The number 666 has spooky connotations for fans of horror films. It’s also an ominous number that analysts at France-based Societe Generale (SoGen) want you to think about. That’s their target price for the S&P 500.  The S&P 500’s 120 point drop since late March to a recent 1,305 has… Read More

In the spring of 2008, Corporate America was caught off guard. Many companies carried hefty debt loads, and once the financial crisis hit that summer, a number of stocks plunged precipitously on looming bankruptcy fears. The most vulnerable among them: companies with more debt coming due in the following 12… Read More

  I got a chance to catch up with old colleagues at a tech investment conference this past week. And one topic dominated our hour-long discussion: Now that Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) are trading far from their all-time highs, is either one a bargain? More specifically, how… Read More

Ah yes… it’s 13-F season, the time when investors’ fancies turn to what the investment gurus are buying.  Bill Ackman, the legendary value brain behind Pershing Square Capital Management, has been pretty busy these days. With a focused management style that typically involves accumulating… Read More

Reckless actions will get you punished. That’s what JP Morgan’s (NYSE: JPM) CEO, Jamie Dimon, was surely thinking after he learned that a key employee at his firm had lost roughly $2 billion on an ill-conceived trading strategy. In fact, his firm’s losses from this debacle could easily reach twice or three times as much as that initial amount, causing Dimon more sleepless nights ahead. But was this misstep really worth $30 billion? That’s the stunning amount of market value that this venerable bank… Read More

Reckless actions will get you punished. That’s what JP Morgan’s (NYSE: JPM) CEO, Jamie Dimon, was surely thinking after he learned that a key employee at his firm had lost roughly $2 billion on an ill-conceived trading strategy. In fact, his firm’s losses from this debacle could easily reach twice or three times as much as that initial amount, causing Dimon more sleepless nights ahead. But was this misstep really worth $30 billion? That’s the stunning amount of market value that this venerable bank has lost in recent weeks since the trading scandal was announced. Shares have been tarred and feathered so badly that they now trade below tangible book value. Twin pressures That steep drop in shareholder value also likely stems from a pair of other factors. First, the trading losses make it more likely that the entire banking sector will be put in handcuffs when it comes to risky trading for the firms’ own accounts. The Volcker Rule, banking legislation which was likely to be… Read More

With all of the headwinds swirling around stocks today, many investors are seeking the safety of cash. It’s a wise move, but not for the reasons you may think. Cash is not just “safe,” but it is also firepower for the next major upward move in the stock market. Read More

Stocks are on a major losing streak. The S&P 500 has fallen for five straight sessions and has risen on only three occasions this month. The lift from a solid earnings season has passed, scary headlines from Europe are splashed across the front pages… Read More

To Europe’s leaders and Greek voters, here’s a modest request: Will you please flip over all the cards and make the bold moves that markets are increasingly expecting? At this point, providing further bailout funds for Greece is simply foolish. No amount of money can turn this… Read More

Every two weeks, we get a chance to look at fresh data on how heavily stocks are being shorted. It helps to see what short-sellers are focusing on — especially if you own one of the stocks being targeted. You’ll often see short positions in a particular… Read More

A bold start, a mid-year slump, and a superb finish… That was how the market played out in each of the past two years. Could the current year be shaping up to bring more of the same? Consider these numbers…… Read More