The economy, at long last, has begun to recover. That’s not to say things are rosy. Unemployment is still 10%, and some suggest this means the nation’s recovery may be marked by less consumption and higher personal savings than in… Read More

Remember when big banks paid big dividends? Before the financial crisis Citigroup (NYSE: C) paid a quarterly dividend of $0.54; last quarter’s dividend was $0.01. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) paid a per-share $0.64 quarterly dividend as recently as late 2008; December’s quarterly dividend… Read More

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder — and I suppose that’s just as true in the financial world as anywhere else. For most, the Fed‘s unprecedented string of stimulative rate cuts couldn’t have been better timed. Read More

You could take a stab at Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN), whose progress on Alzheimer’s treatment has sent its shares soaring three-fold since March. But then there’s OncoGenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: OGXI), whose shares famously fell more than -30% in short order (mostly in one… Read More

It was greeted as “an oddball security from Canada” when it debuted in December 2003. I’m speaking about one of the newest (and most lucrative) asset classes to hit Wall Street in recent years — enhanced income securities (EIS). The name… Read More

The S&P 500 lost ground during the past decade, but this drug maker’s shares returned a gravity-defying +1,179%. That’s the good news. The better news is that the company looks like it’s setting itself up for a repeat performance. Read More

Everyone likes a good list to start a new year. Whether it’s a “Top 10” of this or a “Best of” that, it’s always a fun exercise. But when it comes to picking stocks, nothing is as easy as it looks. If you’re an investor looking for… Read More

Admit it: You still have in the back of your desk drawer that long-forgotten key ring attached to the mini flashlight with the name of an insurance company emblazoned on it. The one you picked up at the auto show three years ago. And the flashlight still works. Read More

Game on. The market is overreacting to an announcement today from GameStop (NYSE: GME) that it had trouble competing with Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) for holiday shoppers. Holiday sales were flat and GameStop lowered its guidance for the year, which ends in March, to between $2.23 to $2.27… Read More

Trying to find untapped corners of the market has become increasingly challenging for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but fund issuers have been up to the challenge. One particularly inventive offering by Van Eck fills a conspicuous gap for gold bulls — and the timing couldn’t have been better. Read More