Here’s an old Wall Street saying that investors should “Sell in May and go away.” While there’s no identifiable rationale to explain why that should be good advice, there is an element of empirical truth. A study by Plexus Asset management shows that… Read More

If you’re like a lot of investors, then you might be getting prepped to “sell in May and go away,” shedding stocks in anticipation of the historical market-wide weakness that kicks in during the middle of the year. And the math supports this assumption. Every month from May through September… Read More

Investors are often faced with a clear conundrum — what to do with a stock that holds great long-term promise and stumbling near-term execution. That question has been vexing me ever since I added shares of Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) to my $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio in early January and… Read More

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

You probably haven’t heard this story — it’s been overshadowed by the media’s ubiquitous coverage of the Supreme Court health care case.   But while every back was turned, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly released new regulations that could cripple, or possibly even kill, many U.S. coal… Read More

It’s always intriguing to look at the list of the most heavily-shorted stocks. Many investors like to see which companies are expected to tumble by various short-interest gauges. Owning these stocks long-term can give pause, and perhaps a reason to sell if short sellers’ arguments appear to be on the… Read More

In the 1994 investment classic The Warren Buffett Way, author Robert Hagstrom delves into great detail on the stocks that catapulted Buffett’s fortune into what it is today. In the chapter describing Berkshire Hathaway’s primary holdings, he quotes Buffett as saying “I find that a long-term familiarity with a company… Read More

As Warren Buffett, George Soros and so many others have said, you need to swim against the tide, finding values where others miss and shunning stocks that are loved by all. Back in the summer of 2010, agriculture firm Monsanto (NYSE: MON) was simply loathed. Low-cost Chinese… Read More

When aluminum producer Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reports first-quarter results after the bell on Tuesday, April 10, earnings season will officially be underway. What happens to stocks for the next two to three weeks will almost exclusively be a function of what major companies have… Read More

“Risk-on” and risk-off” are remarkably straightforward notions. When investors are bullish, they increasingly migrate into ever-riskier stocks, either ones that sport higher valuations, or ones that are small but potentially quite promising. Yet after a six-month stock market… Read More