The largest players in the technology space garner the lion’s share of attention. Investors are obsessed with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), as are consumers who have shifted from snapping up iPods to iPhones and the newest iPad device. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is the other big name that draws attention with its… Read More

We’re just 90 days away from Congressional mid-term elections, so it’s time to think about what that might mean for investors’ portfolios. If it becomes increasingly clear that the GOP will re-take control of one or both houses of Congress, it could provide a… Read More

As I noted earlier this week, the current market environment could prove to be a real opportunity for investors — if the economy sputters to life. And even as there’s ample reason to expect the economy and the stock market to eventually strengthen,… Read More

In the world of high-speed wireless technology, known as 4G, you can bet on two horses: WiMax, which is a long-distance version of Wi-Fi, or LTE, which stands for Long-Term Evolution. Sprint (NYSE: S) has staked its fortunes on WiMax, and has an early head start, while Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) are expected to roll out LTE later this year and into 2011. Sprint made that WiMax bet after becoming a major shareholder in Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR), a pure-play high-speed wireless provider in the process of rolling out service in major American cities. Read More

In the world of high-speed wireless technology, known as 4G, you can bet on two horses: WiMax, which is a long-distance version of Wi-Fi, or LTE, which stands for Long-Term Evolution. Sprint (NYSE: S) has staked its fortunes on WiMax, and has an early head start, while Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) are expected to roll out LTE later this year and into 2011. Sprint made that WiMax bet after becoming a major shareholder in Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR), a pure-play high-speed wireless provider in the process of rolling out service in major American cities. Trouble is, Clearwire just announced it is having second thoughts. Perhaps LTE is indeed a solid choice after all, mused company CEO Bill Morrow on a conference call with investors Wednesday night. He conceded what many industry watchers already knew: that LTE is capable of carrying much higher volumes of high-speed data than WiMax. That’s bit hard to swallow for investors, as Clearwire has already consumed massive amounts of capital with its WiMax bet. More customers = more losses Clearwire has been an impressive growth story — as long as you ignore the rest of the… Read More

You could get freebies every day if you wanted to. Go to any restaurant and chances are high you’ll be able to grab matches, toothpicks or mints free of charge. While going out to eat in order to get a free mint seems a bit absurd, there are plenty of… Read More

Pharmacies, labs, billing agencies and insurers all say business is down from the same period a year ago. Recent earnings reports show Americans are seeking less medical care. The reason is twofold. The most obvious is that unemployment remains high, at… Read More

For Japan, the hits keep on coming. Just last week, China knocked the country off its perch as the world’s second-largest economy, dealing a sharp blow to national pride. But this week’s news is even more sobering. The Japanese Yen is surging to a 15-year high of around 85 yen to the U.S. Dollar. Why the sharp recent move? Because the U.S. Federal Reserve has recently hinted that it may start to resume “quantitative easing,” whereby it prints money to inject funds into the financial system and spur banks to lend at greater… Read More

For Japan, the hits keep on coming. Just last week, China knocked the country off its perch as the world’s second-largest economy, dealing a sharp blow to national pride. But this week’s news is even more sobering. The Japanese Yen is surging to a 15-year high of around 85 yen to the U.S. Dollar. Why the sharp recent move? Because the U.S. Federal Reserve has recently hinted that it may start to resume “quantitative easing,” whereby it prints money to inject funds into the financial system and spur banks to lend at greater volumes. As that move potentially pushes up inflationary pressures down the road, the dollar weakens. For a country like Japan that perennially struggles to boost domestic consumption and instead relies on its major exporters, this could lead to real pain. First, its exports are quickly becoming less competitive. Second, any profits that are associated with exports will shrink at the rate that the currency is strengthening. This could not come at a worse time — Japan is wrestling with a rapidly aging workforce and surging government debt (which is far higher… Read More

One might think that just because the economy stinks and consumers have cut back on spending that any stock described as being “retail” would be in trouble. For the most part, that would be right. However, there is a relatively unknown… Read More

At the behest of a key shareholder, bookseller Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) is in search of a potential suitor. Yet the company’s prospects are dimming, and it’s unclear if any such buyer exists. If you own this stock, look to take profits now. If you don’t, it may be… Read More

Many investors would be surprised to learn from which country the United States imports the greatest amount of oil. It’s not Saudi Arabia. It’s not Russia. And while Venezuela is high on the list, it’s not that nation either. The answer is Canada. In… Read More