As the second quarter winds down, a number of stocks are licking their wounds — perhaps none more than the solar stocks, many of which have been handed an outright drubbing. It happens in this volatile sector once every few years. And each time investors sour in the industry’s prospects … Read More

With the stock market swinging triple digits from one day to the next, it’s become apparent to me that recent gains are being slowly harvested. Rather than undergoing an outright selloff, investors are broadening their list of targets to book gains and raise cash. Some stocks have been immune to… Read More

#-ad_banner-#From my perch here in upstate New York, a deluge of rain has made the local roads impassable. The fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped another 200 points on June 23 just adds to the gloom. Yet strangely enough, I’m feeling bullish. Many of the companies I track… Read More

For the firms operating the nation’s leading mutual funds, times are tough and getting tougher. If you have money parked in their key funds, then be prepared to be dragged along for the ride. Net results are weak and could get even weaker, making this a bad time to commit… Read More

We’re less than a week away from a key milestone. The first half of 2011 will come to a close and investors will look ahead for what the second half of the year has in store. #-ad_banner-#The S&P 500 began the year at 1,260, rose roughly 110 points (or 9%) by early May and has since given back much of the gains. Looked at another way, the S&P 500 has risen roughly 3% this year, which is good for a 6% annualized gain. This is not especially impressive — but it could have been worse. With all… Read More

We’re less than a week away from a key milestone. The first half of 2011 will come to a close and investors will look ahead for what the second half of the year has in store. #-ad_banner-#The S&P 500 began the year at 1,260, rose roughly 110 points (or 9%) by early May and has since given back much of the gains. Looked at another way, the S&P 500 has risen roughly 3% this year, which is good for a 6% annualized gain. This is not especially impressive — but it could have been worse. With all the global headwinds in place, investors could just as easily have been looking at major losses in the first half of 2011. One thing’s for sure: the past will not be prologue. More than likely, the market is going to finally respond to some of the looming crises and turn down [“5 Economic Crises that Could Derail Your Portfolio”]. Or these issues may recede in importance, kicking off the next leg of a powerful bull market that began in March 2009 and lasted for more than two years. [“5 Reasons… Read More

#-ad_banner-#For many investors, May 4, 2011 marked a key turning point for stocks. On that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 100 points. This also happened on four different occasions in that same month. Most stocks have been unable to withstand such blows and have been trending… Read More

Preparing a company for its public debut on the stock market is a long and arduous process. The numbers need to be checked and checked again, dozens of meetings with potential investors need to be arranged, and a virtual mountain of paperwork needs to be reviewed by regulators. So when… Read More

With the market posting weaker results in recent weeks, an increasing number of stocks are sinking further and further away from their 52-week highs. Finding which stocks deserve to be sold off and which are just victims of a tough market can be a challenge. That’s why it pays to… Read More

The market’s rough patch has recently knocked many stocks from their 52-week highs. Even the companies that are performing well are drifting ever lower, but the companies that have dared to stumble this spring are really taking a beating. One false move and they wake up to a share price … Read More

Back in late April, I cautioned that summer trading can be quite tricky, noting that May is a good time to take profits because the market often weakens in June and July. Little did I know that the “summer swoon” would actually start in May. Since hitting a recent peak… Read More