The S&P 500 is on fire. The index is on track for its ninth consecutive month of gains. And chances are any stock you’ve owned in that time has risen at a respectable pace as well. Yet one thought is gnawing at many investors: Is it time to think about locking in profits?  After all, we’re already past the point where stocks saw substantial pullbacks in recent years. And this… Read More

The S&P 500 is on fire. The index is on track for its ninth consecutive month of gains. And chances are any stock you’ve owned in that time has risen at a respectable pace as well. Yet one thought is gnawing at many investors: Is it time to think about locking in profits?  After all, we’re already past the point where stocks saw substantial pullbacks in recent years. And this year‘s surge is even more impressive than the surges we saw early in 2010, 2011 and 2012. S&P 500: A Surge, A Swoon And A Surge Again Yet even if one chooses to start selling stocks, it’s not always clear which candidates in your portfolio are ripe for jettisoning. Here are five guideposts I look for to spot potential sell candidates. 1. Portfolio Concentration If you aim to construct a portfolio with an equal weighting given to all stocks, you’ll notice that the weighting changes over time,… Read More

Long live the bond market bull.  It started running in 1980, when a series of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve finally broke the back of… Read More

The S&P 500 is on fire. The index is on track for its ninth consecutive month of gains. And chances are any stock you’ve owned in that time has risen at a respectable pace as well. Yet one thought is gnawing at many investors: Is it time to think about locking in profits?  After all, we’re already past the point where stocks saw substantial pullbacks in recent years. And this… Read More

The S&P 500 is on fire. The index is on track for its ninth consecutive month of gains. And chances are any stock you’ve owned in that time has risen at a respectable pace as well. Yet one thought is gnawing at many investors: Is it time to think about locking in profits?  After all, we’re already past the point where stocks saw substantial pullbacks in recent years. And this year‘s surge is even more impressive than the surges we saw early in 2010, 2011 and 2012. S&P 500: A Surge, A Swoon And A Surge Again Yet even if one chooses to start selling stocks, it’s not always clear which candidates in your portfolio are ripe for jettisoning. Here are five guideposts I look for to spot potential sell candidates. 1. Portfolio Concentration If you aim to construct a portfolio with an equal weighting given to all stocks, you’ll notice that the weighting changes over time,… Read More

Long live the bond market bull.  It started running in 1980, when a series of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve finally broke the back of… Read More

There is nothing more frustrating than finding a seemingly attractive young company, only to discover that its shares have already risen 800% in the past seven months. Then again, seeing that stock subsequently lose half its value in a matter of weeks suggests that perhaps you didn’t miss out on “the next Microsoft” after all. It has been that kind of roller-coaster ride for investors in Uni-Pixel (Nasdaq: UNXL), which is either widely admired or widely reviled, depending on whom you ask. The company, which has yet… Read More

There is nothing more frustrating than finding a seemingly attractive young company, only to discover that its shares have already risen 800% in the past seven months. Then again, seeing that stock subsequently lose half its value in a matter of weeks suggests that perhaps you didn’t miss out on “the next Microsoft” after all. It has been that kind of roller-coaster ride for investors in Uni-Pixel (Nasdaq: UNXL), which is either widely admired or widely reviled, depending on whom you ask. The company, which has yet to generate revenue from operations, will eventually make its investors a lot of money or prove to be a spectacular bust, depending on how the next three to six months play out.  The current question: With a 50% haircut, are shares worth your money? A Game-Changer? This spring, Uni-Pixel saw its market value briefly move above $400… Read More

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This month marks the five-year anniversary of an era many would rather forget.  The S&P 500 fell nearly 10% in June 2008, and investors began to brace for an eventual market crash later in the year. That was… Read More

In recent days, investors might not have noticed a very unusual trend playing out in global markets. A number of once-robust currencies are in freefall against the U.S. dollar — and counterintuitively, that spells opportunity for U.S. investors. Looking For A Bottom From the South African rand and the Brazilian real to the Australian dollar, a worldwide slump is emerging. It’s very unusual for currencies to gain or lose value in a rapid fashion, but the recent charts are quite humbling, as this chart of the Australian dollar shows. Read More

In recent days, investors might not have noticed a very unusual trend playing out in global markets. A number of once-robust currencies are in freefall against the U.S. dollar — and counterintuitively, that spells opportunity for U.S. investors. Looking For A Bottom From the South African rand and the Brazilian real to the Australian dollar, a worldwide slump is emerging. It’s very unusual for currencies to gain or lose value in a rapid fashion, but the recent charts are quite humbling, as this chart of the Australian dollar shows. For U.S. investors with exposure to these markets, the currency shift eats away at a stock or fund‘s value, which comes on top of existing weakness in many foreign markets when denominated in their own currencies. For example, the iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund ETF (NYSE: EWA) has underperformed the S&P 500 by a stunning 20 percentage points since the… Read More

For many dividend-paying stocks, it appears as if a “great rotation” has begun. One of the most lucrative investing themes of the past few years may be coming to an end as interest rates start to rise, heightening the relative appeal of fixed-income assets compared with riskier equities. The question for investors: As others start to flee, how can you know when it’s time to go against the… Read More

For many dividend-paying stocks, it appears as if a “great rotation” has begun. One of the most lucrative investing themes of the past few years may be coming to an end as interest rates start to rise, heightening the relative appeal of fixed-income assets compared with riskier equities. The question for investors: As others start to flee, how can you know when it’s time to go against the grain and load up on dividend-paying stocks?#-ad_banner-# Let’s be clear: Not all investors think we’re on the cusp of a sea change in interest rates. The global economy remains quite weak, with Europe stumbling to find an economic floor and China showing increasing signs of weakness. As long as the global economy is in a funk, some strategists expect that U.S. investors will continue to benefit from an environment of ultra-low interest rates. A few have suggested that… Read More

When it comes to assessing the outlook for drugmakers, investors really only care about the pipeline of new drugs. After all, existing drugs eventually lose patent protection, and when that happens, a large hole in the income statement… Read More