Investing Basics

Everyone likes a good stock tip: a hot new Internet company, a disruptive technology, an acquisition rumor — anything that gets the adrenaline pumping. This type of hearsay-based buying and selling can net investors a buck or two now and then, but rest assured, someone already knows what you know… Read More

Commodities shape just about every aspect of our lives, from the cost of a tank of gas to the price of a gallon of milk. But instead of being subjected to the whims of volatile commodities, smart investors find a way to soften the blow. Let me explain… During the summer of 2008, when crude oil prices were near $150 a barrel, drivers felt a sting in their wallets. But while prices were high, companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) raked in record profits. This example doesn’t just apply to oil, either. Many other commodities traded near record… Read More

Commodities shape just about every aspect of our lives, from the cost of a tank of gas to the price of a gallon of milk. But instead of being subjected to the whims of volatile commodities, smart investors find a way to soften the blow. Let me explain… During the summer of 2008, when crude oil prices were near $150 a barrel, drivers felt a sting in their wallets. But while prices were high, companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) raked in record profits. This example doesn’t just apply to oil, either. Many other commodities traded near record highs during that time. Take corn. Thanks to ethanol subsidies, the price of corn flour in Mexico nearly quadrupled in a matter of months in the summer of 2007. And while that country’s poor rioted over the cost of corn tortillas, companies like Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) made mounds of cash. During the subprime crisis in the United States, people began stripping abandoned homes of copper wiring, hoping to capitalize on high copper prices. And when metals prices were near their highs in 2008, stories began to pop up about some who even… Read More

The objective: buy low, sell high. Sounds easy enough. But old Wall Street pros would say, “not so fast.” A stock trading at or near its 52-week low has not necessarily hit bottom — nor is it necessarily a bargain. What investors might think of as a… Read More

The main character in Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s 1965 book, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, is an eccentric philanthropist. He thinks it’s unfair that babies don’t all start with an equal playing field. “I think it’s a heartless government that will let one baby be born owning a… Read More