Chinese stocks have soared this year on the wave of upbeat news coming out of the country, which has also boosted the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index by +48.3% since the start of the year. That’s more than… Read More

“Advertising is totally unnecessary. Unless you hope to make money.” – Jef I. Richards What’s true for companies is also true for investors. Advertising spending can be a leading indicator, one that provides valuable information on future stock-market leaders and laggards. Read More

I’m going to share some advice I think you’ll find valuable. You see, after one of the most brutal bear markets in recent history… a bear market where stocks fell, bonds fell, oil fell, housing fell, Bear… Read More

Two dozen S&P 500 members yield 6% or more, about one in 20 companies listed on the market’s benchmark. Here are those companies: Company Ticker Yield Frontier Communications FTR 14.4% Windstream Corp. WIN 11.1%… Read More

I’m consistently amazed at the ability of smart, successful people to get things totally wrong. I find myself in slack-jawed awe of how just plain clueless investors can be. The supply of intelligence is finite, someone once said, but the population is growing. That makes me smile. I don’t grin… Read More

Wall Street loves to make things hard. People are mystified by the black arts practiced in the world’s financial capitals. These sorcerers hold a secret that everyone from a lowly financial adviser to a big-time deal maker doesn’t want you to know . . . The secret: It’s not hard… Read More

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