Mary Meeker, known as the “Queen of the Net” during the heady 1990s, is back. Her latest prediction is that the mobile Internet will be a huge wealth generator. She even thinks it will surpass the Internet and that mobile commerce will overtake traditional e-commerce.     The fact… Read More

As part of your ongoing investment research, it pays to periodically check in with company insiders. When they are buying or selling a company’s stock, you’ll get a first-hand suggestion on whether shares are a bargain, or possibly ripe for a fall. Decisions on when to… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) fell by almost as much. Yet for investors willing to take a broader view than monthly sales trends, these sell-offs have created a compelling entry point for some of these stocks. As a quick recap of an article I wrote six months ago, many retailers have taken advantage of the downturn to tighten up their operations by reducing inventories, throttling back risky growth plans and cutting any fat from overhead. Some retail stocks are already benefiting from this trend, especially the ones that cater to upscale shoppers. But many teen-focused retailers have yet to mark… Read More

The timing is right for dividend stocks. High-yielding dividend stocks are one of the few places left where income investors can harvest a solid income in this low interest rate environment. In addition, the recent extension of the Bush tax-cut laws has increased the favorable… Read More

When it comes to microprocessors, the discussion often begins and ends with Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), the $115 billion colossus (in market value) that has dominated the industry since it began. Following in Intel’s wake is lowly Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), which has had innumerable brushes with death as… Read More

There’s a big debate in the commodities world: Which is a better investment, gold or silver? Gold usually gets much of the fanfare and stronger returns. But this was not the case last year, as silver surged 81%. Gold was only able to muster a 28% increase. Read More

What worked for investors in 2010 won’t necessarily work in 2011. And in light of StreetAuthority’s recent look at “8 Valuable Lessons We Learned About Investing” in 2010, I decided to take a look at how I would apply some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years to 2011. Here are five things you should look out for this year… 1. Look out for portfolio creep One of the challenges of a rising market is to know when to take profits. Instead, many of us hold on to our winners and bring… Read More

What worked for investors in 2010 won’t necessarily work in 2011. And in light of StreetAuthority’s recent look at “8 Valuable Lessons We Learned About Investing” in 2010, I decided to take a look at how I would apply some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years to 2011. Here are five things you should look out for this year… 1. Look out for portfolio creep One of the challenges of a rising market is to know when to take profits. Instead, many of us hold on to our winners and bring in fresh ammo to buy yet more stocks. Before you know it, you’re holding 15 or 20 stocks. (I once counseled an investor that asked me to look at his statement — and I told him right away that the 40 stocks he owned were far too many.) With the ever-rising market of the last two years, some investors likely have been buying a lot more than they have been selling. Yet you really need to own just six to 10 stocks that have a truly diversified portfolio. So if you’re above that figure, you should spend… Read More

Although you have probably never heard of this company, chances are you use its technology every single day. Do you watch television, or use a computer? Have you bought an iPad or iPhone? Do you use a cell phone, digital camera or a GPS navigation system in… Read More

Ironically, some of the most highly-valued stocks in the Dow appear to hold some of the highest risk. That may come as a surprise when you consider that the broader markets (as measured by the S&P 500) have risen more than 80% from their early 2009 lows. Then again, if… Read More

Domino’s Pizza Group (NYSE: DPZ) is the world’s largest pizza delivery chain by market cap. The pizza company operates more than 9,700 franchised and company-owned stores across the globe and appears set to grow further. Domino’s is booming internationally, especially in India, where 70 new stores were built this year. Read More