In the final months of his life, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs worked hard to ensure a vital future for his company. He prepared his management team to stand on its own, and they have exceeded almost everyone’s expectations. In fact, in… Read More

Whenever we have an extended market crash, it is a good idea to look for the survivors. These are the companies that have endured the brutal years of a bear market and are still… Read More

When it comes to investing, there is perhaps nothing more gratifying than unearthing a gem of a stock that turns out to deliver some very big gains. Companies like Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are marquee examples of large-cap stocks that continue delivering large gains;… Read More

In the curious ways of Washington, the biggest action comes from inaction.#-ad_banner-# Politicians have spent years telling you that they will never raise taxes. What they don’t admit is that your taxes can rise anyway, simply by letting current tax laws expire. Read More

Just 14 months ago, the U.S. economic outlook appeared fairly dire, leading stocks to plunge in late July and early August 2011. As it turns out, it was a false alarm: The S&P 500 has risen 29% since then. This kind of move is all the more remarkable when you… Read More

It’s certainly not the sexiest stock on Wall Street, but Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE: SON), a manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging solutions, could be setting up for a nice move higher. Down more than 6% year-to-date, Sonoco has been underperforming its… Read More

While equity indices were making multi-year highs, resource and commodity markets were largely left behind. The CRB Index basket of commodity prices remains 20% lower than its… Read More

The markets are red hot this year, fueled by promising headlines about euro-zone stability and Federal Reserve interventions like Quantative Easing 3 (QE3). But is it a false sense of security? Are markets unknowingly about to be crushed by economic realities that are simply hiding in the closet?  While a… Read More

Handbag and accessory maker Coach (NYSE: COH), one of the best-known names in high-end fashion, has also been one of the best-performing stocks in the bull market that started in 2009. From its bear market lows, Coach gained 599% before peaking in March. Since then, the stock has pulled back and is trading 30% below its all-time highs. The chart below shows that the price could be headed even lower in the short term. Despite the stock’s recent struggles, Coach is still a… Read More

Handbag and accessory maker Coach (NYSE: COH), one of the best-known names in high-end fashion, has also been one of the best-performing stocks in the bull market that started in 2009. From its bear market lows, Coach gained 599% before peaking in March. Since then, the stock has pulled back and is trading 30% below its all-time highs. The chart below shows that the price could be headed even lower in the short term. Despite the stock’s recent struggles, Coach is still a great company for the long term. And at the right price, this stock is a buy. But right now it looks like it is a little too early. I think the holiday shopping season could lead to an additional sell-off in the stock that would push Coach shares down to where I would like to buy them. As you can see in the chart below, since Coach peaked, competitor Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) has been a market leader. The two companies are… Read More

It happened again… just as the market expected it would. On Sept. 13, the Federal Reserve announced a new plan for quantitative easing (QE3). The plan — which started on Sept. 14 — is for… Read More