![]() |
New Light Shines Through for our Photomask Company • 11 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours ago |
Tilling the Fields for Long-Term Returns
We’ve been looking ahead for long-term investments, and that means assessing various trends in global supply and demand. Goldman Sachs, for example, has told its investors to expect a falling dollar and to look at commodities, which is actually the area we’ve been focusing on as well. While we’ve seen a rapid increase in demand for precious metals, and a steady demand for oil, we’ve also seen a less obvious increase in demand for agricultural commodities.
December 5, 2010 • Read More!
Calling in our Chips
We’ve decided to add another tech stock to our holdings. This one will be riding on the strong back of Apple’s popular iPhones and IPads as well as the world-wide growth in 3G technology for mobile phones.
November 22, 2010 • Read More!
Lasering in on profits and Fine-Tooling our Portfolios
Lasers and power tools aren’t ordinarily the products you would associate with women investors. But we’re certainly interested in well tooled companies and in companies that can zero in on growing demand.
November 2, 2010 • Read More!
Back to the Future with Old-School Technology
Just updated. A month ago, we pointed you to an old-school technology stock, which has just jumped after a report in Barron’s that said essentially what we said here: This company, which almost attained dinosaur status—extinction – has become a turnaround story.
September 13, 2010 • Read More!
In the Market for Food
We filled our shopping basket a few months ago with a promising food stock, which has performed even beyond our expectations. We think the Dow hit bottom today at 9620, and it might be time to think about adding some bargain defensive stocks, including our food stock, which has done well for us, but has dipped along with the market.
July 1, 2010 • Read More!
Revisiting a Choice: Coach Bag or Coach Stock
Back in August 2008, we posed a question to our women readers. The new line of Coach bags had just come out, and we asked which would be the better buy: a Bleecker Leather Patchwork Tote, which retailed for $499, or the equivalent amount of Coach stock. The shares of Coach closed at around $29 that day, so you could have bought about 17 shares of Coach for the same price as the handbag.
October 28, 2010 • Read More!
A Case Where a Double Dip Will Not Be Refreshing
As fall football season approaches, sports analysts are going to talking about defense. And stock analysts are probably going to be talking a lot about defense as well. All current indicators are pointing toward declines in the economy and in the market.
August 19, 2010 • Read More!
Hot Weather, Hot Commodities
Those of us who live in “hot” states like Texas that are also vulnerable to hurricanes are thinking about how commodities are going to be affected by the weather. Experts have predicted an unusually stormy hurricane season, and already, this summer has been the hottest in three years. That has meant that many analysts are forecasting the biggest gains in natural gas futures since 2005 for the six months ending in September.
July 17, 2010 • Read More!
Looking to the Far East for Direction
The stock market has been bouncing up and down like an overinflated soccer ball, although mostly down lately, on news coming from all directions. But perhaps the strongest push in market direction has come from China, which has announced measures that will affect China’s place in the world’s markets.
July 2, 2010 • Read More!
All that Glitters…
Many financial advisors feel that investors should have a minimum of five percent of gold in their portfolios, regardless of the state of the economy. The recent extreme volatility in world markets has made gold even more attractive in uncertain times. But there are many options for purchasing or holding gold, and investors can sometimes get confused or overwhelmed by the choices.
June 17, 2010 • Read More!
Staying Calm When the Market Pushes the Panic Button
One of our favorite ways to judge current sentiment in market is an index that tracks the Chicago Board Options Exchange. It’s known as the Volatility Index, with the U.S. ticker symbol VIX. The Volatility Index is constructed using a wide range of options, including puts and calls, on the S&P 500 index, and it indicates what the market is expecting in the way of 30-day volatility. The VIX is also known as the “fear gauge,” although we prefer to think of it as the pulse of the market.
May 13, 2010 • Read More!
Some Important Lessons from the May 6 Panic
We learn lots of safety techniques to minimize our losses in the market, and when the market is going up, they don’t seem that necessary. But the Panic of May 6 was a big lesson in what to do and what not to do to protect your holdings.
May 6, 2010 • Read More!













