The stock market is surely unpredictable. My prediction that LED lighting manufacturer Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), one of the stocks in my $100,000 real-money portfolio, would meet or exceed fiscal second-quarter estimates, turned out to be off the mark. The company trailed both top and bottom line forecasts,… Read More

Regular readers of my articles know that I spend most of my time in search of undervalued mid-sized and large companies. There are so many bargains in the S&P 500 alone, that it simply hasn’t paid to spend too much time on small — and risky — stocks in recent… Read More

It sure feels like a challenging investing environment — especially for smaller stocks, since they are usually seen as the riskiest. But did you know the Russell 2000, a handy proxy for small-cap stocks, has risen a hefty 15% since late November? Then again,… Read More

It’s tax time once again. For a still-rising number of taxpayers, this means it’s time to buy, download or purchase a copy of TurboTax or H&R Block at Home (formerly known as TaxCut), the leading tax-preparation offerings from Intuit (Nasdaq: INTU) and H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), respectively. Read More

I like to strike while the iron is hot. That’s why I’ve wasted no time committing cash from my $100,000 real-money portfolio in short order. To recap… I bought $12,500 worth of Ford Motor (NYSE: F), which I think is poised for great things… Read More

After a less-than-stellar performance for the S&P 500 in 2011, investors continue to scratch their heads as they try to figure out where to allocate capital for the New Year. Treasuries? Sure, if you want to pay too much, then take on more… Read More

To make money in stocks, you need to focus on companies BEFORE everyone else does. And while many think of Alcoa (NYSE: AA), the second investment in my $100,000 real-money portfolio, as an out-of-favor cyclical play, I see a company that is on the cusp of rotating back into favor. Read More

We’ve all seen it happen. You buy a stock and then it steadily drops in value. Either you were ill-informed about the investment idea, or simply off on your timing. I’ve never wavered from my belief that municipal bond insurer Assured… Read More

I spend much of my time in search of companies that possess robust growth prospects. But I’m also content to occasionally focus my energy on companies that are unlikely to grow meaningfully. The catch: these companies must be able to generate a huge amount of… Read More

At the beginning of any new year, something feels intuitively right about stepping into the prior year’s high-momentum stocks. It’s a rarity, however, for sectors and industries to lead the market two years in a row. In fact, one year’s best performers tend… Read More