The initial public offering (IPO) market continues to heat up with deals coming this week for GM (NYSE: GM), Booz Allen (NYSE: BAH), Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: CZR) and a half dozen other firms. The flurry of deals puts us on track for the most robust quarter for IPOs in more than two years. And looking at the pipeline of new deal registrations, the first quarter of 2011 may be even hotter. I recently looked at a strategy that uses analyst research to find stocks about to pop. [See: “The Secret… Read More

The initial public offering (IPO) market continues to heat up with deals coming this week for GM (NYSE: GM), Booz Allen (NYSE: BAH), Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: CZR) and a half dozen other firms. The flurry of deals puts us on track for the most robust quarter for IPOs in more than two years. And looking at the pipeline of new deal registrations, the first quarter of 2011 may be even hotter. I recently looked at a strategy that uses analyst research to find stocks about to pop. [See: “The Secret Way to Play IPOs”] Yet that’s not the only way to look for upside among recent new deals. You can also scan lists for “broken IPOs,” which are firms that have been public for a short while and are drifting lower while investors focus on more established companies. Last month, I took a look at top-performing IPOs, as I wrote back then, “many new IPOs take time to find their sea legs and only take off well after their debuts. In fact, every single stock [mentioned in that piece] came out of the gate… Read More

The standard healthcare pitch for investing in healthcare stocks contains a number of standard components. Among them are favorable demographics due to an aging global population and the favorable impacts of recent U.S. industry legislation that adds millions of patients into the system. These are definite positives, but there are… Read More

It’s been a tough year for Chinese stocks that trade in the United States. Many of them have sold off — and stayed cheap — even as they sport impressive growth rates and low valuations. Thanks to a sharp drop on Friday on renewed concerns about an overheating economy,… Read More

To make money in stocks, it often helps to study history’s greatest investors. Like many finance enthusiasts, I’m a fan of Peter Lynch, who’s best known for his spectacular results as manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1977 through 1990, when the fund’s total returns averaged +29% a year. Read More

We’re now in a “stock picker’s market.” The major averages are now moving sideways after a sustained two-month upward move, which means that stock selection becomes ever more crucial. In this kind of trading environment, it pays to see what’s working. Insights into why certain stocks are… Read More

You are taking part in a revolution. If you pay to drive through a toll booth, or you travel abroad, or in some cases use your credit card, you’re a willing participant. But this handful of actions is just a sliver of what’s to come. Read More

We are now only two weeks away from what my systems are telling me should be a major market correction. My advice to you is to raise stops and consider taking profits. That is of course, if you happen to not believe that the Federal Reserve can simply overwhelm a… Read More

Back in the late 1990s, there was a raft of books calling for the Dow to reach 30,000 or even 100,000. Looking back on it, it seems crazy. But such things are natural during bull markets. Interestingly enough, book titles can be an indicator that a bubble is about to burst. When it comes to gold, we are starting to see something similar. For example, a recent book called Hard Money makes the bold prediction that gold will eventually hit $10,000 per ounce. It’s inevitable that we will see other titles hit the market soon. Read More

Back in the late 1990s, there was a raft of books calling for the Dow to reach 30,000 or even 100,000. Looking back on it, it seems crazy. But such things are natural during bull markets. Interestingly enough, book titles can be an indicator that a bubble is about to burst. When it comes to gold, we are starting to see something similar. For example, a recent book called Hard Money makes the bold prediction that gold will eventually hit $10,000 per ounce. It’s inevitable that we will see other titles hit the market soon. But in the case of Hard Money, the author is not a crackpot. He actually manages the GBI Gold Fund and is the head of Global Research at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. He even convinced the pension fund to take a major stake in gold in 2007. #-ad_banner-#True, there are many top-notch analysts who have made bad calls. Not many saw the collapse of 2008, right? But in the case of gold, there are certainly strong arguments why the price can go higher. However, there will need to be some key drivers. Read More

Despite a fairly bleak quarterly report from Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) on Thursday, investors should realize that troubles for Cisco don’t mean trouble for the whole sector. In fact, the tech sector has shaken off the gloom and doom of this summer, with the Nasdaq surging +20% since late August. Read More

Back on October 26th I suggested e-commerce software provider Art Technology Group (Nasdaq: ARTG) was an attractive buy at the then-current price of $4.39. [Click here to read the article] A few days later, the company was acquired by Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) at a price just under $6.00 — a… Read More