For the past two weeks, I’ve been informing my Mastering the Markets subscribers that a market correction is likely. Could that correction have started last Friday? Quite possibly. (Much more on this topic in my latest issue, so I hope you’ve signed up for that premium service.) However, I am… Read More

Income investors looking to cash in on rising oil and natural gas prices may be hard pressed to find traditional companies that pay a hefty yield. Exxon (NYSE: XOM), for example, yields 2.4% and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), the largest producer of natural… Read More

“Everything is better in 3-D” seems to be the mantra of media these days. It’s not hard to see why. James Cameron’s Academy Award-nominated movie Avatar may have shattered box office records, but it hasn’t been the only 3-D box office success. Top… Read More

Americans love their sports. In fact, many males love them to death. According to a study by Xavier University of obituaries from 19 newspapers, 15% of men’s obituaries mentioned some form of sports fan identification. Their closest loved ones knew how much the deceased’s team meant to them. Read More

With the distraction of the massive health care plan behind them, senior members of the Obama administration are gearing up to help modernize our aging and inefficient power grid. New sources of energy, new power lines and enhanced conservation measures should all help reduce our burden on imported oil while… Read More

Harvard Management Co. has 120 securities in its publicly disclosed portfolio. Its top four holdings, representing 55% of the portfolio’s $2.3 billion value, are internationally oriented exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus on generating income in emerging markets, China, Brazil and South Korea, respectively. Read More

With Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) going gangbusters and lifting many other tech firms with it, the S&P Global Technology Index Fund (NYSE: IXN) may be a great idea. IXN’s assets are weighted toward large-cap global tech companies. Other top holdings include Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), IBM (NYSE: IBM)… Read More

Companies focusing on steady growth face a real challenge: recent massive cost-cutting may have boosted bottom-line results, but as economic growth is likely to remain tepid in coming years, it will be hard to keep showing impressive year-over-year gains. At this point in previous economic cycles, management teams have historically… Read More

Personally, I’m not much of a racing fan. But I’m probably in the minority in my neck of the woods (Louisiana). Nationwide, there are millions of avid fans glued to every race — particularly the high-profile NASCAR Sprint Cup events. Last year, the Daytona 500 drew a… Read More

It certainly looked good on paper, but Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) ambition to acquire its way to global dominance as a one-stop shop for clients seeking banking, insurance, investment and just about any financial advice imaginable, has miserably failed. A corporate umbrella that spanned Travelers (NYSE: TRV) and its famous… Read More