In investing, there is one rule that supersedes all others. And this rule should be the first thing you consider when building the core holdings in your portfolio. Legendary investor Warren Buffett put it best: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Don’t forget rule No. 1.” There is no sure thing in investing, and every investment comes with certain risks. However, today I would like to… Read More

In investing, there is one rule that supersedes all others. And this rule should be the first thing you consider when building the core holdings in your portfolio. Legendary investor Warren Buffett put it best: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Don’t forget rule No. 1.” There is no sure thing in investing, and every investment comes with certain risks. However, today I would like to share with you five funds that I believe are some of the safest, most stable investments on the market.#-ad_banner-# But first, let’s take a look at the investment that most people consider the benchmark of safety: U.S. Treasury bonds. Treasurys are considered the safest investments in the world because the U.S. government has never defaulted on any debt it has… Read More

One hundred seventy thousand dollars. That’s roughly how much one share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A (NYSE: BRK-A) stock is selling for these days. Imagine if you had been one of the fortunate few to invest in Warren Buffett‘s young company back in 1967, when shares were trading for $20.50. Right now, you would be sitting on a total nominal gain of 829,460%. But nowadays, Berkshire has, to some degree, become a victim… Read More

One hundred seventy thousand dollars. That’s roughly how much one share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A (NYSE: BRK-A) stock is selling for these days. Imagine if you had been one of the fortunate few to invest in Warren Buffett‘s young company back in 1967, when shares were trading for $20.50. Right now, you would be sitting on a total nominal gain of 829,460%. But nowadays, Berkshire has, to some degree, become a victim of its own success. Buffett has often said that the company’s current size ($278 billion market cap) has made future growth more difficult. “Size is the anchor of performance. There is no question about it,” Buffett has said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t do better than average as you get larger, but the margin shrinks.”  Of course, having too much money is a problem most of us would like to have. And I certainly don’t mean… Read More

One hundred seventy thousand dollars. That’s roughly how much one share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A (NYSE: BRK-A) stock is selling for these days. Imagine if you had been one of the fortunate few to invest in Warren Buffett‘s young company back in 1967, when shares were trading for $20.50. Right now, you would be sitting on a total nominal gain of 829,460%. But nowadays, Berkshire has, to some degree, become a victim… Read More

One hundred seventy thousand dollars. That’s roughly how much one share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A (NYSE: BRK-A) stock is selling for these days. Imagine if you had been one of the fortunate few to invest in Warren Buffett‘s young company back in 1967, when shares were trading for $20.50. Right now, you would be sitting on a total nominal gain of 829,460%. But nowadays, Berkshire has, to some degree, become a victim of its own success. Buffett has often said that the company’s current size ($278 billion market cap) has made future growth more difficult. “Size is the anchor of performance. There is no question about it,” Buffett has said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t do better than average as you get larger, but the margin shrinks.”  Of course, having too much money is a problem most of us would like to have. And I certainly don’t mean… Read More

Since the Federal Reserve’s recent announcements regarding the “tapering” of its quantitative easing programs, the real estate investment trust (REIT) market has been in a tailspin. The Dow Jones Equity REIT… Read More

T. Boone Pickens has been around a long time. Born in 1928, the 85-year-old billionaire has amassed a fortune by investing in the industry he knows best: oil and gas. He came from an oil and gas pedigree. His father worked as a landman leasing oil and mineral rights in Oklahoma. Pickens’ first job out of college was with Phillips Petroleum. He later worked as a wildcatter. In 1956, he founded the company that would become Mesa Petroleum and helped it grow into one of the largest… Read More

T. Boone Pickens has been around a long time. Born in 1928, the 85-year-old billionaire has amassed a fortune by investing in the industry he knows best: oil and gas. He came from an oil and gas pedigree. His father worked as a landman leasing oil and mineral rights in Oklahoma. Pickens’ first job out of college was with Phillips Petroleum. He later worked as a wildcatter. In 1956, he founded the company that would become Mesa Petroleum and helped it grow into one of the largest independent oil companies in the world. During the 1980s, he became famous for his acquisition of other oil and gas companies, including Pioneer Petroleum and Gulf Oil. His newfound notoriety landed him on the cover of Time Magazine and prompted him to consider a presidential bid during the 1988 elections. When it comes to investing in the U.S. oil and gas sector, one would be hard pressed to find a more knowledgeable or experienced person anywhere on the planet. According to 13F filings, Pickens opened five new… Read More

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke managed to spook the markets yet again last week. Like many investors, I watched his press conference and then witnessed the market‘s reaction as stocks slid south, trailing red. Investors and analysts are concerned that rising interest rates threaten to curtail the housing boom that’s helped drive the economic rebound. This $5 trillion segment of the U.S. Read More

