Walk around virtually any city in Europe, and you’ll get a glimpse of deep economic strains.#-ad_banner-# Many store fronts are boarding up, people are walking the streets with hopes of finding employment and landlords are evicting tenants who are far behind in rent. Yet,… Read More

Walk around virtually any city in Europe, and you’ll get a glimpse of deep economic strains.#-ad_banner-# Many store fronts are boarding up, people are walking the streets with hopes of finding employment and landlords are evicting tenants who are far behind in rent. Yet, economists increasingly expect the gloom to lift slowly. And if history is any guide, then you want to invest in troubled Europe before the region’s economy is back in full force.  This notion hasn’t been lost on some investors who are already profiting from increased… Read More

Walk around virtually any city in Europe, and you’ll get a glimpse of deep economic strains.#-ad_banner-# Many store fronts are boarding up, people are walking the streets with hopes of finding employment and landlords are evicting tenants who are far behind in rent. Yet, economists increasingly expect the gloom to lift slowly. And if history is any guide, then you want to invest in troubled Europe before the region’s economy is back in full force.  This notion hasn’t been lost on some investors who are already profiting from increased exposure to Europe. But these investors were mostly focused on the riskiest stocks that appeared to be the most distressed. Many Italian bank stocks, for example, have risen 50% or even 100% since bottoming out last summer. But for investors looking to commit fresh funds to European investments, it may be wiser to take a different tack.  Focus on stocks and funds that remain near lows, but have a high degree of economic sensitivity. Once investors have become convinced that Europe… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for our nation’s trade deficit, employment picture and national security.#-ad_banner-# Despite the ever-brightening energy picture, it’s still quite easy to find value-priced stocks in this sector. Dozens of stocks trade at reasonable levels in relation to their… Read More

With every passing month, we read another report about our nation’s fast-track path to energy independence. Our domestic production of oil and gas is growing so rapidly, that we may just be a half-decade away from ending our long addiction to imported energy. And this would be great news for our nation’s trade deficit, employment picture and national security.#-ad_banner-# Despite the ever-brightening energy picture, it’s still quite easy to find value-priced stocks in this sector. Dozens of stocks trade at reasonable levels in relation to their cash flow, asset base and long-term growth prospects. I ran a series of screens to help bring a sharper focus to these industry value plays.  By triangulating the results of several screens, it’s possible to see the deepest values in this steadily-growing sector. Single-digit multiples abound While stocks in many other industries are often assessed by their price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples, this metric isn’t quite as useful for energy-exploration firms. They have such intense capital requirements and… Read More

Economic forecasting is known as “The Dismal Science”…and for good reason.  That’s because many economists look at a small slice of data and come up with bold forecasts. Sometimes they nail an economic forecast with dead-on accuracy, but they can also be profoundly wrong.#-ad_banner-# The only way to get it… Read More

Each week, one of our investing experts answers a reader’s question in the Q&A column from our sister site, InvestingAnswers.com. It’s all part of our mission to help consumers build and protect their wealth through education. If you’d like us to answer one of… Read More

A few weeks into the New Year, investors seem to be in a carefree mood. The traditional measures of volatility remain at extremely low levels. After all, the European economic crisis has calmed, budget negotiations in Washington aren’t front page news at the moment, and… Read More

Since bottoming out at just $6.50 a share in September, Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) has surged more than 150%. The rally came seemingly out of nowhere, as many simply assumed the maker of BlackBerry phones was heading for the technology industry’s graveyard.  In hindsight, it’s pretty clear most… Read More

Just a few quarters ago, an increasing number of data points yielded an impression that the Chinese economy might soon be in distress. The housing sector looked overbuilt, the banking sector was carrying a rising number of… Read More

If you look out into the middle of the decade, then you can make the case for increasingly robust economic growth that could fuel heady top- and bottom-line gains in a number of sectors. But we’re not there yet.#-ad_banner-# Recent economic signs point to an eventual economic brightening, though there… Read More