The free market is truly like a jungle. In the jungle, once-mighty animals become old and frail, and they fall prey to younger, stronger beasts. The same thing happens with companies. Once-great investments become laggards if they… Read More

What would compel insiders to buy up company stock? After all, they typically receive shares anyway through annual stock option grants — for free. Some market watchers suggest that these folks buy… Read More

I can’t tell you how many times a client walks out of my office with my last pen, drains my last bit of ink asking for an extra report, or I find myself one or two envelopes short for a client mailing. I’m left jumping into my car for a… Read More

In June of 2009, both Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and insurance firm The Travelers Cos. (NYSE: TRV) received an invitation to a very exclusive club. Only 30 companies get to be members of this club, and it’s one of the crowning achievements for a company to be asked to join. Read More

Will Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) soon join the Dow Jones Industrial Average? A rising chorus of pundits suggests so. A few other firms may also be added, since the analysts who chose the index‘s components rarely make just one move. But to make way for… Read More

Think you’ve got a bead on the best sectors to own? It’s amazing how often assumptions can differ from reality. While most investors may believe the technology or financial sectors tend to offer the biggest returns or the most… Read More

When there’s a recession or when the economy is sluggish like now, consumers look for ways to save their hard-earned money anyway they can. They can do so… Read More

Anyone waiting for Big Pharma to stumble on the industry’s so-called “patent cliff” has been heartily disappointed. In spite of many high-revenue products facing patent expirations in the next few years, the group continues to be a top performer, lifting the health care sector to a market-beating 9% gain by… Read More

In the face of a tough second-quarter economy, these two portfolio holdings managed just fine. Here’s why looking out a year or two, these businesses should really flourish… It is purely coincidental that two of my favorite companies delivered decent second-quarter results on the… Read More

At the height of the dot-com era, with the Nasdaq trading at 5,000, the airwaves were filled with predictions of even bigger gains to come. One prediction that called for “Dow 36,000” was a sure sign that stocks were headed for trouble. Bubbles get pricked right at the time of… Read More