A very large grain of salt. That’s what economists suggest you take when digesting Chinese economic numbers. The country’s financial planners tend to massage key numbers to give the impression of an economy that is neither too hot nor too cold. To its credit, China’s decade-long growth spurt has been truly miraculous and policy planners seem to continually pull the right levers, even though those choices are often antithetical to Western economic dogma. Much of China’s success has come from its status as a low-cost provider of goods and comparatively low levels of… Read More

A very large grain of salt. That’s what economists suggest you take when digesting Chinese economic numbers. The country’s financial planners tend to massage key numbers to give the impression of an economy that is neither too hot nor too cold. To its credit, China’s decade-long growth spurt has been truly miraculous and policy planners seem to continually pull the right levers, even though those choices are often antithetical to Western economic dogma. Much of China’s success has come from its status as a low-cost provider of goods and comparatively low levels of per capita GDP, which enabled it to grow without bumping into hurdles that often come when economies achieve world-class status. But those days are over. China’s economy is now far larger — having recently surpassed Japan to occupy the No. 2 spot — and the government ‘s task of managing growth has become ever-more complex. Even as Chinese economic planners will continue to massage the numbers to give the appearance of a smooth-sailing ship, 2011 offers more potential pitfalls than ever. If… Read More

So many stocks are having a great year. Oil refiner Sunoco (NYSE: SUN), for example, has shot up more than +47%. Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO) has spiked +38% and its competitor Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) has gained about +27%. Many broad indexes are looking good, too, like the… Read More

In a reprise of a role from the 1980s, fictional Wall Street titan Gordon Gekko recently returned to the big screen in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In the sequel to the original Wall Street, Gekko states that in investing, “It’s not about the money — it’s about the game.”… Read More

Here’s a bit of good news: states have been able to collect roughly +2.5% more in taxes in the first half of 2010 compared with a year earlier. Then again, most states are staring down the barrel of massive budget deficits for 2011 and 2012, and a few percentage points… Read More

Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie Hatari! The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a… Read More

More than 200 stocks hit new 52-week highs on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday as the market powers ever higher. Toiling on the sidelines of this surge is former highflyer Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO), which has the dubious distinction of being one of just a handful of names hitting 52-week lows these days. The question for investors: is the Queen of domestic design becoming irrelevant, or simply the victim of bad-timing? To be sure, it’s no fun being a magazine publisher these days. High-profile titles such as Newsweek are seemingly… Read More

More than 200 stocks hit new 52-week highs on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday as the market powers ever higher. Toiling on the sidelines of this surge is former highflyer Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO), which has the dubious distinction of being one of just a handful of names hitting 52-week lows these days. The question for investors: is the Queen of domestic design becoming irrelevant, or simply the victim of bad-timing? To be sure, it’s no fun being a magazine publisher these days. High-profile titles such as Newsweek are seemingly near death, while other esteemed titles such as The Atlantic are forced to cut the number of issues they publish each year. Yet Martha Stewart Living’s publishing business looks quite healthy — at least in terms of circulation. The company’s flagship Martha Stewart Living actually recently increased the amount of circulating copies its guarantees to advertisers to 2.025 million, while lesser titles such as Everyday Food (1 million) and Whole Living (650,000) are also posting rate base increases. Trouble is, the weak economy has been pressuring ad rates. So these titles… Read More

What’s one of the hottest micro-cap stocks of the last three months? I’ll give you a clue: it’s a mining company that’s stock tripled in value since mid-August. But instead of mining gold, silver or platinum, this company digs something else entirely different out of the earth. Read More

Just like most of the rest of the stock market, September was a surprisingly strong month for small caps. And October started out with a bang, but ended in a whimper. Together, however, it was an impressive two-month rise in stocks with market capitalizations under $2 billion,… Read More

As the Director of Income Research behind High-Yield International, it’s my duty to find the best income investments all over the world. And what I’m finding is that few places can compare to the yields and growth we’re seeing in South America right now.   One country I’ve… Read More

There seems to be no end to the commodities bull-run. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, which tracks 19 heavily-traded commodities, posted a nice gain of +4.8% in October. Keep in mind that came after a sizzling +8.5% pop in September. All in all, the gains were broad-based… Read More