The largest savings and loan in the United States said second-quarter earnings were up 16% from last year. Net income rose to $127.9 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with $110.7 million, or 22 cents a… Read More

In late December 2002, the “dot com” bust was complete and the market was about to close the books on its third straight losing year. Bargains were plentiful and the economy was pulling out of a recession, but investors had had enough and many… Read More

Everything is relative, especially market valuation. A utility, for instance, with its steady, slow-growth business, is never going to command the earnings multiple of a rapidly growing biotech firm or high-tech upstart. That’s why it’s best to make valuation comparisons within industries. It’s also… Read More

Back in October 2007, when the Dow was sitting at record highs above 14,000, there weren’t too many bargains out there. A furious multi-year advance was winding down, and valuations had become overly stretched. Most stocks at the time were trading well above… Read More

The Baltic Dry Index is a measure for what it costs to transport by sea. When it’s down, shipping stocks are down. The index peaked in May 2008 at an all-time high of 11,793. From May… Read More

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) said Friday it had hired a veteran Wal-Mart executive, David Porter, to oversee the development of brick-and-mortar retail stores. He will report to Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, who also has ties to Bentonville.    Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) changed computer marketing with its hip advertising. It… Read More

Nathan, some investors may feel we’ve found ourselves in uncharted territory during this market, but you seem to think value investors should be salivating right now. Why? Nathan Slaughter: There are always bargains to be had in the market. Unfortunately, during normal conditions value hunters looking for deeply underpriced… Read More

Nobody likes to see daily bloodletting in the market. But look on the bright side. While these downturns can be frightening, think how different investing would be without them. In a perfectly efficient market, we could never buy a stock at a discount, or sell one at a premium —… Read More