If you’re an income investor that’s ever wanted to lock in a high yield, then know this: sometimes you’ve got to reach for it.  Not every high yielder is going to be a world-dominating company with a pristine… Read More

 After a brief respite, volatility has returned to the stock market with a vengeance. In fact, the only index that rose was the Market Volatility Index (VIX), which measures the… Read More

On Tuesday, my colleague David Sterman proclaimed the end of the bond rally. In effect, his main point is that while bonds have been a source of safety recently (while also performing very well), there’s just not that much upside left… Read More

By now, you’ve probably heard about the biggest story in energy. New drilling technologies in natural gas exploration and production have opened the floodgates to new supplies, creating all kinds of possibilities for consumers and investors. [See this article for an example of what I’m talking about.]  But this natural gas revolution has so far been a mixed blessing for producers, as natural gas prices have gone into a tail spin. From highs of $8 per million Btu (British thermal units) four years ago, natural gas prices at the wellhead have plummeted to a recent $2 per million Btu, the… Read More

By now, you’ve probably heard about the biggest story in energy. New drilling technologies in natural gas exploration and production have opened the floodgates to new supplies, creating all kinds of possibilities for consumers and investors. [See this article for an example of what I’m talking about.]  But this natural gas revolution has so far been a mixed blessing for producers, as natural gas prices have gone into a tail spin. From highs of $8 per million Btu (British thermal units) four years ago, natural gas prices at the wellhead have plummeted to a recent $2 per million Btu, the lowest point in more than a decade. As expected, major natural gas producers are feeling the pain. Well-known natural gas players such as Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), for instance, have lost 50% of their share price in the past 12 months alone (although, to be fair, some of that has to do with bad press regarding revelations of some of management’s practices).  #-ad_banner-#The good news is that in the investment world, for every loser there is also a winner. So you should be thinking about buying shares of the dozens of other… Read More

If everybody deserves a second chance, then shouldn’t the same apply to stocks? Most every company faces a major challenge at some point in its history that sends share prices tumbling and yields climbing. A few never recover, but the best ones regain their former luster with… Read More

To many people, it’s hard to justify investing in companies that make such unloved products as tobacco, weapons or even alcohol. But income investors can find lots of reasons to like tobacco and alcohol stocks, namely their defensive nature and the fact that they typically perform quite well. Read More

Many of us grew up in a world where natural resources like water and oil were cheap and plentiful, but those days are long gone. In today’s world, some natural resources (such as clean drinking water) are already stretched to the limit and becoming increasingly scarce. In fact, potable water… Read More

“The only certainties in life are death and taxes.” Everyone’s familiar with this old adage. Given the uncertainty of this economic recovery, wouldn’t it be nice to have an investment that is equally as reliable? The good news is income investors can come pretty close to this… Read More

Last year was a record year for spin-offs, with deals worth an estimated $116 billion completed. There are even more expected in 2012. Spin-offs occur when companies want to shed units that are performing poorly, undervalued or unrelated to the main business. Instead of selling to a… Read More

The greatest demographic trend affecting the United States today is the aging of the baby-boomer generation. Many of the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are beginning to retire. In fact, starting this year it is estimated that 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day. This means there… Read More