A good deal of political turmoil has surrounded the exchange-traded fund (ETF) world in recent months. The powers-that-be have been tightening the regulatory noose around certain commodities and leveraged funds. This has created headaches for fund issuers and millions of individual investors that have… Read More

Stocks have been on a tear the past few months — no doubt about that. Investors who bought in at the market’s March 6 ebb have seen a +52.8% return in the the S&P 500. Even investors who entered the market at the beginning of the year have seen a… Read More

Investors don’t have a crystal ball that can predict the market, but they can study its past performance. History tells us that bull markets follow bear markets and that printing money causes… Read More

You might not be familiar with the cigarette brands Liggett Select, Grand Prix, Eve, Pyramid or USA. But these brands have helped turn the company that makes them into an income powerhouse. Investing in cigarette companies isn’t for everyone. Millions die from tobacco-related illnesses each year, and that understandably turns… Read More

The iPhone was initially available only in the U.S., United Kingdom and parts of Europe. Now the ubiquitous touch-screen smartphone is around the world. While many countries are untapped markets for the popular device, one stands out. China. Now Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has made a three-year deal with China’s second-largest… Read More

When Enron’s accounting fraud came to light and the company went bankrupt, Enron employees not only lost their jobs, they lost an estimated $850 million on the Enron stock held in their retirement accounts. Bear Sterns… Read More

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which measures the price it costs to ship raw materials by sea, is falling again — and fast. #-ad_banner-#The BDI isn’t a regular stock index like the S&P 500. It’s a composite… Read More

Even as the S&P 500 Index sits at a multi-year valuation peak (see chart), some sectors aren’t faring as well. Any investor who watches the news could guess that financial companies are among the laggards. Many bank shares,… Read More

Several hundred thousand crude oil contracts trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on a typical day. Look closely at the details of the session’s activity and you’ll see prices like $68.08, the closing price for October crude on Sept. 1. You’ll probably notice that December 2010 crude settled… Read More

Gold and platinum usually move in tandem, with platinum typically valued about twice as much as gold. Sometimes this relationship gets off kilter for a short while, but it usually corrects itself quickly. Gold and platinum prices have been disconnected since the end of 2008. Read More