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

There is a clear downside to the impressive bull market we’ve seen during the last 22 months: it’s getting harder and harder to find real bargains. To ferret out value plays, investors are increasingly turning to stocks that have lagged the market, hoping to… Read More

As we move into 2011, economists increasingly believe that the United States and Europe will start to see an economic rebound, joining China, Brazil, India and other emerging economies in a full-fledged global economic upturn. A closer look at recent price action in the crude oil markets underscores a risk that rising economic activity brings — and an opportunity for investors… Just as when oil prices moved below $40 a barrel when the economy hit the skids a few years ago, the price reflected a sense that demand for oil… Read More

As we move into 2011, economists increasingly believe that the United States and Europe will start to see an economic rebound, joining China, Brazil, India and other emerging economies in a full-fledged global economic upturn. A closer look at recent price action in the crude oil markets underscores a risk that rising economic activity brings — and an opportunity for investors… Just as when oil prices moved below $40 a barrel when the economy hit the skids a few years ago, the price reflected a sense that demand for oil would collapse in the face of an even deeper economic meltdown. But it also created some clear winners and losers. When it became apparent that no such cataclysm would emerge, oil prices rebounded back to the $50-75 range, reflecting a global economy that was lukewarm. That set the stage for a reversal of winners and losers as oil approaches $100 a barrel (more on that in a bit). Like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water, rising oil prices are already starting to impact the economy in various subtle ways. Read More

Mary Meeker, known as the “Queen of the Net” during the heady 1990s, is back. Her latest prediction is that the mobile Internet will be a huge wealth generator. She even thinks it will surpass the Internet and that mobile commerce will overtake traditional e-commerce.     The fact… Read More

As part of your ongoing investment research, it pays to periodically check in with company insiders. When they are buying or selling a company’s stock, you’ll get a first-hand suggestion on whether shares are a bargain, or possibly ripe for a fall. Decisions on when to… Read More

Emerging market investing focuses largely on Brazil, Russia, India and China, or namely the BRIC countries. As it turns out, an entire continent also has quite a bit of growth appeal. And the fact that it is still in the early growth stages means that smart investors still have time… Read More

Companies are doing everything in their power to make investors focus on the long-term. Monthly sales reports have been replaced by quarterly sales updates by many retailers, and quarterly forward guidance is increasingly being replaced by once-a-year outlooks that get incrementally adjusted throughout the year. That’s why this coming… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) fell by almost as much. Yet for investors willing to take a broader view than monthly sales trends, these sell-offs have created a compelling entry point for some of these stocks. As a quick recap of an article I wrote six months ago, many retailers have taken advantage of the downturn to tighten up their operations by reducing inventories, throttling back risky growth plans and cutting any fat from overhead. Some retail stocks are already benefiting from this trend, especially the ones that cater to upscale shoppers. But many teen-focused retailers have yet to mark… Read More

A growing chorus of investors has started to talk of a China bubble. These folks think the Chinese government will be unable to glide the economy onto a slower plane of growth without unexpected stumbles. And they expect Chinese stocks to move sharply lower if this rising giant loses… Read More

With each passing year, investors need to change up their playbook. What worked in the prior year may not work this time around [See: “5 Pitfalls for Investors in 2011”] It’s pretty easy to find out what didn’t work in the past year. I ran a screen… Read More