To hear from Wall Street traders, the “machines are taking over the world.” These stock jockeys lament that computer-driven trading programs now account for 60%, 70% or even 80% of daily trading volume on the major markets,… Read More

Lost in all of the noise of a slumping, rebounding and slumping-again global economy is a remarkable success story. A wide range of U.S. manufacturers have been sharpening their game, and are now retaining or even taking… Read More

For the third straight year, the stock market is slumping badly as we head into summer. It’s as if every rally eventually hits a wall and is knocked back to the ground. And every time it happens, investors become further convinced that owning stocks… Read More

Whenever I hear the term “buggy whip,” I think of Homer Simpson’s boss, Charles Montgomery Burns, the billionaire character in “The Simpsons” whose quirks lampoon the attitudes of the robber baron class of America’s Gilded Age. One of my favorite bits in the cartoon is when some of Mr. Burns’… Read More

Whenever you see the markets slump badly, you need to look at the other side of the coin. You should ask yourself, “What investments can actually prosper from a darkening economic outlook?”  Well, we know that bonds rally sharply. For example, the iShares Barclays… Read More

One way to earn large profits in the stock market is by discovering and playing the macro trends in the economy. Think of the Internet revolution and the billions that were… Read More

Shareholder activists hate to see a company with too much cash. They rattle cages in hopes of getting a company to issue a one-time hefty dividend, or make some other bold move that can shake up a stock. But many companies simply refuse… Read More

In a rising stock market, it pays to focus on a company’s income statement. Each move up in the share price usually correlates to the company’s bottom-line performance. But when the market is in sell-off mode, you should shift your focus to the balance sheet. That’s where you can measure a company’s real worth and get a handle on how much risk the stock can hold.  Although a company’s market value can fall below the… Read More

In a rising stock market, it pays to focus on a company’s income statement. Each move up in the share price usually correlates to the company’s bottom-line performance. But when the market is in sell-off mode, you should shift your focus to the balance sheet. That’s where you can measure a company’s real worth and get a handle on how much risk the stock can hold.  Although a company’s market value can fall below the level of tangible book value on its balance sheet, it is likely to fall much less than most, even if the broader market plunges to fresh lows. That’s no small concern at a time when the European and Chinese economies are now weakening. Fresh reports point to a global economic slowdown, and you should be focusing on defensive “below book” stocks right now. These carry solid upside like growth stocks, but defensive stocks that trade below tangible book value will allow you to sleep better at night.  #-ad_banner-#After reviewing the 1,500 stocks that comprise… Read More

  If you were angling for a piece of the Facebook (NYSE: FB) IPO — only to see it quickly drop — then know that it could have been worse. You could have invested in stocks like Brightcove (Nasdaq: BCOV) or Millennial Media… Read More

  It is a good thing for long-term investors when the market only looks at things a quarter or two at a time. This short-sightedness causes lots of day-to-day volatility, but it can also create some attractive bargains. Lately, for example, the market has… Read More