http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/ 2007-09-04T10:09:18-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/09/microsoft_share.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights Ever since April, when computer tech guru Paul Graham declared that "Microsoft is dead," the debate has raged on. Meanwhile, the software giant's shares (Symbol: MSFT) had a nice little contrarian run following Graham's piece, crossing above $31 for only... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-09-04T10:09:18-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/betting_on_a_ne.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights My most esteemed colleague and BW media columnist Jon Fine recently compared the performance of the newspaper industry this year to the depths of the Great Depression. Fine speculated that a major daily may suspend its print edition and go... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-30T11:39:02-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/be_wary_of_all.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights As investors' attention drifts and the end of summer draws near in the last week of August, analysts turn to that evergreen topic of analysis, calendar trading. What usually happens to the stock market around three-day weekends or even just... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-29T13:47:47-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/some_smarties_s.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights At some point, despite all the hysteria, the markets will bottom. Rarely does each market segment hit bottom at the same time, however. After junk bonds dropped 3% in July, the worst monthly performance since the post-Internet bubble, Enron-induced panic... Bonds aaron_pressman 2007-08-28T12:45:24-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/follow_the_pape.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights If you're not holding securities backed by subprime mortgages, that is if you're 98% of all investors, this summer has been a wacky ride for your portfolio but hardly a killer. The major stock indexes are still in positive ground... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-27T10:56:17-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/long-term_inves.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights It's the dawn of the middle of the last decade - January 1, 1995. Go back in time, bring $1,000 and answer this question: which will be the best investment choice for the next 12 plus years, the S&P 500,... aaron_pressman 2007-08-24T13:38:59-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/where_to_stash.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights The WSJ had a story today that money is pouring out of bank loan funds amid troubles in the bank-loan market. Bank loans have been traditional safehavens for investors since because ultra-short holdings are less vulnerable to interest rate moves.... Cash and Savings lauren_young 2007-08-24T10:24:26-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/morningstar_has.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights Morningstar has been adding some interesting features to its site. Last week, I noticed a new Options channel, which is still in the Beta stage. The site offers content, such as "How To" videos, which is similar to the Fidelity... Investing 101 lauren_young 2007-08-23T14:48:53-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/catching_up_wit.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights I have an online story up called "A Season for Cassandras," about the vindication of folks who had been dismissed as wacky "perma-bears" thanks to the current credit and housing market meltdowns. It's not meant to be a comprehensive list... Bonds aaron_pressman 2007-08-23T08:58:36-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/a_little_good_n.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights After weeks of gloom and doom pessimism, investors finally got some good news on Wednesday. A couple of mergers got off the ground, including the perpetually recycled rumor of E*Trade (Symbol:ETFC) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) joining forces, if only big... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-22T11:42:42-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/conniptions_ove.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights There are at least two critical parts to making money in the stock market. The first, the obvious one, is picking stocks which will do better than the market. The second, less obvious side is deciding how to prioritize your... Investing 101 aaron_pressman 2007-08-21T09:23:56-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/still_hot_and_i.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights There's plenty of room to debate the merits of investing in initial public offerings but these debut stocks aren't typically in the conversation during periods of market turmoil. Maybe they should be. Check out how some of the hottest recent... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-20T12:31:39-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/must-read_book.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights With the name Pressman, it’s not infrequently that I get the joke “good name for a reporter.” Richard Bookstaber, whose new book, A Demon of Our Own Design, has become a must-read amidst the current market chaos, probably elicits the... Investing 101 aaron_pressman 2007-08-17T10:04:16-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/black_swans_are.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author most recently of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable and subject of one of Malcolm Gladwell's best-ever pieces in the New Yorker, is much in demand these days. It seems that few if... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-16T09:36:53-05:00 http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2007/08/tech_ipos_are_n.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_investinginsights Blame VMWare's super-hot initial public offering -- or don't -- but there's growing chatter that the quality of technology companies lining up to sell shares for the first time is suddenly deteriorating. It's not true. Sure, there's the occasional dog... Stocks aaron_pressman 2007-08-15T09:40:25-05:00