During the past couple of months, bond investors have been handsomely rewarded. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund ETF (NYSE: TLT) is up 14% since the beginning of March… not bad for one… Read More

So far in 2012, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has been fairly subdued. But the few deals that have been announced have taken the stocks of the firms being acquired much higher. Read More

The United States faces myriad economic challenges, yet somehow, the U.S. stock market has managed to post solid gains during the past few years, as I noted roughly a week ago. The S&P 500 has been one of the top gainers in… Read More

The S&P Index has gained an impressive 11% so far this year. This makes bargain-priced stocks that also have safe, high dividends a bit more challenging to find. But if you do your homework, then even during a… Read More

You’ve studied charts over time. You understand the fundamentals behind price movements and are convinced the market is going to drop. So you decide on an inverse index exchange-traded fund (ETF)… Read More

In the summer of 2015, either one or both political parties will begin the search for their next presidential candidate (depending on whether Mitt Romney wins the election this fall). By that time, the whole tenor of political positions will have sharply changed.  At least, we can only hope so. Read More

With new technologies like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling unlocking natural gas from shale basins that were previously inaccessible, gas prices have plummeted over the past few years. Since 2008, the price of gas has fallen from a high above $13 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) to today’s price of… Read More

Cybercrime is a global epidemic that is costing individuals and companies billions of dollars. Cyber-attacks are causing “the greatest transfer of wealth in history,” according to Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. #-ad_banner-# In the past year alone, industry-leading companies… Read More

As we start to close the books on the second-quarter earnings season, a clear trend is now official: companies have struggled to boost sales and profit margins appear to have peaked, which has led to a higher-than-usual amount… Read More

Every time you turn on the financial news channels or read the business section in the newspaper, you hear or read about debt. It’s truly become the new hot topic in economic circles. From the debt crisis in the European Union to the individual level, managing debt is fact of… Read More