As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until… Read More

As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until these markets settle down and form a bottom, it’s wiser to nibble than go whole hog.#-ad_banner-# Yet when it comes to emerging-market bonds, there is a different set of factors to consider. They are interrelated and can help determine which bonds are safe — and which are potentially toxic. Those three factors: trade balances, foreign currency reserves and currency changes. Let’s take a closer look. Surplus Or Deficit? A nation’s trade balance… Read More

When the Federal Reserve launched its plans to stimulate the economy through quantitative easing in 2009, virtually all asset classes were expected to benefit as the massive increase in liquidity… Read More

There are two ways to invest in retail stocks. You can focus on strong and steady operators such as Costco (Nasdaq: COST) or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and hope to secure moderate upside. Or you can be bold and buy shares of truly struggling retailers that have fallen deeply out of favor. That latter approach has been extremely profitable in 2013 for anyone with the guts to invest in GameStop (NYSE: GME) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Just a few… Read More

There are two ways to invest in retail stocks. You can focus on strong and steady operators such as Costco (Nasdaq: COST) or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and hope to secure moderate upside. Or you can be bold and buy shares of truly struggling retailers that have fallen deeply out of favor. That latter approach has been extremely profitable in 2013 for anyone with the guts to invest in GameStop (NYSE: GME) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Just a few quarters ago, these companies looked to be in deep trouble as spending on video games and consumer electronics, respectively, increasingly was taking place at rivals. Those two retailers have found a way to lure back customers, and the payoff has been huge. Major investors are now scouring the retail landscape in search of the next turnaround play, and mega-investor George Soros thinks he’s found one. In this year‘s second quarter, he plunked down $3 million to buy shares of J.C. Read More

There are two ways to invest in retail stocks. You can focus on strong and steady operators such as Costco (Nasdaq: COST) or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and hope to secure moderate upside. Or you can be bold and buy shares of truly struggling retailers that have fallen deeply out of favor. That latter approach has been extremely profitable in 2013 for anyone with the guts to invest in GameStop (NYSE: GME) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Just a few… Read More

There are two ways to invest in retail stocks. You can focus on strong and steady operators such as Costco (Nasdaq: COST) or Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and hope to secure moderate upside. Or you can be bold and buy shares of truly struggling retailers that have fallen deeply out of favor. That latter approach has been extremely profitable in 2013 for anyone with the guts to invest in GameStop (NYSE: GME) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Just a few quarters ago, these companies looked to be in deep trouble as spending on video games and consumer electronics, respectively, increasingly was taking place at rivals. Those two retailers have found a way to lure back customers, and the payoff has been huge. Major investors are now scouring the retail landscape in search of the next turnaround play, and mega-investor George Soros thinks he’s found one. In this year‘s second quarter, he plunked down $3 million to buy shares of J.C. Read More

The business of retailing is quite simple. You have a large base of fixed costs tied up in real estate, inventory and personnel, and you aim for a base of… Read More

When the employees of Florida-based Fairholme Capital came into work on Jan. 11, 2010, they were greeted with great news. Rating firm Morningstar had just selected Fairholme’s Bruce Berkowitz as the “Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade.” That’s quite an accolade, considering the heady competition. Morningstar chose him because “his aptitude for picking stocks sets him apart from his peers, and Fairholme’s portfolio is filled with attractively priced firms that generate high… Read More

When the employees of Florida-based Fairholme Capital came into work on Jan. 11, 2010, they were greeted with great news. Rating firm Morningstar had just selected Fairholme’s Bruce Berkowitz as the “Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Decade.” That’s quite an accolade, considering the heady competition. Morningstar chose him because “his aptitude for picking stocks sets him apart from his peers, and Fairholme’s portfolio is filled with attractively priced firms that generate high free cash flow.” In the just-completed decade — a decade in which the S&P 500 delivered slightly negative returns — Berkowitz’s Fairholme generated a 10-year annualized total return of 13%. The accolades are still pouring in. GuruFocus.com anointed Berkowitz as its “Investing Guru of the Year 2012.” These days, Berkowitz is still seeking out stocks with solid value and cash flow characteristics. According to recent filings, Berkowitz is loading up on shares of four insurers that are the epitome of… Read More

