From a technical analysis standpoint, the chart of Safeway (NYSE: SWY) excites me. First, shares of the second-largest U.S. grocery-store chain have just broken a major downtrend line that dates back… Read More

PC maker Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) kickstarted the era of affordable personal computers — and made many people very wealthy along the way. Then, it lost its way, eventually culminating in its recently proposed buyout. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely where Dell got… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this nearly left-for-dead sector.#-ad_banner-# In fact, January 2013 was the industry’s best January since 2008. U.S. sales soared 14% to more than 1 million units compared with the year-ago period, while individual companies reported between 16-27% sales gains during the same period. Total unit sales hit more than 15 million in… Read More

We are finally seeing signs of life in this critical U.S. industry. Rocked by overspending, hubris and economic crisis, this once mighty segment of the economy was reduced to a mere shadow of itself.  Fortunately, things are quickly changing for the better in this nearly left-for-dead sector.#-ad_banner-# In fact, January 2013 was the industry’s best January since 2008. U.S. sales soared 14% to more than 1 million units compared with the year-ago period, while individual companies reported between 16-27% sales gains during the same period. Total unit sales hit more than 15 million in the first month of the year, signalling an even better year than 2012, granted sales continue on this trajectory.  The surging stock market, with the S&P 500 posting its top-performing January in more than 12 years, combined with a slow-but-steady improvement in the U.S. employment picture have fuelled the rebound. Clearly, this industry rises and falls in lock step with the U.S. economy, so it’s often viewed as a proxy for the entire domestic economy.  In case you haven’t guessed it… Read More

It’s always helpful to keep an eye on losing stocks. Whether it’s a scan of the stocks making fresh 52-week lows, or a screen for stocks that have fallen sharply in recent quarters, you may come across tomorrow’s… Read More

It’s always helpful to keep an eye on losing stocks. Whether it’s a scan of the stocks making fresh 52-week lows, or a screen for stocks that have fallen sharply in recent quarters, you may come across tomorrow’s winning trades. Case in point: Shares of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), which saw its shares slump from $300 in the summer of 2011 to just $60 a year later. Snapping up this losing stock in the fall of 2012,… Read More

It’s always helpful to keep an eye on losing stocks. Whether it’s a scan of the stocks making fresh 52-week lows, or a screen for stocks that have fallen sharply in recent quarters, you may come across tomorrow’s winning trades. Case in point: Shares of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), which saw its shares slump from $300 in the summer of 2011 to just $60 a year later. Snapping up this losing stock in the fall of 2012, when most investors were fleeing, turned out to be a wise move as shares have rebounded a stunning 200% — in less than five months. The 10 Worst Performers of the Past 12 Months*  *representing stocks in the S&P 500 and S&P 400  Here’s a look at three deeply-bruised stocks that have serious rebound potential in 2013.  1. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) In October 2012, I profiled three stocks that possessed a solid mix of growth, income and value. And while Bunge… Read More

Earnings season is the most dangerous time of the year for companies and investors alike. The Street frequently punishes companies that fall short of expectations, with investors quickly bailing on stocks that show even a glimpse of… Read More

It seemed unthinkable at the time, but the writing was on the wall… In 2009, General Motors (NYSE: GM) filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the fourth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The company only had $82.29 billion in assets to cover its $172.81 billion debt. Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though… Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though dividend hikes are a logical option, they still don’t have a meaningful effect on cash balances.   That’s why you still hear about many companies issuing seemingly robust stock buyback programs.  Though the number of… Read More

Across the country, many corporate boards are faced with the same conundrum: Cash is piling up quite fast, but clear uses of that cash are lacking. Few companies want to make major acquisitions in these still-uncertain times, and though dividend hikes are a logical option, they still don’t have a meaningful effect on cash balances.   That’s why you still hear about many companies issuing seemingly robust stock buyback programs.  Though the number of buyback announcements (and the dollar value of them) slipped about 10-12% in 2012 compared with the record year of 2011, they still remain near peak levels. And January 2013 has brought more of the same. In the past four weeks, these four companies announced plans to initiate or extend stock buyback programs worth almost $10 billion on a collective basis.  Frankly, they shouldn’t bother. The size of the buybacks won’t make a meaningful dent in the share count, these stocks already trade near multi-year highs. Besides,… Read More