Wall Street loves to make things hard. People are mystified by the black arts practiced in the world’s financial capitals. These sorcerers hold a secret that everyone from a lowly financial adviser to a big-time deal maker doesn’t want you to know . . . The secret: It’s not hard… Read More

You might not be familiar with the cigarette brands Liggett Select, Grand Prix, Eve, Pyramid or USA. But these brands have helped turn the company that makes them into an income powerhouse. Investing in cigarette companies isn’t for everyone. Millions die from tobacco-related illnesses each year, and that understandably turns… Read More

Investors hooked on green energy, government spending, and developing economies are looking in the right place. They just aren’t looking at the right stock. When the global economy slammed on the breaks, General Cable (NYSE: BGC) took it on the chin. It slid… Read More

China has had an impressive run. Its GDP has grown at double-digit rates while holders of Chinese stocks have earned triple-digit returns. While everyone else is talking about China, savvy investors should be asking where the next big growth story is. The investment company… Read More

Government spending cuts would utterly devastate most companies that rely on Uncle Sam for business. But there’s one company that would almost certainly earn hundreds of millions of dollars more if the federal government would make a very specific spending cut, one that lawmakers propose nearly every year. As the… Read More

The Dow recently crossed the 9,000 mark on the back of a solid start to the second-quarter earnings... Read More

The Dow recently crossed the 9,000 mark on the back of a solid start to the second-quarter earnings season, while the S&P is up +10% for the year. The market couldn’t have made it to this... Read More

Everything is relative, especially market valuation. A utility, for instance, with its steady, slow-growth business, is never going to command the earnings multiple of a rapidly growing biotech firm or high-tech upstart. That’s why it’s best to make valuation comparisons within industries. It’s also… Read More

Junk bond funds are up more than +20% off their March lows, and many of them still sport yields in excess of 10%. Though a double-digit yield is always tempting, now may not be the time to purchase high-yield bonds. Junk or “speculative-grade”… Read More

We first covered the Market Vectors Africa (NYSE: AFK) ETF  back in our August 2008 issue of StreetAuthority Market Advisor. Africa is a mix of developing and frontier economies. On one end of the spectrum you have South Africa, which boasts of a stable… Read More

President Harry Truman once said he wanted to hire a one-armed economist. When asked why, he replied, so the economist couldn’t say “on the other hand.” For Barack Obama, finding a one-armed economist is even more pressing. Obama is faced… Read More