While Gulf Coast residents are taking to the streets for Mardi Gras, Brazilians prepare to kick it up a notch (or 12) with their own unique, pre-Lent festival: Carnival. But despite its reputation as a party-hardy destination, Brazil is also home to a thriving, highly productive, developing emerging… Read More

Few companies can transform themselves from an old-line, houseware manufacturer into a cutting-edge player in the telecommunications sector. And rarely does the market deeply discount the stock price of a high-quality, high-tech stock because it sees its core business as becoming commoditized. Read More

In discussing the retail sector, I’m constantly reminded of Einstein’s classic definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. This is especially applicable to consumer-electronics retailers. Historically, many of the names were typically regional players (The Wiz, Rex, CAMPO, Crazy Eddie are… 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

What a year! If nothing major happens in the next week or so, it looks like the S&P 500  will finish the year down by about 3.6%. Try to be careful as you jump for joy. It’s hard to argue against the fact that there’s a sideways… Read More

Back in April, I wrote a piece about taking profits on some of the energy master limited partnerships or MLPs. [You can read the original article here.] How have things turned out since? Two of the names I discussed, Kinder Morgan Energy (NYSE: KMP) and Navios Maritime… Read More

As a kid, I was scared to death of roller coasters. I never went on them. But in the summer of 1977, peer pressure changed that. The last day of summer camp featured a trip to Six Flags Over Georgia. After riding just about every ride in the park, my… Read More

“Insurance is sold, not bought.” This old saying may be true from the consumer side. From the shrewd investor’s point of view, however, it’s an entirely different story. Legendary value investor Shelby Cullom Davis, for instance turned $50,000 into a fortune of $800 million dollars by buying… Read More

It’s safe to say that the Haloid Photographic Co., founded in Rochester, N.Y, in 1906, is a long forgotten American technology name. Originally, the company manufactured photographic paper and equipment. We’ve all seen where that business has gone in the new digital age. Luckily, Haloid changed its name to Haloid… Read More

A funny thing happens during corrections and bear markets. Selling begins and the usual suspects are punished: second-tier stocks, companies with shaky prospects and even shakier financials, companies with too much exposure to the area that’s creating the particular problem or perceived problem. Then the next phase hits,… Read More