Savvy short sellers know to avoid crowds. The best of them will speak of “crowded shorts,” which refer to stocks that are so heavily shorted that they may become vulnerable to a short squeeze that instantly pushes them higher. A number of big-time short… Read More
David Sterman has worked as an investment analyst for nearly two decades. He started his Wall Street career in equity research at Smith Barney, culminating in a position as Senior Analyst covering European banks. While at Smith Barney, he learned of all the tricks used by Wall Street to steer the best advice to their top clients and their own trading desk. David has also served as Managing Editor at TheStreet.com and Director of Research at Individual Investor. In addition, David worked as Director of Research for Jesup & Lamont Securities. David has made numerous media appearances over the years, primarily on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, and has a master's degree in management from Georgia Tech. David Stermanon
Analyst Articles
Anyone who has been to the grocery store during the past few years has first-hand experience with just how real the trend in food inflation is. Nowadays, it’s easy to spend close to $4 on a gallon of milk. A carton of eggs… Read More
When President Obama writes his memoirs, he will surely point to Nov. 14, 2011 as one of the worst days of his presidency. That’s when the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear legal challenges against the Administration’s sweeping overhaul of the United States’ health care system. Administration officials spent thousands of hours horse-trading with various members of Congress, ultimately producing a document which, according to one recent poll, roughly two-thirds of voters would like to see altered or overturned. #-ad_banner-#For more conservative voters, the legislation smacks of government overreach and a loss of personal liberty. For liberal voters, the… Read More
When President Obama writes his memoirs, he will surely point to Nov. 14, 2011 as one of the worst days of his presidency. That’s when the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear legal challenges against the Administration’s sweeping overhaul of the United States’ health care system. Administration officials spent thousands of hours horse-trading with various members of Congress, ultimately producing a document which, according to one recent poll, roughly two-thirds of voters would like to see altered or overturned. #-ad_banner-#For more conservative voters, the legislation smacks of government overreach and a loss of personal liberty. For liberal voters, the overhaul didn’t go far enough, leaving too many profits on the table for private insurers, as the “public option” component was negotiated out of existence. Of course the Supreme Court won’t simply hand down a ruling based on a poll of current voter preferences. Instead, the justices will look at various aspects of the legislation and determine whether any or all aspects need to be rolled back. With a ruling expected on or before June 25, it’s time to prep your portfolio for the various possible outcomes. (The Supreme Court holds its press conference on Thursday, June 14,… Read More
How to Invest Like the Super-Rich
What do Larry Ellison, Sean Combs, Ted Turner, Bono and Saudi Prince Alwaleed have in common with thousands of other very wealthy people? It certainly isn’t their style of dress, philosophy or even how they made their money. In fact, these folks couldn’t be more different in terms of just… Read More
My Favorite Stock for Monthly Dividends
For income investors, monthly dividend payers are the gold standard. We depend on regular distributions to help with bills… and having to wait three months for our next payment isn’t always practical. Luckily, there… Read More
Has Bruce Berkowitz been exposed to kryptonite? His money-management firm, Fairholme Capital, is on a losing streak few could have anticipated. After all, this is a fund that handily outperformed the S&P 500 in 10 out of 11 years through 2010. That streak ended with a loud bang in 2011,… Read More
September 16, 1992, has gone down in history as the day George Soros broke the Bank of England. Britain’s effort to fight against the devaluation of the pound could not counteract the market forces that were… Read More
Is it Time to Buy Facebook?
On Wednesday, June 6, at precisely 10:00 a.m. EDT, a major moment for the stock market may have been marked. That’s when shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) fell to $25.52 before turning up. For folks that bought into… Read More
When it comes to investing, I like playing in the gutter. My goal is to locate stocks that have fallen into disregard and are downright hated by most investors, yet retain enough value to create strong odds of a rebound. This is value investing at its very core — low… Read More
This Could be a Home-Run Stock
I’d like to apologize right up front. This is an article that is heavy on numbers, focused on some mundane issues, and is really an academic exercise in how to analyze a turnaround. The good news: the company I am focusing on may be… Read More