“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

Income investors disappointed by yields on U.S. stocks are looking outside America’s borders for bigger dividends. Emerging markets offer dividend opportunities, of course, but some investors consider them to be too risky. However, there is another market closer to home where growing dividends can be found. I’m… Read More

Investment advisors Sterne, Agee & Leach describe this restaurant chain as “the best-positioned player in the fast-food business.” Many analysts expect it to gain market share in the coming months due to menu upgrades and in-store decorative improvements. #-ad_banner-#But the opportunity to profit from the company’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

It’s been tough sledding for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has dropped at least 100 points on four separate trading days so far in May, bringing a wide array of stocks down from recent highs. Lost in the negative price action is… Read More

You’ve heard a lot of talk about gold lately — and for good reason. Gold is loved as a hedge against economic uncertainty. And given the unsteady dollar and ripe conditions for runaway inflation, it’s no surprise gold… Read More

The debate regarding the future source of clean and “green” energy in America and the world rages on as it has for decades. Ever since M. King Hubbert, Ph.D., released his report on “Peak Oil” in 1956, the belief that there is a finite amount of oil in the earth… Read More

They’re a staple of most high-yield portfolios. Just about every income investor has at least a few thousand dollars invested in this group. There are good reasons for their popularity. These businesses throw off enormous amounts of cash. By law, they have to pay at least 90%… Read More

Looking over the most recent short-interest data, a very unusual company jumped out at me: EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC). Short-sellers are increasingly convinced the storage giant is headed for a fall. In the last two weeks of April, they boosted the short position in EMC by 18%… Read More

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) released its latest 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, May 16, to detail its stock portfolio holdings as of the end of the first quarter. The release is highly-anticipated each quarter and, though the first quarter ended more than six weeks ago, it offers the timeliest way to see which stocks Warren Buffett bought, sold or held during the 12-week period. The latest twist at Berkshire is that Warren Buffett hired 39 year-old Todd Combs from CastlePoint Capital Management back… Read More

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) released its latest 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, May 16, to detail its stock portfolio holdings as of the end of the first quarter. The release is highly-anticipated each quarter and, though the first quarter ended more than six weeks ago, it offers the timeliest way to see which stocks Warren Buffett bought, sold or held during the 12-week period. The latest twist at Berkshire is that Warren Buffett hired 39 year-old Todd Combs from CastlePoint Capital Management back in October 2010 to help him manage Berkshire’s $53.6 billion portfolio. As such, this represented the first full quarter in which Combs’ picks will be commingled with Buffett’s. Previously, Lou Simpson from Berkshire insurance subsidiary Geico had picks that showed up in Berkshire’s quarterly filing, but Simpson retired in August 2010 at the age of 73. #-ad_banner-#Only three stock trades took place during Berkshire’s first quarter. The first consisted of a sale of integrated energy firm ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), which Buffett has been steadily selling off over since an admitted bad call on his part when he… Read More