Investors have suffered through 14 bear market plunges in the post-WWII era. Fortunately, those declines have been followed by 14 bull markets. The bounce-backs are typically far more powerful, but predicting the inflection points… Read More

Certain companies are always worth owning. Happily, short-term market anomalies can transform such companies from a good buy into a screaming buy. Now may be such a screaming-buy time for a certain company in the energy industry. The demand for crude oil fell in… Read More

When procrastinating husbands open their wallets to pay for decadent Valentine’s Day chocolate, they’re likely to wind up paying a little more than usual this year. They can thank the growing worldwide sugar shortage for that. Read More

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) released a new tablet computer, a 10-inch touchscreen device called the iPad that can deliver video, music and other online content. The arrival of the tablet has been, as is Apple’s wont, shrouded in secrecy. All that remains secret is whether the iPad will… Read More

The fourth-largest grocer in the United States was in trouble. Its debt was growing and its earnings were shrinking, an unsustainable combination. It needed a turnaround — and quick. Read More

It’s been more than a decade since JetBlue’s (Nasdaq: JBLU) planes first took to the skies. As the company’s business model gained altitude, consumers have continually voted for JetBlue as their favorite carrier. Yet even with its legions of fans on… Read More

A year ago, high-yield bonds were outcasts. The financial world braced for Armageddon, and investors fled riskier high-yield bonds in droves in anticipation of widespread defaults. Yield spreads — in this case, the difference between yields on high-yield bonds and yields on “AAA”-rated corporate bonds — soared to a record… Read More

It took a talking duck to make one of the largest insurance companies rise from obscurity to one of the most recognized names in the business. Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) provides health insurance for 40 million people worldwide and has received numerous awards for being the best-managed… Read More

One thing more than any other makes searching for value difficult these days: Loans. The best way to search for discounted companies is to set up a screen that looks at net asset value — assets minus liabilities. (To see… Read More

Next week the market will be focused on the nation’s banks, as the top U.S. financial institutions report their quarterly earnings. Their earnings parade actually started today, with a quarterly report from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM),… Read More