In Scarcity & Real Wealth last month, I urged readers to be mindful of China’s ongoing fight to contain inflation. If I were forced to pick a single barometer that could predict the weather for all types of real assets, it would be China’s… Read More

Despite the market’s miserable performance during the past five weeks, corporate earnings as well as the overall economy have been improving on a quarter-to-quarter basis since mid-2009. The growth pace may be slowing now, but progress is still being eked out. Interestingly though, a few… 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

The S&P 500 Index — the benchmark used to indicate the health of the overall market — has declined from a peak of 1,370.58 scored in late April to near the 1,320 level, a decline of about 4%. In doing so, it has breached its… Read More

Investors need to be on guard against “the sideways churn.” This happens when a market that had been steadily rising is now see-sawing back and forth. Such a shift is often a sign that buyers are slowly pulling back and sellers are starting to take root. The sideways churn often presages the next move: a market downturn, where the sellers get even bolder and buyers lose interest. With that in mind, it’s time to focus on five companies that could see sharp pullbacks in the months ahead. #-ad_banner-# 1. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)… Read More

Investors need to be on guard against “the sideways churn.” This happens when a market that had been steadily rising is now see-sawing back and forth. Such a shift is often a sign that buyers are slowly pulling back and sellers are starting to take root. The sideways churn often presages the next move: a market downturn, where the sellers get even bolder and buyers lose interest. With that in mind, it’s time to focus on five companies that could see sharp pullbacks in the months ahead. #-ad_banner-# 1. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Shares of this wireless phone service provider have risen nearly 50% since early December as optimism spreads that faster phone networks will lead consumers to justify ever-higher phone bills. Indeed, Sprint has been able to push through recent price hikes as it rolls out 4G service in more markets. But investors seem to be forgetting a few important facts. First, Sprint’s network remains inferior to its rivals, especially Verizon (NYSE: VZ). That may explain why Verizon continues to steal market share: it added 907,000 net new subscribers in the… Read More

“You can always trust the Americans to do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other possibilities.” –Winston Churchill When it comes to our political leaders in Washington, let’s hope Churchill was right. If he’s wrong, then the U.S. Read More

You can’t blame Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for trying. Faced with a struggling economy last summer, he devised a massive $600-billion plan to revive the economy, known as QE2 (or the second major round of quantitative easing). Investors are surely pleased,… Read More

Friday’s employment report has created an even hazier backdrop for stocks. Recent economic data showed an economy starting to cool, but with 244,000 jobs created in April — the best showing in 11 months — this expansion still may have legs after all. The key distinction: the economy‘s areas of support are not what you would have expected a few months ago. In recent weeks and months, investors have been trying to assess stocks in the context of a sharp spike in commodities — from oil to silver to… Read More

Friday’s employment report has created an even hazier backdrop for stocks. Recent economic data showed an economy starting to cool, but with 244,000 jobs created in April — the best showing in 11 months — this expansion still may have legs after all. The key distinction: the economy‘s areas of support are not what you would have expected a few months ago. In recent weeks and months, investors have been trying to assess stocks in the context of a sharp spike in commodities — from oil to silver to wheat. Only recently, we’ve seen how the massive flooding in the Midwest is leading to forecasts of sharply falling farm output and eventually, higher food prices. Consumers didn’t need to hear that while gasoline prices were eating a hole in their pocketbooks. #-ad_banner-#Despite that, stocks were able to rally through much of April, thanks to a declining dollar that was boosting prospects for U.S. blue chips. In effect, the domestic economic picture looked troubling, while the rest of the world promised to provide at least a decent tailwind. That scenario now looks backward, as… Read More