Billionaires go to jail for it. Money managers have fled the country and faked suicides when it’s suggested. Hedge funds have paid billions in fines and been harassed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on little more than a hint of its occurrence.  Flickr/DannyB ​Celebrity investor and high-tech titan Mark Cuban recently fought and secured a courtroom victory after being accused of violating insider trading laws. Most recently, celebrity investor and high-tech titan Mark Cuban fought and secured a courtroom victory when accused of violating this regulation. Famed entrepreneur and TV personality Martha… Read More

Billionaires go to jail for it. Money managers have fled the country and faked suicides when it’s suggested. Hedge funds have paid billions in fines and been harassed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on little more than a hint of its occurrence.  Flickr/DannyB ​Celebrity investor and high-tech titan Mark Cuban recently fought and secured a courtroom victory after being accused of violating insider trading laws. Most recently, celebrity investor and high-tech titan Mark Cuban fought and secured a courtroom victory when accused of violating this regulation. Famed entrepreneur and TV personality Martha Stewart wasn’t as fortunate as Cuban — she spent time behind bars in 2004 for what amounted to be a relatively small amount of money. The strangest thing is, this action is considered a legitimate edge in the commodity markets. It’s only in the stock market where it’s considered a mortal sin. If you haven’t guessed, I am talking about insider trading.  Insider trading offers an unfair advantage to those with the information and capacity to profit from it. It is the desire to level the playing field that motivates the authorities to clamp down on insider trading. It truly… Read More

One of the most exciting and lucrative avenues of stock investing is in the biotech arena. It can also be one of the most dangerous.#-ad_banner-# The sector focuses on developing and marketing lifesaving drugs and other medical breakthroughs. These products can have profound constructive effects on the world. Not only have many investors built fortunes by investing in biotech, but it feels good to know you’re helping to fund such positive research and development. Tiny biotech companies can make their investors a fortune when they’re acquired by their larger brethren or bring a revolutionary product to market. Short-term… Read More

One of the most exciting and lucrative avenues of stock investing is in the biotech arena. It can also be one of the most dangerous.#-ad_banner-# The sector focuses on developing and marketing lifesaving drugs and other medical breakthroughs. These products can have profound constructive effects on the world. Not only have many investors built fortunes by investing in biotech, but it feels good to know you’re helping to fund such positive research and development. Tiny biotech companies can make their investors a fortune when they’re acquired by their larger brethren or bring a revolutionary product to market. Short-term profits can abound when these companies make bullish product announcements or pass Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, as well as for a host of other reasons. The Dangerous Side  However, biotech companies are among the market’s most inherently volatile stocks. Many of these companies don’t generate revenue and are burning cash like crazy on research and development. It’s a race between this burn rate and the company’s ability to get its products to market (or raise more cash to continue operations).  In other words, early stage biotechs are highly speculative. As products are brought to market, the company… Read More

Ken Griffin, a wunderkind of Wall Street, was managing a million dollars while still in college. After launching Citadel Investment Group with just over $4 million, Griffin’s fund is now among the largest in the world, with over $40 billion under management. His fund is among my favorites for investment ideas. Griffin recently made an unusual investment: He just took a nearly 6% stake in the newly public Global Brass and Copper Holdings (NYSE: BRSS).#-ad_banner-# The company specializes in fabricating, processing and distributing specialized brass and copper products. While the company has existed since 2007, its books have been open… Read More

Ken Griffin, a wunderkind of Wall Street, was managing a million dollars while still in college. After launching Citadel Investment Group with just over $4 million, Griffin’s fund is now among the largest in the world, with over $40 billion under management. His fund is among my favorites for investment ideas. Griffin recently made an unusual investment: He just took a nearly 6% stake in the newly public Global Brass and Copper Holdings (NYSE: BRSS).#-ad_banner-# The company specializes in fabricating, processing and distributing specialized brass and copper products. While the company has existed since 2007, its books have been open for scrutiny only since its May IPO.  Global Brass, which recently posted impressive second-quarter results, appears solid, and Citadel’s investment increases my confidence. However, whenever I consider investing in a base metal fabricating company, I am reminded of my first experience in the field.  I made my first copper fabrication investment at 9 years old. I lost 99% of my capital, not counting transaction costs, on the investment. This experience was the first of many in the never-ending learning curve of the financial markets. Here’s what happened: At that age, I was a voracious reader of pulp magazines and comic… Read More

The unthinkable has finally become a reality: The U.S. government has shut down.  A legislative deadlock triggered by President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) combined with fears of a U.S. debt default has resulted in shivers of fears in the economy. Talk of economic Armageddon, crashing markets and… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of this article isn’t to argue for or against Obamacare. It isn’t perfect, and it will likely undergo a difficult evolution before being fully implemented. However, in contrast to the political posturing going on in Washington, a group of investors have been booking substantial profits over the past year due to… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of this article isn’t to argue for or against Obamacare. It isn’t perfect, and it will likely undergo a difficult evolution before being fully implemented. However, in contrast to the political posturing going on in Washington, a group of investors have been booking substantial profits over the past year due to the implementation of the new law. While some of these profitable avenues are obvious, others remain under the radar of all but the most sophisticated investors. Obvious names such as hospital operators like Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) and HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA) have seen their shares advance by nearly 50% over the past 52 weeks. In addition, the Health Care Sector Select SPDR (NYSE: XLV) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is nearly 30% higher during the past 10 months.#-ad_banner-# One of the main reasons for the outperformance of health care and hospital stocks is the fact that revenues will increase for… Read More

The stock market is on fire. It’s surging upward to challenge the record highs set at the start of August. It will not be surprising if these highs are taken out by the end of the year.#-ad_banner-# I bet by this point, many readers are thinking: “What, have you lost… Read More

The investment world is full of old wives’ tales, outright falsehoods and ideas that make sense in theory but fail time and again when put into practice.  One such falsehood is the belief that the big money players such as hedge funds and institutions never lose money. Nothing could be… Read More

I love it when a raging bull market pulls back. The steeper the pullback, the more I like it.  Obviously, this has its limits, but money is made by buying low and selling high in the stock market. Short-term profit-taking in strong individual stocks and mostly bogus economic fears are… Read More

Sometimes I have to learn things the hard way. I was strongly advised by a family member not to buy real estate in the way I suggested. He said that if you don’t pay on the way in on a real estate deal, you pay much more on the way… Read More