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 Monthly sales reports have been replaced by quarterly sales updates by many retailers, and quarterly forward guidance is increasingly being replaced by once-a-year outlooks that get incrementally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

I’m a Warren Buffett fan. After all, what’s not to love?   From 1965 to 2009, the “Oracle of Omaha” increased the book value of his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) portfolio by an average of 20.3% annually. He posted a loss in only two of those… Read More

The timing is right for dividend stocks. High-yielding dividend stocks are one of the few places left where income investors can harvest a solid income in this low interest rate environment. In addition, the recent extension of the Bush tax-cut laws has increased the favorable… Read More

In the constant search for high-yielding stocks, the utility space frequently comes up in the conversation. Sure, the sector is pretty boring and slow-growing overall, but it can be counted on for stable returns and above-average dividend yields. This consistency and the search for yield in… Read More