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

Every portfolio needs a strong foundation of stable and dependable investments. Solid income producers and tried and true equities are the hallmark of a prudent retirement plan.   But is that enough?   Those of us heading into retirement may have to do more with our… Read More

One thing was abundantly clear in the most recent earnings season: Quarterly results were often terrific as analysts had apparently underestimated the earnings strength of a wide range of companies in a wide swath of industries. And in… Read More

Stock market volatility has caused many investors to question their commitment to buying individual stocks. This combined with a decade of flat to slightly negative stock market returns has stoked a debate over whether buy-and-hold investing makes any sense going forward. Defensive-minded investors looking to lower equity… Read More

In a bid to steal some thunder in the burgeoning market for handheld electronic readers, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced this week that it will cut prices on its Nook e-reader. Bad move. Rival Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) was waiting for such a development, and quickly offered up its own price cuts for its Kindle 2. Falling prices and rising market share are part of Amazon’s long-term playbook, and many past rivals have been bloodied by trying to compete with Amazon’s global scale. At first blush, this is a real win… Read More

In a bid to steal some thunder in the burgeoning market for handheld electronic readers, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced this week that it will cut prices on its Nook e-reader. Bad move. Rival Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) was waiting for such a development, and quickly offered up its own price cuts for its Kindle 2. Falling prices and rising market share are part of Amazon’s long-term playbook, and many past rivals have been bloodied by trying to compete with Amazon’s global scale. At first blush, this is a real win for consumers. For those who don’t want to pay the $500 to $700 for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, the new $200 price point for the Nook and the Kindle 2 should prove enticing. These firms know that they won’t make much money on these devices, but they do offer the chance to build a loyal customer base for many years to come. That’s just what Apple did with iTunes nearly a decade ago. Of course, both Barnes & Noble and Amazon should see sales of their readers rise at a solid clip this year, though it’s safe… Read More

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Facing a gargantuan budget deficit, New York Governor David Paterson has announced plans to add another $1.60 in taxes to every pack of cigarettes sold in his state. That will push the average retail price above the… Read More

BP’s (NYSE: BP) web site is filled with a wide range of Gulf-spill related updates. The energy giant is overwhelming visitors with frequent updates in a bid to show that it is taking matters quite seriously. Lost in all those updates, investors may have missed a fairly… 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 past weekend’s news that China will allow its currency, the yuan, to appreciate against the dollar sent positive waves through the market for much of Monday’s trading session. Aluminum and steel stocks were up, as were domestic consumer plays in mainland China. But,… Read More

If you read my article from late last week, you know about my family farm in Kansas. And you’ll also remember that I work out of the StreetAuthority offices in Austin, Texas. So what do those two places have to do with today’s investment idea? One word:… Read More