Precious metals are skyrocketing. An ounce of gold, selling for less than $300 a decade ago, now changes hands at more than $1,400. Investors of all types are worried that the Federal Reserve is putting us on the road to currency devaluation and soaring… Read More

A perfect storm was brewing for the coal industry in 2008: carbon-capping climate legislation looked increasingly likely to be approved, demand for electricity began to fall sharply and natural gas — which can also replace coal in many power plants — saw a sharp price drop. In addition, the incoming… Read More

I was running through my colleague Brad Briggs’ recent look back at the silver crisis of the 1970s. He described a cautionary tale about investors chasing the commodity when its price was no longer connected to any sort of fundamental value. Needless to say, the silver bubble was eventually pricked: “With prices so high, people began selling all the silver they could get their hands on. Prices plummeted 50.0% in four days,” Briggs wrote. There is another metal that’s showing all the signs of a mania: copper. I don’t expect a sudden plunge as was… Read More

I was running through my colleague Brad Briggs’ recent look back at the silver crisis of the 1970s. He described a cautionary tale about investors chasing the commodity when its price was no longer connected to any sort of fundamental value. Needless to say, the silver bubble was eventually pricked: “With prices so high, people began selling all the silver they could get their hands on. Prices plummeted 50.0% in four days,” Briggs wrote. There is another metal that’s showing all the signs of a mania: copper. I don’t expect a sudden plunge as was the case with silver 30 years ago, but the price of this metal and of its key stocks are floating on a bed of complacency. This could all end soon thanks to a couple of occurrences that are happening offstage, but that may actually be advantageous in the short term. Copper prices have been steadily rebounding for the last two years as global demand perks up. The metal has many uses in construction, from plumbing to wiring to refrigeration coils. China, with its inexorable thirst for new building construction, has been a key driver for copper. This… Read More

It’s been a roller-coaster year for stocks, but one that will ultimately end well. Barring any unforeseen events, the S&P 500 will end the year with a gain of about 15.0%. This year brought with it a myriad of opportunities for profits and losses, from the commodities boom and M&A… Read More

This is the time of year when investors typically rebalance their portfolios and begin preparing for the year ahead. In preparation for the coming year, it helps to look back and think about the lessons learned from the previous year and how they can be applied for a profitable future. With that in mind, we asked some of StreetAuthority’s top experts what they learned in 2010 and how they hope to apply it in 2011. Here’s what they learned…  ———————————— Here’s what I learned this year: “It’s the economy, stupid.”… Read More

This is the time of year when investors typically rebalance their portfolios and begin preparing for the year ahead. In preparation for the coming year, it helps to look back and think about the lessons learned from the previous year and how they can be applied for a profitable future. With that in mind, we asked some of StreetAuthority’s top experts what they learned in 2010 and how they hope to apply it in 2011. Here’s what they learned…  ———————————— Here’s what I learned this year: “It’s the economy, stupid.” The market isn’t going to charge ahead no matter how good earnings look or how optimistic the Street may be when so many people remain out of work. Uncertainty over the tax code and health care hasn’t helped. But it’s one thing for the market to sputter or stall, it’s another thing entirely for such conditions to keep the best companies down. So while the S&P 500 didn’t blow up anyone’s skirt, there were plenty of big winners in 2010, despite the tough business climate. Cutting-edge technologies and products will always create value, and those companies’ shareholders will be… Read More

$2.8 billion. That’s the amount grossed by James Cameron’s “Avatar” since its release in late 2009. That makes “Avatar” the highest-grossing film of all time, earning nearly $1 billion more than the No. 2 film, “Titanic.” But “Avatar” isn’t alone in recent films making a big splash. In fact, three of the top six grossing films of all time have been released in the past 13 months. What’s causing these skyrocketing sales figures? Certainly inflating ticket prices have a lot to do with it, but a quick look… Read More

$2.8 billion. That’s the amount grossed by James Cameron’s “Avatar” since its release in late 2009. That makes “Avatar” the highest-grossing film of all time, earning nearly $1 billion more than the No. 2 film, “Titanic.” But “Avatar” isn’t alone in recent films making a big splash. In fact, three of the top six grossing films of all time have been released in the past 13 months. What’s causing these skyrocketing sales figures? Certainly inflating ticket prices have a lot to do with it, but a quick look into “Avatar’s” success shows an even bigger force at play… 3-D technology. Avatar made a splash by being made specifically for 3-D presentation. That led to 81% of its U.S. sales coming from the pricier tickets to 3-D viewings. Clearly, consumers are enamored with immersive 3-D visuals. In fact, 3-D movies share of domestic ticket sales climbed from 2% in 2008 to 11% in 2009. That’s a five-fold surge in one year. This year should see an even greater share go toward 3-D. This trend isn’t going away — nor is it limited to… Read More

Most investors take a look at them before they leap into stocks, but analyst recommendations don’t necessarily have a great track record. So, before you take a buy/sell call on faith, you may want to consider the fact that the folks doing the ratings aren’t always right. But that’s not… Read More

[This is a continuation of “10 Bold Predictions for 2011: Part 1”] 6. Individual investors finally start to re-enter U.S. equities in a major way in 2011 as the need to build savings in the face of looming retirements becomes a major consumer concern, and rising savings levels… Read More

As you continually assess current events for any impact on your portfolio, you also need to spend time thinking about what events may be on the horizon. And although none of us has a crystal ball, it’s important to try to anticipate the direction of economics, sector activity, politics and any other issues that may affect the investment environment. The list below contains possible scenarios for the next 12 months that could impact your portfolio in a meaningful way. 1. New jobless claims fall below 400,000 in the first quarter, and meaningful job… Read More

As you continually assess current events for any impact on your portfolio, you also need to spend time thinking about what events may be on the horizon. And although none of us has a crystal ball, it’s important to try to anticipate the direction of economics, sector activity, politics and any other issues that may affect the investment environment. The list below contains possible scenarios for the next 12 months that could impact your portfolio in a meaningful way. 1. New jobless claims fall below 400,000 in the first quarter, and meaningful job creation begins in earnest in 2011 as companies realize that they’ve squeezed out all possible productivity enhancements and need to re-build depleted workforces. The unemployment rate is slow to fall, as previously discouraged workers start to look for work again. But investors focus on the monthly jobs creation number instead of the actual unemployment rate. 2. Noting the impressive synergies that Delta (NYSE: DAL) derived from its merger with Northwest (which were only belatedly appreciated by investors), investors continue to bid up shares of UAL… Read More

When I went to the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) annual meeting in 2009, there was something I really wanted to do. No, it wasn’t a chat with Warren Buffett. That’s almost impossible at the yearly “Woodstock for Capitalists,” and only first-timers make the trek… Read More