The most active traders, which usually man Wall Street’s trading desks, can alter market sentiment by either their presence or absence. As the weather warms, these traders take ever longer lunch breaks, which morphs into “Friday-free weekends,” culminating in their absence for decent chunk of the month of August. When these traders leave their desks, it’s a sign for the rest of us to cool off as well, in case thin trading volume causes one of our holdings to suddenly spike or plunge. Hence, the old-adage: “Sell in May and then go away.” (Until… Read More

The most active traders, which usually man Wall Street’s trading desks, can alter market sentiment by either their presence or absence. As the weather warms, these traders take ever longer lunch breaks, which morphs into “Friday-free weekends,” culminating in their absence for decent chunk of the month of August. When these traders leave their desks, it’s a sign for the rest of us to cool off as well, in case thin trading volume causes one of our holdings to suddenly spike or plunge. Hence, the old-adage: “Sell in May and then go away.” (Until the fall…) Is it a wise move? Let’s look. Well, we know April surely gives the impressions of a solid market rally. The S&P 500 rose, 4%, 4% and 10% respectively in each of the past three years and is up another 2.2% this month. That rally has recently extended into May, as the S&P 500 has rallied an average of 3% in the past three years. But by the end of May, the party seems to end.   The market has fallen in six of the past 10 Junes of the past decade,… Read More

If you invest for growth, I’ll bet you hardly ever bother to check out the utilities sector. Why would you? Utilities are mainly for income, right? It all depends on where you look. If you expand your search to other continents, you may uncover utility stocks offering… Read More

Before the first word was uttered in the national health care debate, a significant change was put into motion to remake the U.S. health care system. It was nothing short of revolutionary, and the first major elements of that change are about to go into effect. Few… Read More

In late March, I wrote an article in which I explained why General Motors (NYSE: GM) can rally more than 50% from current levels. I still think that to be the case, but since then, turmoil in the Middle East and specifically a NATO-led military campaign in Libya that started… Read More

2011 will hopefully go down as the year the United States finally tackles its imposing budget problems. The arguing has just begun, but by the end of the year, Washington will likely have agreed to some combination of deeper budget cuts and higher taxes. As I mentioned before, inaction is no longer an option. Yet in a number of other nations, inaction remains the norm. And because of the rising imbalance between taxing and spending, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has come out… Read More

2011 will hopefully go down as the year the United States finally tackles its imposing budget problems. The arguing has just begun, but by the end of the year, Washington will likely have agreed to some combination of deeper budget cuts and higher taxes. As I mentioned before, inaction is no longer an option. Yet in a number of other nations, inaction remains the norm. And because of the rising imbalance between taxing and spending, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has come out with a forecast of which countries may be in a deep hole by 2015 if they don’t act now. But first you should know that not all countries have similar bearings on your portfolio. Yes, the larger the economy, the greater the chance a train wreck will derail the global economy. But that’s not the whole picture. Economic size counts, but it’s really about the relative wealth of a country on a per-capita basis. Countries like India and Indonesia may be among the world’s 15 largest economies, but their citizens have… Read More

Rule No. 1 of investing is “Don’t lose money.” Investment advisers learn early in their careers, either through formal education or through unfortunate experience, that when interest rates rise, bond prices fall and bond holders lose money. The past three… Read More

There are stocks you can buy, and then there are stocks you just admire. These “admirable” companies are strong operators, generating consistent annual growth and always finding new paths to growth. But since they perennially perform so well and are so deeply admired by investors and analysts alike, you can… Read More

Without a doubt, it’s among the oddest investments I’ve researched. Normally I’m poring over classic income securities — stocks, bonds, funds, and the like. I’m concerned about payout ratios… interest rates… economic forecasts. This investment is different. You won’t find it on any exchange… Read More

The Russell 2000 Index, which is comprised of companies with small market capitalizations, is always seen as a solid proxy on the domestic economy. Smaller companies, which typically have market values between $300 million… Read More

In 1999, just months before his death, a respected geochemist named Leigh Price was working on a research paper that would soon send shockwaves through the energy sector. Dr. Price had spent much of his career with the US Geological Society (USGS) assessing the hydrocarbon potential in… Read More