Hedge-fund manager David Einhorn is a true American success story.  Starting with just $900,000 in 1996, he has grown the assets of his fund, Greenlight Capital, to more than $6 billion. The fund has earned an average return of 22% since its launch, thanks to Einhorn’s prescient long and short… Read More

In grade school, my teacher had an old 1960s Vietnam War protest poster taped to a filing cabinet that read: “What if they gave a war… and nobody came?”#-ad_banner-# If we applied this rationale to today’s market, then it would be… Read More

In the corporate headquarters of retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), April 21 was a day of utter fear. That’s when The New York Times reported that company officials sought to cover up a bribery investigation in Mexico, which might have soon led to massive fines and the dismissal of key… Read More

When I bought a new vehicle last year, it arrived with a free six-month trial to Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI), the commercial-free satellite radio provider. I was skeptical, but took advantage of the trial — after all, it wasn’t costing me anything. But with dozens of free, local radio… Read More

During the past half century, the financial media has tried to stay abreast of ever-changing investor interest. In the 1950s and 1960s, that meant a deep emphasis on value investing, as investors searched for stocks that looked like great bargains in relation to their… Read More

For blue-chip stocks, it’s been another solid year. Fully 25 out of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up this year, led by a 61% spike in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ), a 44% gain for Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and a 39% jump for… Read More

Handbag and accessory maker Coach (NYSE: COH), one of the best-known names in high-end fashion, has also been one of the best-performing stocks in the bull market that started in 2009. From its bear market lows, Coach gained 599% before peaking in March. Since then, the stock has pulled back and is trading 30% below its all-time highs. The chart below shows that the price could be headed even lower in the short term. Despite the stock’s recent struggles, Coach is still a… Read More

Handbag and accessory maker Coach (NYSE: COH), one of the best-known names in high-end fashion, has also been one of the best-performing stocks in the bull market that started in 2009. From its bear market lows, Coach gained 599% before peaking in March. Since then, the stock has pulled back and is trading 30% below its all-time highs. The chart below shows that the price could be headed even lower in the short term. Despite the stock’s recent struggles, Coach is still a great company for the long term. And at the right price, this stock is a buy. But right now it looks like it is a little too early. I think the holiday shopping season could lead to an additional sell-off in the stock that would push Coach shares down to where I would like to buy them. As you can see in the chart below, since Coach peaked, competitor Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) has been a market leader. The two companies are… Read More

A Canadian mining company is punching back after being hit with an uppercut by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Northern Dynasty Minerals (AMEX: NAK) is a co-owner of the Pebble project, a polymetallic deposit located 200 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. The site contains copious amounts of gold, copper and molybdenum.  Northern Dynasty and a 50/50 European partner have put significant financial resources into studying and assessing the mine in the hope of one day pulling out its vast riches. And there is no disputing the wealth that Pebble holds: 67 million ounces of… Read More

A Canadian mining company is punching back after being hit with an uppercut by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Northern Dynasty Minerals (AMEX: NAK) is a co-owner of the Pebble project, a polymetallic deposit located 200 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. The site contains copious amounts of gold, copper and molybdenum.  Northern Dynasty and a 50/50 European partner have put significant financial resources into studying and assessing the mine in the hope of one day pulling out its vast riches. And there is no disputing the wealth that Pebble holds: 67 million ounces of gold, 3.3 billion pounds molybdenum and 55 billion pounds of copper. But those hopes may have just been dashed, or at least delayed. The EPA recently released a harsh watershed assessment report that outlines numerous concerns, most notably the potential threat of a dam breach that could leak waste material from the mine into the surrounding Bristol Bay — one of the world’s largest salmon fisheries.   This is not the final word on the project, but the opposition does present a formidable roadblock to future development. The… Read More

Did you have the misfortune of owning for-profit education stocks in the third quarter? Then you’re likely licking your wounds right now, and presumably, cutting your losses. Just look at the third quarter share price drops for some of the leading players in the sector. I noted… Read More

I’ve written many times about using a cash-secured put sale strategy as a disciplined way to enter a long stock position at a lower price or get paid not to.#-ad_banner-# I have a slight twist on this strategy that I call the… Read More