With interest rates at historic lows, retirees and other income investors are more likely than ever to fall into a dangerous trap — chasing higher-risk dividend stocks to earn more income. This doesn’t only occur among do-it-yourself investors. I’ve seen professionals succumb… Read More

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) is one of those stocks just about every investor wishes they had from the beginning, since Oct. 1, 1970, when the company first went public. If you’d even been able to buy just 10 shares that historic day… Read More

While the overall economy is still on shaky legs, one thing’s hard to deny: The stock market has been doing great. By the stock market, I mean the Standard & Poor’s (S&P)… Read More

With interest rates showing no sign of improving anytime soon, investors are more apt to continue turning to dividend-paying stocks for decent income, despite the added risk relative to bonds. But these stocks have become so popular, that reasonably-priced assets are getting… Read More

Income-producing securities have a certain appeal you just don’t get from stocks that don’t provide any sort of scheduled payout. With dividend-paying stocks, you know you’re going to get a regular return on investment even if the economy is bad or… Read More

If the thought of having a portion of your portfolio in foreign stocks makes your stomach turn, then you’re not alone. Conversations I’ve had with people in the industry confirm what I had expected because of the drawn-out euro crisis: Foreign stocks are extremely unpopular and many investors want nothing… Read More

One of the stock market‘s biggest players has made three bets that should grab the attention of investors everywhere. Not only because of the amount, a whopping $3.4 billion altogether, but because this guru is so influential that his presence as a shareholder can… Read More

As different as they are, stocks and bonds often share a key feature — yield, the annual dividend or interest payment divided by the price of the security, expressed as a… Read More

Let’s face it, investing isn’t always perfect. Sometimes companies which we invest in do things that make us cringe, like causing harm to the environment or selling a product with safety issues. Some companies are better about these environmental, ethical or safety issues, so many investors make their decisions on… Read More

Investing in a huge, well-known company that’s an industry leader and pays a nice dividend might seem like a no-brainer, especially if the stock looks reasonably priced. But like the famous George Gershwin song says, “It ain’t necessarily so.” There’s nothing… Read More