Investing in China has not been for the faint of heart. Shares of major companies have surged and fallen in repeating cycles during the past few years. But take a step back and note that China’s economic growth has only been going one way… Read More

September has been a wonderful month for stocks. The S&P 500 Index, for example, has risen in 10 of the past 13 sessions, rebounding to levels seen last May, before the bears took the reins. Shares are rising on expectations that we’re increasingly… Read More

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) just got with the program. The company announced Friday morning that it will increase its existing stock buyback program by $7.5 billion and modestly boost its dividend. Suddenly, using hefty cash balances to buy back stock… Read More

Although investors typically seek out stocks that are poised to rise, they also need to closely monitor what’s happening among short-sellers. These short-sellers often identify red flags well before Wall Street analysts or the financial media spot them. And if you are long a stock that is heavily shorted, you’ll need to dig deeper to try to find out why. (For example, you can go back to archived version of the most recent conference call to listen to what concerns arose during the Q&A). Twice a month, the Nasdaq and the… Read More

Although investors typically seek out stocks that are poised to rise, they also need to closely monitor what’s happening among short-sellers. These short-sellers often identify red flags well before Wall Street analysts or the financial media spot them. And if you are long a stock that is heavily shorted, you’ll need to dig deeper to try to find out why. (For example, you can go back to archived version of the most recent conference call to listen to what concerns arose during the Q&A). Twice a month, the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange issue updated information about stocks that are heavily shorted. You can find that data on their websites, shortsqueeze.com, or in the Market Data section of The Wall Street Journal. Here’s a key breakdown of the short interest lists you need to know: Biggest Short Positions — Stocks on this list are not necessarily there because they are in trouble. Instead, they may simply be seen as a negative bet on the broader stock market or a particular sector. In the most recent data, three of the most five heavily shorted investments are… Read More

Every few years, demographers raise their estimate for human longevity. Whereas 70 years old once signified a rapidly aging body and the early signs of mortal illness, now 70 year-olds run marathons, chop wood and settle for long retirements. Ninety is the new 70. And who could complain about that?… Read More

Can you name the oldest stock index still in use? Here’s a clue: it’s even older than the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Ten points if you guessed the Dow Jones Transportation Average (also known as the Dow Transports). Charles Dow dreamed up the index nearly 130 years ago, as he presumed that the share price movements of transportation-related companies would provide a clear read on the amount of goods being sold (and trafficked) across the country. (As a side note, Dow… Read More

Can you name the oldest stock index still in use? Here’s a clue: it’s even older than the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Ten points if you guessed the Dow Jones Transportation Average (also known as the Dow Transports). Charles Dow dreamed up the index nearly 130 years ago, as he presumed that the share price movements of transportation-related companies would provide a clear read on the amount of goods being sold (and trafficked) across the country. (As a side note, Dow also noted the importance of the Dow Transports and the DJIA moving in tandem. If only one was rallying, you shouldn’t trust it. This is one of the six tenets of the Dow Theory, which is best left for another day). Had Dow been around today, he might have stopped focusing on the Dow Transports and simply watched FedEx (NYSE: FDX), the world’s largest shipper. As you look at FedEx’s stock chart in the last year, you can get a clear read on investor expectations about the… Read More

Investors have got the fever. After seeing 3PAR (NYSE: PAR) jump from $10 to $30 a share and ArcSight (Nasdaq: ARST) zoom ahead from $25 to $43 in the last month, they are pushing up shares of any name they think might be the… Read More

A clear trend has emerged in the health care sector. Large companies are having an awfully hard time finding ways to grow. As an example, I recently took a look at the dimming outlook for industry giant Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). [Read more.] In that column, I added… Read More

Investors breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday morning when Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) delivered a fairly impressive quarter. Shares, which had been close to a 52-week low, are up more than +6%. Were it not for the large group of investors that see real danger in the consumer economy, shares would have posted even stronger gains. Six months from now, when Best Buy is discussing holiday season sales, those concerns should be officially put to bed. Meanwhile, shares are awfully cheap, which sets the stage for… Read More

Investors breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday morning when Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) delivered a fairly impressive quarter. Shares, which had been close to a 52-week low, are up more than +6%. Were it not for the large group of investors that see real danger in the consumer economy, shares would have posted even stronger gains. Six months from now, when Best Buy is discussing holiday season sales, those concerns should be officially put to bed. Meanwhile, shares are awfully cheap, which sets the stage for one of the best retail plays ahead of the holiday season. Before we look ahead, it’s important to see what is driving profits in the near-term. To be sure, consumer spending remains cautious: same-store sales fell -0.1% in the quarter, which is actually below the +2% growth rate in consumer incomes seen in recent periods. There is also a dearth of hot new items that consumers must own right now. #-ad_banner-#But that’s about to change. In the next few months, expect to hear about a wave of new consumer electronics devices, especially those that… Read More

Every Monday, I like to look at all the stocks that saw fresh rounds of insider buying in the previous week. Such so-called insider buying can alert you to undervalued stocks before most investors take note. That’s because insiders (defined as any officer or director of a company, or any… Read More