The world was shocked when the Brazilian energy corporation Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) announced in 2007 the discovery of a massive oil deposit. Buried deep under the Atlantic Ocean, the Tupi oilfield, due east of Rio de Janeiro, was… Read More

It’s always helpful to keep an eye on losing stocks. Whether it’s a scan of the stocks making fresh 52-week lows, or a screen for stocks that have fallen sharply in recent quarters, you may come across tomorrow’s winning trades. Case in point: Shares of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), which saw its shares slump from $300 in the summer of 2011 to just $60 a year later. Snapping up this losing stock in the fall of 2012,… Read More

It’s always helpful to keep an eye on losing stocks. Whether it’s a scan of the stocks making fresh 52-week lows, or a screen for stocks that have fallen sharply in recent quarters, you may come across tomorrow’s winning trades. Case in point: Shares of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), which saw its shares slump from $300 in the summer of 2011 to just $60 a year later. Snapping up this losing stock in the fall of 2012, when most investors were fleeing, turned out to be a wise move as shares have rebounded a stunning 200% — in less than five months. The 10 Worst Performers of the Past 12 Months*  *representing stocks in the S&P 500 and S&P 400  Here’s a look at three deeply-bruised stocks that have serious rebound potential in 2013.  1. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) In October 2012, I profiled three stocks that possessed a solid mix of growth, income and value. And while Bunge… Read More

An investing maxim, when turned on its head, can still be true. In decades past, investors were told that you “can’t fight the Fed,” which meant that when the Federal Reserve was boosting interest rates, markets would… Read More

We surely live in uncertain times. The market continues its impressive multi-year rebound in hopes of an ever-firming economy, yet there are still enough headwinds in place that might bring the rally to a halt. In effect,… Read More

There was a time when real estate was out of reach for the small investor. Back in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s era, policymakers in Washington noted a clear conundrum. A real estate boom was under way, but most small investors were missing out. It… Read More

With the market moving ever higher, investors are “moving out on the risk curve.” This means the positive price action is beginning to spread to more speculative stocks — small-… Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though… Read More

At the end of World War II, G.Is. had a little time to linger in Europe before heading home, so they embarked on the all-American pastime: shopping. The U.S. dollar was so strong, these soldiers could buy small items like boxes of chocolate — and big items like British motorcycles… Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though dividend hikes are a logical option, they still don’t have a meaningful effect on cash balances.   That’s why you still hear about many companies issuing seemingly robust stock buyback programs.  Though the number of… Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though dividend hikes are a logical option, they still don’t have a meaningful effect on cash balances.   That’s why you still hear about many companies issuing seemingly robust stock buyback programs.  Though the number of buyback announcements (and the dollar value of them) slipped about 10-12% in 2012 compared with the record year of 2011, they still remain near peak levels. And January 2013 has brought more of the same. In the past four weeks, these four companies announced plans to initiate or extend stock buyback programs worth almost $10 billion on a collective basis.  Frankly, they shouldn’t bother. The size of the buybacks won’t make a meaningful dent in the share count, these stocks already trade near multi-year highs. Besides,… Read More

At the end of World War II, G.Is. had a little time to linger in Europe before heading home, so they embarked on the all-American pastime: shopping. The U.S. dollar was so strong, these soldiers could buy small items like boxes of chocolate — and big items like British motorcycles — at shockingly low prices. #-ad_banner-#Fifty years later, U.S. consumers found out what happens when a super-strong currency loses its luster. The U.S. dollar no longer buys as much abroad as it once did, and a shopping spree in Paris or London… Read More

At the end of World War II, G.Is. had a little time to linger in Europe before heading home, so they embarked on the all-American pastime: shopping. The U.S. dollar was so strong, these soldiers could buy small items like boxes of chocolate — and big items like British motorcycles — at shockingly low prices. #-ad_banner-#Fifty years later, U.S. consumers found out what happens when a super-strong currency loses its luster. The U.S. dollar no longer buys as much abroad as it once did, and a shopping spree in Paris or London will cost a lot of dough. Of course, the investment world has been feeling similar effects as well. The long-term fall in the dollar means U.S. companies can no longer snap up foreign rivals for a cheap price. But a falling dollar also means that any foreign assets that companies and investors own have risen in value. (Note that since the Great Recession of 2008, the… Read More