In a recent column on billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, I detailed that tracking the moves of a high profile investment manager can be an extremely valuable strategy for individual investors. At the end of the day, coming to your own conclusion on whether an investment makes sense is most… Read More

The coming year marks the 20th anniversary of the first use of “Dogs of the Dow” as an investment strategy, which focuses on the 10 highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In theory, these high yielders have been oversold (as… Read More

The impressive trading action on Wednesday holds an important lesson for investors. In the absence of any dire economic news, investors are playing a bullish hand. Earlier in the week, economic woes in Europe had pushed many to the sidelines. With a sense that a fresh crisis… Read More

Which sector is going to be hot in 2011? If history is any clue, it won’t be what was hot in 2010. In fact, a look back through history tells us the leading groups in one year often become disappointments the next. Moreover, lagging sectors in one particular year often blaze bullish trails in the next. Technology is one such example. Though the sector led the way in 2009 with a whopping +57% jump — and attracted a lot of buyers based on that strength — these stocks have actually scored in the bottom half of all… Read More

Which sector is going to be hot in 2011? If history is any clue, it won’t be what was hot in 2010. In fact, a look back through history tells us the leading groups in one year often become disappointments the next. Moreover, lagging sectors in one particular year often blaze bullish trails in the next. Technology is one such example. Though the sector led the way in 2009 with a whopping +57% jump — and attracted a lot of buyers based on that strength — these stocks have actually scored in the bottom half of all sectors during 2010, trailing the market by more than a little. Before identifying what’s waiting in the wings for 2011 though, let’s just walk through the industry ebb and flow for 2010 — using iShares’ major sector exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a proxy to verify the premise. For the year so far, while basic materials haven’t surprised anyone as a leading group, it has not actually been the hottest sector of 2010. That title belongs to consumer services, up +18% year-to-date. Basic materials stocks are up an average of +14% for the year,… Read More

Most of the stuff that’s on sale this time of year isn’t worth the plastic it’s wrapped in. Yet almost everyone winds up dropping hundreds or even thousands of dollars on “holiday bargains” that provide a quick thrill and then are just as quickly forgotten. A better use for your… Read More

While staying focused on your best long-term ideas, it also helps to boost your portfolio by looking for stocks with a chance for quick moderate gains. And in the tech sector, we’ve seen all kinds of headline-induced winners in the past six months, thanks to M&A activity, robust quarterly results… Read More

When the entire value of a company shrinks down to the amount of cash on its balance sheet, you know investors have lost all interest. For AMAG Pharma (Nasdaq: AMAG), that’s precisely what happened. The biotech firm’s market value recently slipped below $300 million, less than the $304 million it recently had parked on its balance sheet. Investors assumed that the company was toast after its iron-boosting drug for use with dialysis patients was raising too many safety concerns with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In recent… Read More

When the entire value of a company shrinks down to the amount of cash on its balance sheet, you know investors have lost all interest. For AMAG Pharma (Nasdaq: AMAG), that’s precisely what happened. The biotech firm’s market value recently slipped below $300 million, less than the $304 million it recently had parked on its balance sheet. Investors assumed that the company was toast after its iron-boosting drug for use with dialysis patients was raising too many safety concerns with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In recent weeks, investors grew to believe the FDA would halt the drug outright, or at least force AMAG to use such burdensome warnings on its labels that most potential clients would simply steer clear. The good news is that the FDA has agreed to more moderate safety warnings. The better news is that analysts now think even moderate sales for Ferahame, AMAG’s leading drug, would still yield decent profits and that shares have ample upside after falling from $50 in January to a recent $16.  Pricey but necessary Iron… Read More

The S&P 500 is back near where it was a month ago. A surge into November has been met by recent profit-taking as we head into the Thanksgiving holidays. In pullbacks like these, I like to scan the lists of losing stocks to see if any bargains get uncovered. I… Read More

In his 1979 letter to shareholders, Warren Buffett offered his belief that “insurance can be a very good business” to own and invest in. His belief continues to this day and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) is among the world’s largest insurers in the world, which is due to Buffett’s ability… Read More

When Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced last week that business trends had slowed, its shares quickly moved toward a 52-week low. Management could at least take solace in the company’s bulletproof balance sheet, sporting $39 billion in cash. Read More