Tips & Strategies

Nevermind Warren Buffett, market timing works

Bear market mauls even defensive stocks

Wall Street likes to suggest that investors can readily handle a bear market by simply selecting the right stocks or sectors, the ‘defensive’ stocks. That has never worked in the past, and did not…

26Nov2008 | Street Smart Report | 0 comments | Continued

The Best Investment Strategy For A Market Like This… The Truth About Covered Call Investing

I know we don’t usually send the Smart Profits Report to you on a Friday. But with the stock market still crazier than a drunken leprechaun and this year’s economic and financial woes leaving many consumers seriously strapped for cash -…

19Nov2008 | Smart Profits Report | 0 comments | Continued

The Swinging Pendulum of the Gold Market: How to Trade the Middle

I recently observed the pendulum clock on my fireplace mantel and noticed the similarities between the recent price action in the gold market and the back and forth motion of the pendulum. Both have pivots, mid points, full and half…

14Nov2008 | Brewer Investment Group | 0 comments | Continued

Put Option Selling: Get Paid to Buy the Stocks You Want

Did you know that you could get paid to buy stocks at the price you want? That’s right, someone will actually hand you cash today for your promise to buy any stock you want at a cheaper price than where…

13Nov2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Greed - The Ugly Duckling of Investing

Let’s stay focused everyone! The election is over and the economy is still at the front of our minds and our wallets. Today I’ve asked Branden Moskwa B.ASBE founding Parter, Tradeopolis.com to come and give us some help and a look…

7Nov2008 | INO | 0 comments | Continued

Foreign Stocks: 4 “Safe Haven” Markets for U.S. Investors

It must now be horribly clear to everybody with an investment portfolio - indeed, to anyone who watches the financial markets - that no country or sector is safe from a bear market of the magnitude of the one we’re…

6Nov2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Beware The Dividend Trap… Here’s The Most Important Number You Should Consider

On July 7, 2008, the S&P 500 crossed the threshold into bear market territory, having slid 20% from its high on October 9, 2007.

Today the S&P is trading at 935 - a 40% drop from its high of 1,565.15. If…

5Nov2008 | Smart Profits Report | 0 comments | Continued

Arbitrage Opportunities: What to Look For When Efficient Markets Break Down

Last Wednesday, I wrote about Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) being bought by Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy. I gave you a heads up that the market was severely undervaluing CEG at a price of $23.75, well below the buyout price of…

15Oct2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Surprise! Despite its “Black” Reputation, October Isn’t the Worst Month for Stocks.

Fresh off one of the most-volatile months ever for U.S. stocks, investors can’t be happy that they’re facing another October - the poster child for U.S. stock market crashes.

Thanks to the stock market crashes of 1929 and 1987, October has a…

3Oct2008 | Money Morning | 0 comments | Continued

Short Sellers and Speculators Are Heroes, Not Villains

I’m expecting a lot of nasty e-mails on this column, but the truth needs to be told. Short-term traders, especially short sellers, are often blamed erroneously for manipulating stock prices, forcing them down far below their real value, and for…

3Oct2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

The Worst Investment Advice You Can Get

Suppose you went out to your garage late one night and saw a huge snake coiled up in the corner.

If you grabbed a shovel and gave it a few good whacks, you might feel pleased with yourself.

But if you turned…

1Oct2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Investment Risk: How to Avoid the 4 Most Dangerous Pitfalls of Investing

Investment U Chairman Alexander Green’s new book “The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy… and Get On with Your Life” was only officially released Tuesday. I was hoping to be the first to review it. But, apparently, successful traders…

16Sep2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Trailing Stop: Getting Out With A Profit

“Should I sell XYZ stock? Or should I hang on and hope?”

For some reason, people will take 10% profits. And they’ll also sit on losers in their portfolio for months, watching them continue to fall. This is “limited upside, unlimited…

10Sep2008 | Investment U | 0 comments | Continued

Investing in Options Speculation

Sensible Speculation and Super Leverage

I was very fortunate to join my dad, Steve Sarnoff, as co-editor of Options Hotline in 1995, and I worked closely with him for four years. If you aren’t familiar with my dad, he’s an author…

9Sep2008 | The Penny Sleuth | 0 comments | Continued