Paper, pens and file folders are big business. And the recently announced merger of the No. 2 and No. 3 office-supplies chains, Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), should provide a sense of clarity that could help No. 1 Staples (Nasdaq:… Read More

There’s a lot of money in looking good. Just ask the proprietors of beauty supply giant Avon Products (NYSE: AVP). Last week, the world’s largest direct seller surprised Wall Street with… Read More

Here at StreetAuthority, we’re big fans of a theme known as “catalyst investing.” Though many stocks vie for investors’ attention, only a few of them are on… Read More

I’ll never forget my first visit to Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX). Many of my friends were talking enthusiastically about this fancy new coffee shop from Seattle that had just opened in the neighborhood. When I saw the prices and the strange names of the beverages, I nearly fainted in surprise. Heck,… Read More

The biotech industry is known for extreme innovation that can frequently lead to huge gains for early investors. Take Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) for example. When the company released its groundbreaking cholesterol medicine Lipitor in 1996, the best-selling drug in the history of the pharmaceutical industry,… Read More

Finding winning investment ideas isn’t just about being correct; it’s about being timely. Nearly a year ago, I suggested that huge upside lay ahead for MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR). The… Read More

Fourth-quarter earnings season is almost over and the results have been pretty underwhelming. Out of the 342 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, representing 78% of the index‘s total… Read More

Editor’s note: Today we’re featuring a guest essay by one of the most successful financial publishers in America, Bill Bonner, the founder of Agora. Mr. Bonner recently launched a new venture, Diary of a Rogue Economist to share his 30+ years of… Read More

During the past 18 months, Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) army of software engineers worked feverishly to prepare for the tablet revolution. The company’s newest version of Windows was aimed at taking back lost market share from the likes of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq:… Read More

During the past 18 months, Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) army of software engineers worked feverishly to prepare for the tablet revolution. The company’s newest version of Windows was aimed at taking back lost market share from the likes of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Yet as I noted in this article, the launch for Windows 8 has been underwhelming. Nearly three months later, this view still holds. Still, Microsoft has many other core strengths outside of operating software. Management should shift focus and ensure that each of these divisions has the right growth… Read More

During the past 18 months, Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) army of software engineers worked feverishly to prepare for the tablet revolution. The company’s newest version of Windows was aimed at taking back lost market share from the likes of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Yet as I noted in this article, the launch for Windows 8 has been underwhelming. Nearly three months later, this view still holds. Still, Microsoft has many other core strengths outside of operating software. Management should shift focus and ensure that each of these divisions has the right growth drivers to take market share. With more than $60 billion in net cash just sitting in the bank, it’s foolhardy to stand back and do nothing. Here’s a look at three Microsoft niches and how the company can strengthen them through acquisitions of young, fast-growing firms that are gaining relevant traction. History has shown that the fast-changing technology landscape often produces tomorrow’s top-performing investments. And these are the kind of opportunities no investor should ignore. Server and tools It’s easy to overlook this division as it… Read More