Chip Krakoff submits: Let me admit my bias right here: I don’t “get” Twitter. This isn’t just because I’m too old. My teenage daughter, Isabel, tells me she thinks it’s pointless and that none of her friends use it. I also don’t see how Twitter will ever make money, though it’s certain that some of [...]
Ongoing tensions in the Middle East have thrust crude oil prices into center stage, increasing volatility and applying pressure to stock market indexes worldwide. A rising tide, however, raises all boats across the energy sector, which includes the speculative markets of solar and wind energy. First Solar (FSLR: Charts, News, Offers), the world’s largest manufacturer [...]
Tom Armistead submits: Although covered call writing is relatively common by income investors looking to boost returns, there are questions as to whether it actually improves long-term portfolio results. The premiums are tempting: the question is, do they compensate for the lost profits on share appreciation? Is the moderate amount of downside protection afforded by [...]
Stephen Rosenman submits: Guess which sector is showing the greatest activity in M&A? Energy? Mining? Tech? No, it’s the regional banks, courtesy of the FDIC. Since the beginning of 2009, 327 banks have become insolvent; thirty have collapsed in just the last two months. Every Friday, the FDIC announces those banks that have bitten the [...]
Leland Miller submits: For the past three decades, the Chinese economy has essentially been propped up by a steady stream of state subsidies disguised as commercial bank lending. In 2011, however, two things are becoming clear. First, the amount of lending has risen to levels far beyond what economists previously believed, to a point where [...]
Miriam Metzinger submits: Stocks discussed on the Lightning Round session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV Program, Friday February 25. Salesforce.com (CRM), Apple (AAPL), Arm Holdings (ARMH), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Micron (MU), Range Resources (RRC), McDermott (MDR), Joy Global (JOYG), Costco (COST), Wal-Mart (WMT), Heinz (HNZ) With Salesforce.com’s (CRM) monster quarter, maybe good news from [...]
Miriam Metzinger submits: Stocks discussed on the Lightning Round session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV Program, Friday February 25. Lululemon Athletica (LULU): “I am taking a Pilates class tomorrow, so what am I going to wear so I am a fashionista? Lululemon! Someone downgraded it this week. I think it goes higher. This is [...]
Miriam Metzinger submits: Stocks discussed on Jim Cramer’s Stop Trading! TV Segment, Friday February 25. Deckers (DECK), Eaton (ETN), Apple (AAPL), Arm Holdings (ARMH), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), Honeywell (HON), Polypore (PPO) Deckers (DECK) is not just a one-day wonder, as anyone who has been following the stock knows, commented Cramer, who noted [...]
Joseph L. Shaefer submits: As markets correct, every sector will be affected. But some have shown their ability to bounce back and grow ever stronger. Higher lows and higher highs characterize their relation to the markets. No sector has been more successful in tracing this sort of history than the energy sector. What to buy? [...]
Phil Davis submits: I love the Berkshire Hathaway annual report! Especially Warren Buffett’s letter to shareholders. The report gives us a great view of the overall economy from a man who has his finger in every pot, and his letter to investors gives us a very good insight as to how things are going in [...]