Creating a list of high-yielding stocks is simple, but seasoned investors know that high yield alone is not a good reason to own a stock. That’s because sometimes high-yield stocks report earnings that are too weak to sustain… Read More

Finding a decent income stream in early 2010 was a difficult task for investors. After all, global stocks were still reeling from the aftershocks of what was arguably the worst global economic downturn and credit crisis since the 1930s. To fight the crisis, global central banks slashed… Read More

I’ve told you before about the opportunities in international companies… Dozens of countries are growing their economies at faster rates than the United States. The CIA World Factbook ranks the United States near the bottom in world gross domestic product growth — number 172 of 214 countries/territories. Read More

I must confess to being very envious of a retired couple I know, because they’re long-term investors in one of the best stocks of the past half century. Shares of this company are up a whopping 13,000% since… Read More

The S&P 500 recently notched its highest close in more than three and a half years. Hitting new peaks in the bull market that began in March 2009, the U.S. benchmark has gained 9.0% so far this year. Read More

Whenever I screen for stocks, I always look at whether insiders are buying shares of their companies. This kind of information can be extremely valuable to individual investors. Insiders know the industry, the inner workings of the company and the… Read More

I can imagine what you’re thinking after reading the headline of today’s issue… “Government bonds don’t yield 8.7%. I can go to dozens of websites and show you that 10-year… Read More

It pays more dividends than any other company in the United States. In total, it distributes more than $2.5 billion every quarter, or about $10.2 billion each year. That’s more than the annual gross domestic product of Nicaragua, Barbados, The Bahamas or Madagascar. In fact, it’s enough… Read More

After all of the gyrations of the market in 2011, it turns out that utilities were the best-performing sector of the S&P 500 last year, posting 15% returns. So far this year, however, utilities have missed out on the broad market rally. These stocks… Read More

A couple of weeks ago, several of the nation’s banks underwent a so-called “stress test” to determine whether they were healthy enough to survive a major economic contraction without requiring new capital. Some failed, but most passed. Yet, even before the dust has settled from the good… Read More