When executives at Tivo (Nasdaq: TIVO), a recent addition to my $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio, decided to start hurling lawsuits at some of the country’s biggest cable and telecom companies a few years ago, many investors figured this industry’s “David” simply couldn’t prevail in court against the industry’s Goliaths. Well, with… Read More

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at some of the nation’s biggest companies have a problem on their hands. They’re tasked with watching over billions, tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars every day, making sure to find ways to deliver the best returns to shareholders while keeping enough aside for a rainy day. With interest rates sitting at multi-decade lows, these executives can’t afford to let the money just sit there. That’s why more of them are looking at share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions or higher levels of capital spending to take some of that cash off of the… Read More

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at some of the nation’s biggest companies have a problem on their hands. They’re tasked with watching over billions, tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dollars every day, making sure to find ways to deliver the best returns to shareholders while keeping enough aside for a rainy day. With interest rates sitting at multi-decade lows, these executives can’t afford to let the money just sit there. That’s why more of them are looking at share buybacks, dividends, acquisitions or higher levels of capital spending to take some of that cash off of the sidelines and put it into action. This is good news for investors. Because the more cash a company deploys, the better the chances of bolstering the stock price. We took a look at the cash balances of leading corporations and were stunned to find how much some companies were sitting on. In some instances, these companies have such a large amount of cash that it equals or surpasses what some countries produce in terms of annual economic activity (GDP). Here are the top ten profitable companies sitting on stunning amounts of cash (we excluded traditional… Read More

As we head into earnings season, this $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio holding, also one of my first picks, is due for an update. The stock has already risen by 19% since I bought it in January, and could have a lot more upside —… Read More

The financial press has gotten great mileage out of the hottest stock in the dining sector — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG). And why not? It’s been a great growth story as sales shot up from $315 million in 2003 to roughly $1.83 billion in 2010. Yet some investors are… Read More

The sole purpose of the Federal’s Reserve’s recent moves and commentary is to inspire the economy‘s “animal spirits.” The most recent action, known as QE3, or the third round of quantitative easing, is simply an effort to provide a spark where none… Read More

It’s been roughly one month since I added shares of Celsion (Nasdaq: CLSN) to my $100,000 Real-Money Portfolio, and they’re already up nearly 25%.  In fact, this stock has more than tripled from its… Read More

During the past few years, we’ve tracked the ups and downs of Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK). In the summer of 2010, I noted that Chesapeake’s CEO, Aubrey McClendon “always swings for the fences.” Trouble is, he has swung and missed more often… Read More

When a company announces a quarterly shortfall and lowers guidance, investors have been known to shoot first and ask questions later. That lesson was painfully brought home to the insiders at Maxwell Technologies (Nasdaq: MXWL), who were initially stunned to see the company’s stock tumble from about $20 in late… Read More

Even if you’re a buy-and-hold investor by nature, you have to be nimble enough to profit from any short-term gifts the market may hand you. Read More

The search for income-producing investments keeps getting harder. Uncle Sam continues to deliver paltry payouts on government bonds and notes, which has forced many investors to seek out dividend-paying common stocks. Trouble is, the popularity of these investments has pushed their stock prices up — and their dividend yields down. The average dividend-paying stock in the S&P 500 yields just 2.5%. Even investment-grade corporate bonds offer little help. The average payout (with a duration… Read More

The search for income-producing investments keeps getting harder. Uncle Sam continues to deliver paltry payouts on government bonds and notes, which has forced many investors to seek out dividend-paying common stocks. Trouble is, the popularity of these investments has pushed their stock prices up — and their dividend yields down. The average dividend-paying stock in the S&P 500 yields just 2.5%. Even investment-grade corporate bonds offer little help. The average payout (with a duration of 2-5 years) is just 3.5%, which is well below the historical average yield of around 5%. That’s why preferred stocks are getting a fresh look from many investors. Not only do their payouts often exceed 5%, but they offer the chance of solid capital appreciation if the stock market moves higher. Preferred stocks are a favorite vehicle for companies with steady, predictable cash flows. If the going gets tough, these companies can temporarily defer payments to preserve cash. This… Read More