Are you locked and loaded with the financial industry’s so-called “Top Stocks for 2011?” If you are, or even if you’re just mulling them, you may want to look beyond those names — these stocks don’t always pay off no matter how reputable their pickers may be. You don’t even have to look too far back for proof. Last year, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) were among the most-suggested picks for 2010. Yes, Apple and Comcast gained 54% and 29%, respectively, but Hewlett-Packard fell 19% last year,… Read More

Are you locked and loaded with the financial industry’s so-called “Top Stocks for 2011?” If you are, or even if you’re just mulling them, you may want to look beyond those names — these stocks don’t always pay off no matter how reputable their pickers may be. You don’t even have to look too far back for proof. Last year, Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) were among the most-suggested picks for 2010. Yes, Apple and Comcast gained 54% and 29%, respectively, but Hewlett-Packard fell 19% last year, while Assured Guaranty lost 22%. By comparison, the broader market gained 11% during this timeframe. That’s not meant to be a critique of the folks who picked those names in early 2010. It’s difficult to see the future. On the other hand, if the odds of success are 50/50 and the losing stocks lagged as badly as the winning names outpaced the market, what’s the point? So which equities were last year’s actual leaders? And to be clear, we’re not talking about any wild and illiquid (not to mention unlisted) penny stocks either —… Read More

It takes ample courage to bet against stocks when they’re rising. Indeed, many investors that seek out stocks to short have been moving to the sidelines throughout the late 2010 rally. Yet with stocks now notably more pricey than they were last summer, the temptation to start… Read More

Last week it was announced that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies would be investing $500 million in social networking sensation Facebook. Investments by Goldman are rather common, and the amount was a tiny fraction of the company’s nearly $90 billion market cap, but a buzz… Read More

Ten years ago, people would have laughed at you for saying we would soon be walking around with mini-computers tethered to us. Now millions of people won’t step out the door without their beloved BlackBerry or iPhone. If you had put $10,000 into Research… Read More

It’s been 22 years since the Berlin Wall came down. Since then, economies behind the Iron Curtain have been slowly building a head of steam. Even though countries such as the Czech Republic, Romania and Croatia have not yet caught up to their Western neighbors in terms of… Read More

For the most part, the price of a stock does very little in telling investors whether it is a good value or not. Any astute investor will do his or her best to estimate their own fair value for a stock. However, in certain circumstances, an extremely high… Read More

After two months as a newly-public company, shares of GM (NYSE: GM) have posted a decent 10% gain, slightly better than the 6% gain posted by the S&P 500. Then again, rival Ford Motor (NYSE: F) has risen by an even more impressive 14% since… Read More

On an unseasonably warm day this past November, two men you might have heard of — Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — visited the town of Gillette. This tiny city in northeastern Wyoming is home to less than 30,000 people. Yet, it was important enough to host… Read More

With the market soaring to two-year highs, is it time to play offense or defense?  Only hindsight will tell for sure. However, one thing is obvious right now:  The crowd is playing offense. As the prognosis for a stronger recovery has increased, investors have been gravitating toward… Read More

You’ve no doubt heard the Bush-era tax cuts have been extended. After much sound and fury, Congress voted to extend the tax breaks to all Americans, including those in the top income brackets. The tax cuts were set to expire at midnight on Dec. 31, but will… Read More