Archives: February 2006

The Not So Sunny Outlook in Scottsdale

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on February 27, Categories:

It always good when I can escape from Chicago during the winter, especially after a weekend when the temperature lingers around "a" degree. So how could I say "no" to...

The Devil Needs a Parka

Posted by: Roben Farzad on February 24, Categories: Stocks

I just couldn't wait until March 10th, the sixth anniversary of the Nasdaq's crazy high, to comment on the hell-freezing irony of a surviving dot-com paying out a dividend....

Is oil partying like it's 1999?

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 23, Categories: Alternatives

For all the worrywarts and, after my last entry, to appease Bill Miller who doesn't own energy stocks in the Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX), I'm posting this Birinyi...

Bye Bye to the Best Japan Fund

Posted by: Lauren Young on February 23, Categories: Mutual Funds

New investors can say “Sayanora” to one of the best Japan funds out there. Fidelity Investments is closing Fidelity Japan Smaller Companies (FJSCX) to new accounts as of the close...

Sell Kodak now, Bill Miller

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 23, Categories: Stocks

The trouble with buying beaten down stocks, as value investors like Legg Mason's Bill Miller are apt to do, is that sometimes they don't come back up. I recall in...

Even teenagers think I'm wrong about Toll Brothers

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 23, Categories: Stocks

Had to smile when I came in this morning and had this comment waiting to be approved on my recent Toll Brothers dissin entry: Hey, I'm 16 and even I...

It was sad when that great ship went down...

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 22, Categories: Stocks

My children and I were treated to a stirring rendition of that old song about the sinking of the Titanic on President's Day during a visit to Boston's most excellent...

Toll: Favor the chocolate chips, not the stock

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 21, Categories: Stocks

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) is having an awful year in the stock market as the designated punching bag for real estate bubble watchers. After tripling in price from late...

A New Corporate Governance Blog

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on February 21, Categories: Stocks

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) will launch a corporate governance blog. ISS is the leader in advising pension funds, companies, and other big institutions on corporate governance...

A Little Muni Madness

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on February 20, Categories: Bonds

Well it's President's Day, and thanks to our forefathers taxes are an inevitability. (I'll avoid the cliche, but you know what I'm thinking.) In any case, taxes are a big...

Burger King, financially sounder but whopper sales lagging

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 17, Categories: Stocks

As promised after Chipotle's stunning IPO debut last month, Burger King has dutifully filed a lengthy S-1 registration statement to sell $400 million of shares to the public and reverse...

See Dick Shoot...Then Invest

Posted by: Roben Farzad on February 16, Categories: Stocks

True, Shooter Cheney's hunting accident is the stuff of White House PR nightmares and Daily Show dreams. But when you're finally done laughing and schadenfreuding it up, consider using the...

Apples to Apples

Posted by: Lauren Young on February 16, Categories: Stocks

When you get a bunch of mutual fund managers in a room together, you are bound to get lots of different opinions about stocks and the direction of the markets....

Bernanke-speak, v 2.0

Posted by: Roben Farzad on February 15, Categories: Stocks

Newly crowned Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaking to Congress: "Nevertheless the risk exists that, with aggregate demand exhibiting considerable momentum, output could overshoot its sustainable path, leading ultimately —...

Why can’t the Cylons run my 401K?

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 14, Categories: Retirement Accounts

There’s a bevy of news headlines enticing me to blog today – another homebuilder stumbles, retail sales in January got a big boost from gift cards as some had predicted,...

Stock picker's market? Bah humbug

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 13, Categories: Stocks

I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard some talking head say that because stock market returns will be under 10% a year for the foreseeable future it’s...

AMEX Membership Rewards

Posted by: Roben Farzad on February 10, Categories: Stocks

You almost never hear about the poor old American Stock Exchange -- the forgotten Arby's to the NYSE's McDonald's and Nasdaq's BK. So much for buying the name brands: On...

U.S. supermarkets getting yet another challenger

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 09, Categories: Stocks

Apropos of Roben’s entry the other day on challenges facing supermarket chains, today comes news of yet more competition for the industry, already long under siege by Wal-Mart. European grocery...

Tour de Funds--Part II

Posted by: Lauren Young on February 09, Categories: Mutual Funds

American Century and Lance Armstrong’s new LIVESTRONG mutual funds may mark the next wave in socially responsible funds. Perhaps Bono and Vanguard will team up to launch a line of funds that relieve world debt.

Tour de Funds

Posted by: Lauren Young on February 09, Categories: Mutual Funds

Here's something new and different: Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor, is teaming up with American Century to roll out a new line of mutual...

Vonage IPO filing looks like one big red flag

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 08, Categories: Stocks

Hot Internet telephony provider Vonage just filed for an initial public offering. No per-share price estimate in this first filing but lots of info about the company and its financials....

Overstock.com rally isn't the riddle it might seem

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 07, Categories: Stocks

The currently ongoing fourth-quarter earnings report season has had its share of flukes, inconsistencies and overreactions. But what to make of today's action in shares of controversial Internet retailer Overstock.com?...

Birinyi's short-term signal says buy

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 07, Categories: Stocks

I discovered recently that Laszlo Birinyi's firm has its own blog, called Ticker Sense. Makes sense, since Birinyi, a pioneer of using quantitative and statistical techniques to predict the stock...

Anatomy of My Friend's 401(K)

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on February 06, Categories: Retirement Accounts

I was recently hanging out with friends one Sunday, chilling on the couch waiting for Grey’s Anatomy to come on. Really, no weekend is complete without a little Patrick Dempsey...

Stocks doing the Bernanke bop

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 03, Categories: Stocks

Withy today's jobs report, it appears that the economy is stronger than most investors thought. Happy coincidence with Business Week's cover story out today: Why the economy is a lot...

Heather Divests Richie!

Posted by: Roben Farzad on February 03, Categories: Stocks

Business Week launches a celebrity blog!...

Advice for finding an adviser

Posted by: Lauren Young on February 02, Categories: Financial Advisers

Peggy S. Cabaniss, the new president of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, came to visit me this week. I'm a big fan of NAPFA advisers (our style here...

Mad About Mid-Caps

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on February 01, Categories: Stocks

We've all seen and heard how small stocks have beat large ones for the last few years. Nestled between the two are mid-caps, which aren't too shabby either. In fact,...

Few discounts on yesterday's fund picks

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on February 01, Categories: Mutual Funds

I forgot that it’s pretty easy to use Morningstar to check where funds are available for purchase without loads or other transaction fees. When I checked yesterday’s picks, though, only...