So far this year, the market (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) has rallied almost 5%. In stark contrast, this leading big-box retailer is down about 15% to start off 2011 and is trading near its lows of 2010. I can’t find any valid reason for this near-term… Read More

They finally did it. Gasoline prices have been creeping ever closer to the $3-a-gallon mark in my hometown. Now they’ve pierced through. And with oil touching $100 a barrel, gas stations may as well be in a race to see who can reach $4… Read More

Given the popularity of Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android phones in the United States, it would be tempting for investors to think the growth story behind the smartphone revolution is almost over. But that’s not the case. In fact, it may be just… Read More

High yields are hard to find these days. A three-year CD is paying about 1.5% on average. A 10-year treasury bond is paying 3.5%. The dividend yield of the S&P 500 is just 2.1%. So, in the current environment, is… Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s the most consistent way I know to beat the market. Even better, there is rarely a bad time to start investing in these securities. You could have put your money into these stocks at the peak of the tech bubble, or the October 2007 market peak for that matter. Dozens of them are showing a triple-digit profit since then. I don’t want to make it seem you can’t lose money with these unique investments. You certainly can, especially if you aren’t patient. But there’s no doubt the odds are in favor… Read More

#-ad_banner-#It’s the most consistent way I know to beat the market. Even better, there is rarely a bad time to start investing in these securities. You could have put your money into these stocks at the peak of the tech bubble, or the October 2007 market peak for that matter. Dozens of them are showing a triple-digit profit since then. I don’t want to make it seem you can’t lose money with these unique investments. You certainly can, especially if you aren’t patient. But there’s no doubt the odds are in favor of making money, not losing it. We’ve been advocating these types of ideas for years and it has made the subscribers of my newsletter pretty happy… So what are these “magic” investments that have worked so well over the years… despite some of the worst financial turmoil we’ve ever seen? They’re simple. They are “boring” dividend payers that are able to maintain — and raise — their dividends no matter what. They’re among the most lucrative ways I’ve found to make money. Take a look:… Read More

The stock market has seen plenty of ups and downs in the past 25 years. Through it all, hedge fund Baupost Group’s Seth Klarman has managed to stay on the right side of the ledger, racking up an average annual gain of about 20%. Read More

In the past 40 years, not once has the United States’ stock market been the best performer in the world in any given year. At best, American stocks have been finding their way into the middle of the pack, and given enough time, the U.S. stock market’s results are often… Read More

Working for StreetAuthority, I do a lot of different things. In the course of a day, I may be writing an article… discussing potential picks with our staff… researching the next investing hotspot… even going over Stock of the Month article ideas with my colleagues. Read More

I’m a big fan of low-priced stocks — especially those that are under $5 a share. At that level, most mutual fund managers are restricted from owning them. But if growth plans pan out and shares move above that threshold, those same fund managers then have the green… Read More

A profitable investment strategy is to buy into a stock with a major catalyst that can potentially take hold and send a stock price higher. That’s obviously easier said than done, but many savvy investors who identify a catalyst early on can often… Read More