While Gulf Coast residents are taking to the streets for Mardi Gras, Brazilians prepare to kick it up a notch (or 12) with their own unique, pre-Lent festival: Carnival. But despite its reputation as a party-hardy destination, Brazil is also home to a thriving, highly productive, developing emerging… Read More

Let’s be honest. When you hear about a stock that yields 12% or more, your first thought should be that the company is probably a basket case that can’t even turn a profit. If it’s offering a… Read More

There’s nothing like being burned by an investment, and those with money in emerging market stocks learned about it the hard way in 2011. As a group, emerging markets plunged nearly 19%, making them one of the worst-performing… Read More

Every few weeks, another major manufacturer announces plans to shut down production in China and bring jobs closer to home. Some companies such as GE (NYSE: GE) aim to boost production in the United States (GE will make hot water heaters in Kentucky, for example). That’s because China is no… Read More

Many investors have rejected emerging markets, and I can’t say I blame them. As a group, emerging markets really went sour in 2011, dropping nearly 19% and trailing the S&P 500’s 2% gain by about 21%. Still, I urge those who feel these markets… Read More

If you want to follow the lead of one of the world’s great investors, then Warren Buffett should be your role model. Since taking control of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) 48 years ago, Buffett has delivered 20% average annual returns to investors time and again. Buffett is… Read More

One of the most common mistakes income investors make is to look solely at yields. With the current yield on a 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond barely over 2% and most bank deposits earning… Read More

When it comes to global stock-market performance, strategists often speak of “decoupling,” which means the smaller but faster-growing economies in emerging markets have grown to the point that they are no longer beholden to investor sentiment about… Read More

Big-picture risks dominated markets in 2011, and stocks across most markets and sectors tended to move as a herd in response to news events. For example, when the yield on Italian debt spikes, European banks sell off because many have significant… Read More

It has been a crazy year for U.S. stocks, with the market surging higher into the spring, slumping badly in the summer and regaining some lost ground as the year came to a close. After all that swing, the S&P 500 stands right where… Read More