 and $10 though, stocks offer… Read More

So many stocks are having a great year. Oil refiner Sunoco (NYSE: SUN), for example, has shot up more than +47%. Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) has spiked +38% and its competitor Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) has gained about +27%. Many broad indexes are looking good, too, like the… Read More

Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie Hatari! The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a… Read More