Last week, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) announced a far steeper-than-expected drop in 2013 profit, which sent the stock to a nine-year low. You may be asking yourself whether a company that was founded in 1939 and is expected to report more than $100 billion 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 final months of his life, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs worked hard to ensure a vital future for his company. He prepared his management team to stand on its own, and they have exceeded almost everyone’s expectations. In fact, in… Read More

Whenever we have an extended market crash, it is a good idea to look for the survivors. These are the companies that have endured the brutal years of a bear market and are still… Read More

When it comes to investing, there is perhaps nothing more gratifying than unearthing a gem of a stock that turns out to deliver some very big gains. Companies like Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are marquee examples of large-cap stocks that continue delivering large gains;… Read More

In the curious ways of Washington, the biggest action comes from inaction.#-ad_banner-# Politicians have spent years telling you that they will never raise taxes. What they don’t admit is that your taxes can rise anyway, simply by letting current tax laws expire. Read More

Just 14 months ago, the U.S. economic outlook appeared fairly dire, leading stocks to plunge in late July and early August 2011. As it turns out, it was a false alarm: The S&P 500 has risen 29% since then. This kind of move is all the more remarkable when you… Read More

It’s certainly not the sexiest stock on Wall Street, but Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON), a manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging solutions, could be setting up for a nice move higher. Down more than 6% year-to-date, Sonoco has been underperforming its… Read More

While equity indices were making multi-year highs, resource and commodity markets were largely left behind. The CRB Index basket of commodity prices remains 20% lower than its… Read More

The markets are red hot this year, fueled by promising headlines about euro-zone stability and Federal Reserve interventions like Quantative Easing 3 (QE3). But is it a false sense of security? Are markets unknowingly about to be crushed by economic realities that are simply hiding in the closet?  While a… Read More