Las Vegas is full of tales of the “good old days.” One of the more fascinating is a story that allegedly took place back in 1969. The story goes that Frank Sinatra told every Las Vegas casino owner they either bought their liquor from a buddy of… Read More

Back in May, I wrote about an unfortunate trend . America is getting fatter. The other unfortunate trend is that people generally fail when it comes to dieting. Although I can’t say dieting is an addiction like smoking, I can say that dieters, like smokers, just can’t… Read More

Americans are a materialistic people. We like our home theatres, our furniture and our appliances. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a new refrigerator or television, so they choose to rent instead of buy. The great news for investors is that this turns out to be an extremely… Read More

Investors may feel like they have nowhere to turn during times like these. Equity investors have seen a -35% return in the S&P 500 during the past 10 years, making it known as “The Lost Decade.” Meanwhile, those who turn to bonds are likely to find themselves sorely disappointed — the 10-year T-bill currently yields a measly 3.02%. So what’s an investor to do? Well, there is a security that provides diversification with bond-like regular income along with a shot at capital gains. Trouble is, most people haven’t heard of… Read More

Investors may feel like they have nowhere to turn during times like these. Equity investors have seen a -35% return in the S&P 500 during the past 10 years, making it known as “The Lost Decade.” Meanwhile, those who turn to bonds are likely to find themselves sorely disappointed — the 10-year T-bill currently yields a measly 3.02%. So what’s an investor to do? Well, there is a security that provides diversification with bond-like regular income along with a shot at capital gains. Trouble is, most people haven’t heard of it. And if they have, investors often shy away from them because they seem too complicated. It’s a real shame, because these readily available securities often make terrific investments for a portfolio. The security in question is known as “preferred stock.” Investors should think of preferreds as stock-bond hybrids, because they share characteristics of both. Let’s walk through how a preferred issuance is characterized and how investors can score juicy and stable returns. Hospital REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) issued eight million… Read More

If someone told you two hundred years ago that an inherently worthless item would be hocked to generations of people, and that the asking price for this item would be several thousand dollars per gram, you probably wouldn’t believe it. But as an investor, you’d probably want a piece of… Read More

Warren Buffett — and Benjamin Graham before him — made their fortunes off of one simple strategy: buying assets at cheap, undervalued prices and then helping those assets realize their value. It’s a tried and true strategy that’s spawned generations of value investors. For an investor, it… Read More

There are literally thousands of companies that have been built on how people behave. Most of the time, these companies exist to serve people’s demands for something convenient, necessary or entertaining. But some companies exist because everyone is prone to mistakes. These are the kinds of investments… Read More

The word “bankruptcy” is anathema to most investors. Holding shares of a company in this position means investors are likely to be wiped out. Sometimes, however, a bankruptcy can be exactly the right thing for both the company and investors, if handled properly. Read More

In the hunt for stocks, equity investors often turn to mechanical things like screeners to help guide them. They set various criteria such as earnings growth or market cap and blindly follow the answers that get spit out. There’s nothing wrong with this approach,… Read More

The entertainment industry is always trying to attract people’s attention in order to get a piece of their discretionary income. For investors, that’s a great thing, especially if it’s income consumers want to spend because it involves their kids. For the… Read More