Over the past few months, an economic slowdown in China has led to a series of economic headwinds for many of the country’s key trading partners.  Indeed, for the first time in several years, economists have raised the prospect of a possible recession in Asia and Latin America, joining the ranks of major European economies already mired in a slump. For Mexico’s Cemex (NYSE: CX), the world’s third-largest cement maker and producer of concrete, any fresh slowdown could cause real distress for its rebounding… Read More

Over the past few months, an economic slowdown in China has led to a series of economic headwinds for many of the country’s key trading partners.  Indeed, for the first time in several years, economists have raised the prospect of a possible recession in Asia and Latin America, joining the ranks of major European economies already mired in a slump. For Mexico’s Cemex (NYSE: CX), the world’s third-largest cement maker and producer of concrete, any fresh slowdown could cause real distress for its rebounding stock. For investors who have managed to profit from this stock’s heady two-year rebound, now is the time to book profits as shares could give up those gains if cash flow doesn’t improve. Even before the recent slowdown in China and elsewhere, Cemex has been through a rough period. Anemic levels of construction have hurt pricing and demand for cement, leading this company to bleed… Read More

As interest rates collapsed in the past few years to multi-decade lows, investors had no choice but to flee low-yielding government bonds and bank CDs for higher-yielding, dividend-paying stocks. From master limited partnerships (MLPs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) to foreign government bonds, it’s been an era of profitable investing. Yet… Read More

As interest rates collapsed in the past few years to multi-decade lows, investors had no choice but to flee low-yielding government bonds and bank CDs for higher-yielding, dividend-paying stocks. From master limited partnerships (MLPs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) to foreign government bonds, it’s been an era of profitable investing. Yet signs are emerging that this trend may start to reverse course. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has spiked higher since the beginning of May to roughly 2.2%, and if we continue to see robust monthly employment reports, then these rates will probably climb steadily higher as the year progresses. Simply put, the economy is… Read More

Anytime a new CEO takes the reins of a struggling company, he or she is typically given a full year to implement a full turnaround. That’s the time in which the CEO can boost flagging employee morale, articulate a fresh game plan for Wall Street to assess, and put the wheels in motion for a sustained upturn in… Read More

Anytime a new CEO takes the reins of a struggling company, he or she is typically given a full year to implement a full turnaround. That’s the time in which the CEO can boost flagging employee morale, articulate a fresh game plan for Wall Street to assess, and put the wheels in motion for a sustained upturn in sales and profits. Yet when that one-year grace period (also known as the “honeymoon phase”) is over, investors tend to take a much more circumspect view. Talk becomes cheap, and financial results start to speak for themselves. July 16 marks the one-year anniversary of Marissa Mayer’s debut as CEO of Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), so the time is at hand for a steady path to much improved results. Considering that shares have rallied 70% since Mayer arrived 10 months ago, investors already appear… Read More

In China, the economic news is going from bad to worse. The country’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), which in May dropped to 49.2, signaling contraction, has slipped further in the first three weeks of June, to 48.2. A key component of the PMI, new export orders, fell to just 44.0. In May, imports fell to their lowest levels in roughly nine months, due in large part to growing commodities stockpiles. Pricing power at key companies is dropping, thanks to chronic industrial overcapacity. Weaker… Read More

In China, the economic news is going from bad to worse. The country’s Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), which in May dropped to 49.2, signaling contraction, has slipped further in the first three weeks of June, to 48.2. A key component of the PMI, new export orders, fell to just 44.0. In May, imports fell to their lowest levels in roughly nine months, due in large part to growing commodities stockpiles. Pricing power at key companies is dropping, thanks to chronic industrial overcapacity. Weaker corporate profits are raising concerns for the Chinese banking system, as many banks have issued a tremendous amount of loans to manufacturers and real estate developers in recent years. The era of easy money in China appears to be winding down as interest rates are quickly moving higher. (The seven-day repurchase rate shot above 8% this week, after being below 4% for much of the past few years.) Economists cite a… Read More