I doubt you’ve ever heard of Howard Silverblatt. Mr. Silverblatt is a senior analyst at Standard and Poor’s. He covers a lot of topics when it comes to his work at S&P, but what’s made him a hot commodity for reporters (and why I like to… Read More

The sole purpose of the Federal’s Reserve’s recent moves and commentary is to inspire the economy‘s “animal spirits.” The most recent action, known as QE3, or the third round of quantitative easing, is simply an effort to provide a spark where none… Read More

While the overall economy is still on shaky legs, one thing’s hard to deny: The stock market has been doing great. By the stock market, I mean the Standard & Poor’s (S&P)… Read More

Who among us hasn’t dreamed about catching a hot IPO in the beginning stages? Just ask early investors in game-changers like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), up a mind-numbing 22,590% since its first day of trading in 1984, or Nike (NYSE: NKE), up 12,618%… Read More

When a company announces a quarterly shortfall and lowers guidance, investors have been known to shoot first and ask questions later. That lesson was painfully brought home to the insiders at Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL), who were initially stunned to see the company’s stock tumble from about $20 in late… Read More

While the economic situation of the eurozone and the upcoming presidential elections have created a climate of uncertainty for investors, they have set the stage for doom and gloom in the minds of many critics. Analysts have been flooding the media with warnings of a pending… Read More

I’d like to declare a moratorium on Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO carping. The stock has gone from $38 to roughly $19. Everyone’s upset: Facebook employees, the financial-media talking heads, individual investors, even people who have never logged on to Facebook.  But that’s the nature… Read More

Even if you’re a buy-and-hold investor by nature, you have to be nimble enough to profit from any short-term gifts the market may hand you. Read More

With interest rates showing no sign of improving anytime soon, investors are more apt to continue turning to dividend-paying stocks for decent income, despite the added risk relative to bonds. But these stocks have become so popular, that reasonably-priced assets are getting… Read More

For some, choosing the right stock is an art and a science. It’s important to weigh in factors from the economy and the stock’s growth prospects in relation to its past performance in order to make a sensible… Read More