You can’t blame all of the vast stock sell-offs in 2008 and early 2009 on the lousy economy. Sometimes, share prices plunged simply due to management ineptitude. MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR) was a perennially respected leading supplier of those big disks — known… Read More

This week Wall Street has had a lot of its usual fare to digest: Retail sales, housing starts, petroleum inventories, mortgage applications, some minor earnings reports. Those data points… Read More

Investors with a pulse have no doubt heard about Brazil’s potential by now. After all, given the multi-year run-up in Brazil’s main exchange, the Bovespa, and the announcement that the 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janiero, it’s a little hard to ignore. But make no mistake… Read More

Here’s a brief three-part history and economics primer, followed by some advice on how to make money from it. The Past Nearly a half-century ago, on Dec. 14, 1960, the United Nations passed Resolution 1514, a declaration on the granting… Read More

The weak economy has brought a silver lining: companies that were inefficiently operating were forced to take a hard look at their operations and address any shortcomings. And Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK) sure had many problems to tackle. The women’s clothing retailer… Read More

Say you and I are friends. And let’s further assume you’re fabulously wealthy. You’ve come to me for advice. What would I tell you to do with your money? I’d tell you to do three things. The first:… Read More

Anyone can get lucky once in a while. The same goes for the so-called “experts” on Wall Street. But when the overwhelming majority of experts agree on a handful of stocks, investors should take notice. When a stock has, say, 20 analysts covering it — and all 20 think the… Read More

Wednesday I told you what an EPA rule change regarding cellulosic ethanol could mean for the Obama White House and, more important, what it could mean for the shareholders of an ethanol-industry leader. That EPA ruling is a done deal. Another proposed EPA rule… Read More

Less than a month ago I told you about what amounted to a rule change at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Obama administration adjusted an output timetable for the production of cellulosic ethanol, an advanced biofuel. Now, if you didn’t hear this gripping news from me,… Read More

Microcap companies often scare off a lot of investors. Companies with market capitalizations of less than $300 million are seen as volatile and risky. While that’s true for many of them, every once and a while a quality microcap stands out from the crowd. In fact, this little company not… Read More