Are you an income investor or a growth investor? It’s pretty much been accepted as common knowledge that a stock either offers great dividends, or great potential for price appreciation, but not both. If you look hard enough though — and far enough down the market cap scale… Read More

In order to make money in stocks, you’ve got to invest. Not just money — you’ve got to invest time to watch and watch and watch a gathered list of stocks and be ready to pounce when opportunities present themselves. Here are three stocks that have been on my watch list and now look like promising buys. 1. Couer D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) At the start of each year, investors fret that this may be the year that China finally cools. But that’s been a bad bet recently and I’m betting that this year’s China… Read More

In order to make money in stocks, you’ve got to invest. Not just money — you’ve got to invest time to watch and watch and watch a gathered list of stocks and be ready to pounce when opportunities present themselves. Here are three stocks that have been on my watch list and now look like promising buys. 1. Couer D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE) At the start of each year, investors fret that this may be the year that China finally cools. But that’s been a bad bet recently and I’m betting that this year’s China scare will also prove to be unwarranted, despite possible troubles in that country’s housing sector. The rest of the economy simply has too much momentum, which is why I agree with commodity bulls that China’s insatiable demand for all kinds of metals and minerals will keep this asset class on the rise in 2011. My favorite current commodities play is Couer D’Alene, an 80-year-old company that is ramping up production of gold, silver, zinc and iron ore. It’s been a “show-me” stock lately as it starts to boost output at some new mines. Read More

Oil, technology, minerals and banking. Those are the industries that are host to the world’s most richly-valued companies. In fact, with a market cap of more than $250 billion, these companies are larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries such Portugal, Egypt or Chile. Read More

Every company looks at a new year as a fresh opportunity. Companies make plans to boost sales, watch costs and deliver investor-pleasing bottom-line results. The three companies we’re discussing today clearly didn’t meet those goals in 2010. But the stars are aligning for better results this year, perhaps spectacularly so. Read More

It’s no secret that the media industry has been deeply affected by the advent of the Internet. It is the most efficient distribution channel ever for consumers to read, listen, and watch content. Newspapers and magazines continue to give way to online content outlets, airwaves are being replaced by Internet… Read More

After two months as a newly-public company, shares of GM (NYSE: GM) have posted a decent 10% gain, slightly better than the 6% gain posted by the S&P 500. Then again, rival Ford Motor (NYSE: F) has risen by an even more impressive 14% since… Read More

Companies are doing everything in their power to make investors focus on the long-term. Monthly sales reports have been replaced by quarterly sales updates by many retailers, and quarterly forward guidance is increasingly being replaced by once-a-year outlooks that get incrementally adjusted throughout the year. That’s why this coming… Read More

With each passing year, investors need to change up their playbook. What worked in the prior year may not work this time around [See: “5 Pitfalls for Investors in 2011”] It’s pretty easy to find out what didn’t work in the past year. I ran a screen… Read More

It’s that time of year. Millions of us are making New Year’s resolutions. Unsurprisingly, the most common resolution is to lose weight. I can’t think of but a handful of people who wouldn’t want to shed a couple of pounds. But despite our best… Read More

While you were away celebrating the holidays, the economy sprang to life. I can’t blame you for not noticing. After all, the holidays are supposed to be a festive time. And the U.S. economy has been stuck in the mud for an extended period. Read More