Two dozen S&P 500 members yield 6% or more, about one in 20 companies listed on the market’s benchmark. Here are those companies: Company Ticker Yield Frontier Communications FTR 14.4% Windstream Corp. WIN 11.1%… Read More
Results
I’m consistently amazed at the ability of smart, successful people to get things totally wrong. I find myself in slack-jawed awe of how just plain clueless investors can be. The supply of intelligence is finite, someone once said, but the population is growing. That makes me smile. I don’t grin… Read More
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
A good deal of political turmoil has surrounded the exchange-traded fund (ETF) world in recent months. The powers-that-be have been tightening the regulatory noose around certain commodities and leveraged funds. This has created headaches for fund issuers and millions of individual investors that have… Read More
Stocks have been on a tear the past few months — no doubt about that. Investors who bought in at the market’s March 6 ebb have seen a +52.8% return in the the S&P 500. Even investors who entered the market at the beginning of the year have seen a… Read More
Investors don’t have a crystal ball that can predict the market, but they can study its past performance. History tells us that bull markets follow bear markets and that printing money causes… 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
The iPhone was initially available only in the U.S., United Kingdom and parts of Europe. Now the ubiquitous touch-screen smartphone is around the world. While many countries are untapped markets for the popular device, one stands out. China. Now Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has made a three-year deal with China’s second-largest… Read More
When Enron’s accounting fraud came to light and the company went bankrupt, Enron employees not only lost their jobs, they lost an estimated $850 million on the Enron stock held in their retirement accounts. Bear Sterns… Read More
The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which measures the price it costs to ship raw materials by sea, is falling again — and fast. #-ad_banner-#The BDI isn’t a regular stock index like the S&P 500. It’s a composite… Read More