With each passing month, the challenges seem to build for major banks. Their commercial customers are not looking to take out big loans and their consumer business isn’t looking so hot either. Regulators have started to curtail certain fees, limiting debit-card transaction charges, for example. In response,… Read More

In a challenging market, investors seek out reasons to sell holdings just as often as they search for new stocks to buy. Of course, it’s not a decision made in a vacuum. Your buy and sell decisions are often influenced  by what others might be doing. Good stock picking (and… Read More

In investing, there’s a time to focus on reward and a time to focus on risk. And in a clearly growing economy, it always pays to find the companies best positioned to grow steadily. In better times, investors have been amply rewarded for their… Read More

When the market was in freefall in early August, I suggested intrepid investors could score gains by wading into stocks even as many were pulling out. Sure enough, the market went on to rebound later in August, but we’ve hit a rough patch again in early September. With the market… Read More

The markets, which had looked to be edging back toward historical valuation levels, closed down nearly 2.5% across the board Friday, Sept. 2 on poor jobs data, and I don’t mean Steve. The Labor Department… Read More

One of the biggest energy discoveries of the decade has been made in our own back yard. It’s not really a new discovery at all. In fact, we’ve known about the potential for years. It’s just that, until now, no one’s been able to do anything about… Read More

It’s really tempting to fill your portfolio with biotech stocks. This is because biotech investors who find the next breakthrough stock are able to double, triple or quadruple their money almost overnight. Take Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN), a maker of a pricey prostate cancer drug, for instance. As… Read More

When Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) started selling its single-cup coffee brewing systems (known as the Keurig) five years ago, few expected the company to single-handedly revolutionize the coffee industry. These days, former rivals are looking to partner with the company to help get a piece… Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) began tracking the size of the nation’s herd of cattle back in 1973. Since then, it has never noted such a severe plunge in the number of cows — until now. Ranchers are expected to raise only about 99.4 million head of cattle this… Read More

The relationship between risk and reward never changes. If you’re seeking great riches — in the form of juicy dividends — then you’re likely pursuing very speculative investments. On the flip side, seeking “safe” dividend payers likely means you’re going to get a paltry… Read More