Bernanke today didn’t match the scary caricature envisioned by gold and silver bulls. Sensible and restrained, he failed to stoke the easy money, worthless dollar, hyperinflation frights that have kept gold and silver buoyed. What next? Today’s sharp gold and silver price drops could be the start of a serious bear market. With the... »
Gold and silver prices, after peaking in 2011, have sought to reestablish foundation levels. They seem to have succeeded in two ways. First, both metals once again travel in unison with silver having given up its wanderlust. Since their lengthy uptrends began in late 2006, both have risen about 200%. Second, they have recently... »
For over two years, Google (GOOG) management has been unable to move the company’s stock ahead. Since December 2009, GOOG has had a 0% return, even though the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 30% and Apple (AAPL) is up 150%. The question is, “Why”? Is it because management has been foundation building for... »
In my previous article I discussed moving to a new stock strategy that includes cash reserves. Some readers asked if, in this time of near-zero interest rates, it wasn’t a better to stay fully invested. My answer is “no” because yield isn’t the issue – it’s the benefits to be had from using cash... »
The “easy” money 3-year bull market is ending, but a new one is beginning. The previous, extended period of rising stock prices was built on improving fundamentals. The 2010 and 2011 mega-fear periods helped keep worry alive, allowing stock investors to acquire and hold attractively priced stocks. However, the shift to normality is upon... »
Apple (AAPL) is a bipolar stock. In its down periods, Apple seems too good to last – that it’s only a matter of time before the abnormal combination of massive new product sales and extraordinarily high profit margins will collapse, taking earnings and the stock with it. However, in its up periods, Apple appears... »
Articles are promoting the idea that a split of $500 Apple (AAPL) stock and $600 Google (GOOG) stock could unleash buying by individual investors. The logic is that owning 10 shares of a $500 stock is unacceptable to many, but they would happily buy if they could acquire 100 shares at $50. Although that... »
The press and pundits are wrestling with the “Is it or isn’t it?” question of whether U.S. stocks are in a bull market. But that isn’t the question that matters. Rather, it’s “What type of bull market are stocks in?” We know that the economic indicators have improved across the board and that mega-fears... »
