For most investors, the health of the U.S. economy should be the most important item to track. How the economy fares will directly correlate with how the Nasdaq, NYSE and S&P 500 perform — over the long-term. But right now, attention is focused on… Read More

Take a look at my forecast chart for United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) whose units’ net asset value tracks the performance of the spot price of West… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), PetroBras (NYSE: PBR) and Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP) $38.50 +12.2% $51.65 $27.50 Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY) $25.25 +7.3% $31.92 $21.55 PetroBras (NYSE: PBR) $36.85 +3.5% $53.46 $31.21 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Monday’s early trading are Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), PetroBras (NYSE: PBR) and Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY). Top Percentage Gainers — Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP) $38.50 +12.2% $51.65 $27.50 Ryanair (Nasdaq: RYAAY) $25.25 +7.3% $31.92 $21.55 PetroBras (NYSE: PBR) $36.85 +3.5% $53.46 $31.21 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:52AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Barron’s Boosts Icahn Shares of Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP), the publicly-traded investment arm of uber-investor Carl Icahn, are up more than +12% today after a flattering profile in Barron’s during the weekend. Even after this morning’s spike, shares still trade at a nearly -15% discount to the underlying $44 per share net asset value (NAV) of… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), Regal Cinemas (NYSE: RGC) and Halozyme Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HALO). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Anadarko (NYSE: APC) $44.07 -15.8% $75.07 $40.28 Regal Cinemas (NYSE: RGC) $14.30 -5.1% $18.49 $10.58 Halozyme (Nasdaq: HALO) $6.97 -4.9% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Tuesday’s early trading are Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), Regal Cinemas (NYSE: RGC) and Halozyme Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HALO). Top Percentage Losers — Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Anadarko (NYSE: APC) $44.07 -15.8% $75.07 $40.28 Regal Cinemas (NYSE: RGC) $14.30 -5.1% $18.49 $10.58 Halozyme (Nasdaq: HALO) $6.97 -4.9% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:58AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain dat Drillers with Highest Gulf Exposure Hit Hardest Shares of BP (NYSE: BP) are getting pummeled again, off another -11% on Monday as investors come to doubt that the flow of oil and gas can be stopped in the near term. The longer it proceeds, the greater the potential liability for the company. Rumors circulated that BP may become takeover bait, but it’s unclear why anyone would want to… Read More

During the past year, exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors have welcomed a plethora of new funds to the marketplace. These new funds cover everything from municipal bonds to emerging market financials. But one of the most intriguing of this latest batch is a fund that… Read More

There are few occasions when investors have an opportunity to own a global brand name at a substantial discount.  There are exceptions, but a company whose name has become synonymous with its product is usually the kind of stock that makes for a great core holding, providing stability in difficult times. Read More

Just like the title character in the play Waiting for Godot, the much-anticipated housing rebound has yet to make an appearance on stage. Many had assumed a housing recovery would be underway by now, but we’re still at least a year — or more — away from… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Friday’s early trading are CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE), Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) and J Crew (NYSE: JCG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) $5.13 +18.8% $8.24 $3.85 Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) $3.58 +11.9% $7.90 $2.75 J Crew (NYSE: JCG) $45.64 +4.1% $50.96 $19.55 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Friday’s early trading are CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE), Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) and J Crew (NYSE: JCG). Top Percentage Gainers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) $5.13 +18.8% $8.24 $3.85 Ener1 (NYSE: HEV) $3.58 +11.9% $7.90 $2.75 J Crew (NYSE: JCG) $45.64 +4.1% $50.96 $19.55 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 12:04PM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Time to Take Profits in CKX Shares of CKX (Nasdaq: CKXE) are up nearly +20% as word spread that the company’s biggest investor and a just-formed hedge fund are teaming up to acquire the producer of the very popular American Idol and So You Think You can Dance TV programs. (CKX also holds marketing licenses related to Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali). Those buyers are betting that those TV franchises… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRC), BlueCoat Systems(Nasdaq: BCSI) and Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Blue Coat Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI) $22.76 -21.1% $36.25 $13.85 Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) $49.34 -7.8% $70.78 $33.95 Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) $27.36 -6.8% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Friday’s early trading are Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRC), BlueCoat Systems(Nasdaq: BCSI) and Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD). Top Percentage Losers — Friday, May 28, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Blue Coat Systems (Nasdaq: BCSI) $22.76 -21.1% $36.25 $13.85 Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) $49.34 -7.8% $70.78 $33.95 Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) $27.36 -6.8% $32.71 $18.17 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:58AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Top Kill appears to Working, But Sector Stocks Sag BP’s (NYSE: BP) efforts to finally stanch the flow of oil and gas in the Gulf appears to be working. Though it remains to be seen during the next few days if the fix is permanent, this is the first bit of tangible good news in quite some time. But that’s of no help to the many… Read More

Confidence. It’s the number one driver of business. Without it, business managers tend to hold off on new investments, keep inventories lean, and hold on to cash. That’s what happened in the United States in 2008, as sinking confidence led to a vicious circle whereby more and more companies shed workers and slashed orders, because their key customers had done so. Could a similar spiral play out in Europe? It’s too early to tell. Much will depend on how banks react in this current environment. If they cut off lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as happened… Read More

Confidence. It’s the number one driver of business. Without it, business managers tend to hold off on new investments, keep inventories lean, and hold on to cash. That’s what happened in the United States in 2008, as sinking confidence led to a vicious circle whereby more and more companies shed workers and slashed orders, because their key customers had done so. Could a similar spiral play out in Europe? It’s too early to tell. Much will depend on how banks react in this current environment. If they cut off lending to small and medium-sized businesses, as happened here roughly 18 months ago, then that could trigger yet another recession on the Continent. #-ad_banner-# That’s why it is so important to track the actions of leading European banks. We already know that major banks in Ireland and Spain have begun to retrench, which bodes ill for the economies of those countries. But what about the likes of Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), UBS (NYSE: UBS) and Barclay’s (NYSE: BCS)? Those leading financial institutions’ actions will determine whether credit flows or shrinks. France’s Credit Agricole is a clear example. The bank recently announced that it… Read More