When it comes to stock-picking, it’s not always about finding the best company in an industry. It’s about finding the best stock in that industry. I was reminded of that axiom after poring over first-quarter results from Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup… Read More

In times past and even recently, I’ve heard investors criticize those who “play it safe” by holding shares of very large, well-established and slower-growing companies. Even though they often pay healthy dividends, such stocks just don’t deliver the returns of newer, smaller and faster-growing… Read More

Let’s get the bad news out of the way. Telecom firm Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has stumbled on several fronts, triggering a stop-loss in my $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio, so I’ll be selling my 800 share position 48 hours after you read this. More bad news: the recent market pullback has… Read More

Whenever you hear that a company is a “growth-through-acquisition story,” you should be cautious. Investors tend to shun these types of stocks, as acquisitions bring plenty of risk. The acquired company may not generate the revenue growth… Read More

In late February, energy stocks started to perk up as oil easily moved past the $100 per barrel mark. Rising tensions with Iran were seen as the big factor, but an improving U.S. economy also changed the calculus for many investors. As U.S. consumers start to spend more… Read More

What happens when you build too much manufacturing capacity but not enough customers to keep your factory floor busy? You lose money. The overhead costs quickly eat up any gross profits you make.   That has been the long-standing problem for carbon fiber… Read More

If you’re being kept awake by a neighbor’s party, you may as well get dressed and join the fun. That was the possible reaction to Wall Street strategists, who issued fairly dour “year-ahead” reports back in December, predicting the… Read More

(Editor’s note: the stop-loss for this trade has been revised.) The global energy picture is changing so fast that it’s getting hard to keep up. In just the last five years, we’ve seen: • Crude oil briefly spike above $140 a barrel in… Read More

Circle your calendars for March 28. That’s when investors will start to talk about the biggest growth opportunity for smartphones in the months and years ahead. On that day, China Unicom (NYSE: CHU), China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) plan to roll out a… Read More

To succeed in a new business, companies look for opportunities with little competition and wide barriers to entry. When I took a position in Zipcar (Nasdaq: ZIP) in late January, I saw the burgeoning car-sharing company checking only one of those two boxes. Competition was minimal, excepting a half-hearted entry… Read More