For the firms operating the nation’s leading mutual funds, times are tough and getting tougher. If you have money parked in their key funds, then be prepared to be dragged along for the ride. Net results are weak and could get even weaker, making this a bad time to commit… Read More

George Soros is a world-renowned former billionaire hedge-fund manager and philanthropist. He co-founded the Quantum Fund in the 1970s with Jim Rogers, another world-famous investor. Soros’ fame grew in 1992 when he made $1 billion by short-selling the pound sterling, speculating that the British government would be forced to devalue the currency. He became known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England.” Unlike his former partner Jim Rogers, who is credited with anticipating the commodity boom that started in… Read More

George Soros is a world-renowned former billionaire hedge-fund manager and philanthropist. He co-founded the Quantum Fund in the 1970s with Jim Rogers, another world-famous investor. Soros’ fame grew in 1992 when he made $1 billion by short-selling the pound sterling, speculating that the British government would be forced to devalue the currency. He became known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England.” Unlike his former partner Jim Rogers, who is credited with anticipating the commodity boom that started in the late 1990s and who is keeping his gold, Soros has been selling a lot of gold. The moves speak volumes. He believes gold is in a bubble and he’d rather sell before everybody else catches on. #-ad_banner-#In September of 2010 Soros said “Gold is the ultimate bubble, it is certainly not safe.” In the first quarter of 2011, he sold nearly $800 million worth of gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks. After that sale, his company, Soros Fund Management, owned less than 50,000 shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:… Read More

The S&P 500 Index has been up nearly 92% since March 6, 2009. This impressive run has many market participants cheering for the rally to continue indefinitely. But as exciting as it may be to reference that 92% return, it is not very important, except for investors who bought… Read More

Currency investing by the “Main Street” investor, regular Joe’s and Jane’s like you and me, has exploded in recent years, thanks to the expansion of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) universe. Once the territory of hedge-fund managers… Read More

Whenever the topic of inflation arises, the two words that most often come from investors’ mouths are “gold” and “silver.” And while it’s true that gold and silver are inflation hedges that offer large potential returns, they also tend to carry an equally large… Read More

They’re a staple of most high-yield portfolios. Just about every income investor has at least a few thousand dollars invested in this group. There are good reasons for their popularity. These businesses throw off enormous amounts of cash. By law, they have to pay at least 90%… Read More

Despite the recent bearish effort, the stock market‘s still up 6% for the year. Some sectors and groups, however, are up more than others. Such outperformance begs the question: are these leading industries already over-baked, or is… Read More

Many investors wish they had invested earlier or more substantially in one or more of the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the mid-1990s the writing was on the wall that China and other emerging markets were headed for bigger and… Read More

Gold and silver have appreciated about 30% and 130%, respectively, in the past year. Given the returns, a pullback or correction in precious metals-related stocks would not be surprising. However, should the rally in precious metals continue to have legs, I have three… Read More

With a slew of bad news recently hitting the streets, it appears fear is on the rise.  Unemployment rates remain high at 8.8%, housing sales are still slugglish and, despite an already weak U.S. dollar, the Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates near zero —… Read More