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke managed to spook the markets yet again last week. Like many investors, I watched his press conference and then witnessed the market‘s reaction as stocks slid south, trailing red. Investors and analysts are concerned that rising interest rates threaten to curtail the housing boom that’s helped drive the economic rebound. This $5 trillion segment of the U.S. economy is often considered a bellwether for the economy as a whole. In the following chart tracking the S&P 500 Homebuilding Sub-Industry Index, you can see the market’s reaction after Bernanke’s statements on June 19:   But while homebuilders have seen big drops in share price over the past few days, some home-improvement businesses have remained relatively unscathed. In fact, the home-improvement company I’m going to tell you about has… Read More

The CEO of the world’s largest copper mining company bought 1 million shares of his company’s stock at $31.16 per share on June 3.  At the time of this writing, shares are trading around $29.32.   Now, I don’t want to suggest blindly following the investment moves of every industry insider. But when a CEO makes a $31 million purchase of his company’s… Read More

The CEO of the world’s largest copper mining company bought 1 million shares of his company’s stock at $31.16 per share on June 3.  At the time of this writing, shares are trading around $29.32.   Now, I don’t want to suggest blindly following the investment moves of every industry insider. But when a CEO makes a $31 million purchase of his company’s stock, which is trading for the cheapest it’s been since 2008 — I think a closer look is in order. Regular readers may already know that mining stocks have not fared as well as the broader market so far this year. Commodity prices for precious metals have been lagging, which creates headwinds for producers and drives share prices down. In another example, Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) (which I covered two weeks ago),… Read More

Last August, StreetAuthority analyst Nathan Slaughter made a bold prediction. At the time, the price of natural gas had reached decade-low prices just a few months before, falling below $2 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in April of 2012. Nathan predicted that natural gas was due for a rebound. He also spotted a huge disconnect between the rising price of natural gas and the share prices of the companies that produce it. Since June 2012, the price of natural gas has doubled, reaching $4.40 in… Read More

Last August, StreetAuthority analyst Nathan Slaughter made a bold prediction. At the time, the price of natural gas had reached decade-low prices just a few months before, falling below $2 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in April of 2012. Nathan predicted that natural gas was due for a rebound. He also spotted a huge disconnect between the rising price of natural gas and the share prices of the companies that produce it. Since June 2012, the price of natural gas has doubled, reaching $4.40 in April before tapering off. Now, if we were to take a look at the share price for the stock of a “pure play” natural gas company (as opposed to one that produces a combination of gas and oil), we might expect the share price to mirror the price of gas. After all, the spread between how much it costs for these companies to drill for gas and how much they are able to sell it for on the open… Read More

For many investors, 2013 has been a good year. On May 7, the Dow Jones industrial average broke 15,000 for the first time ever. Since Jan. 1, the S&P 500 is up more than 15%. Microsoft, a company whose share price has been relatively flat for years, is up more than 30%. But there is one market sector that never got invited to the party. In fact, many of the companies that make up this unique market niche have seen their share prices plummet over the past three… Read More

For many investors, 2013 has been a good year. On May 7, the Dow Jones industrial average broke 15,000 for the first time ever. Since Jan. 1, the S&P 500 is up more than 15%. Microsoft, a company whose share price has been relatively flat for years, is up more than 30%. But there is one market sector that never got invited to the party. In fact, many of the companies that make up this unique market niche have seen their share prices plummet over the past three months, falling by as much as 20%. Share prices have fallen so far that many of these high-yielders are now trading below book value. In other words, investors are now able to snap up shares of companies yielding up to 19% for less than the company would be worth if it were to liquidate its assets and pay back its liabilities.  If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about mortgage REITs (… Read More

For the first time since 2004, shares of one of the world’s largest gold and copper mining companies were recently selling below $20. But since the end of April, the stock has appeared to carve out a bottom and is in an uptrend, shooting up 7% in the past week alone. Looking at the technical picture, the situation appears ripe for a sustained turnaround. I think this stock still has an… Read More

For the first time since 2004, shares of one of the world’s largest gold and copper mining companies were recently selling below $20. But since the end of April, the stock has appeared to carve out a bottom and is in an uptrend, shooting up 7% in the past week alone. Looking at the technical picture, the situation appears ripe for a sustained turnaround. I think this stock still has an upside potential of more than 100% from today’s prices. Since 2012, the company has increased its dividend 33% to a yield of 4%, helping tide over investors while they wait. I’m talking about Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX). But first, let’s take a look at the reasons behind the recent price drop. To begin with, the price of gold has taken a nosedive since November: A mining company like Barrick makes its… Read More