Most investment mistakes are caused by basic misunderstandings of the securities markets and by invalid performance expectations. The markets move in totally unpredictable cyclical patterns of varying duration and amplitude. Evaluating the performance of ...

Most economic research suggests that tax code replacement surgery is essential for long-term economic progress. The goal of my plan is to make sure that you are not grumbling ten years from now about the same things that trouble you today. This is a fifte...

Looking for good news in today's markets is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Needless to say, practically all investment grade equities and nearly all closed end funds that specialize in providing regular recurring monthly income ha...

The writing is on the wall (street, that is), and it is telling us that we need to reaffirm the United States as the dominant force in the global economy, and that we have to do more to protect our citizens' retirement and investment programs. Most eco...

The investor's eye view of politics is a simplistic, practical, dot-connecting approach to sorting things out so that win/win change can be considered. Real world politics is not concerned with such things, and that is one of the most serious problems fac...

Value stocks are those that tend to trade at lower prices relative to their fundamental characteristics than their more speculative cousins, the growth stocks; they have higher than usual dividend yields and lower P/E and P/B ratios. So when all stock pri...

"The time has come the walrus said, to talk of many things": Of corrections--portfolios--- and window dressing--- of market cycles--- wizards--- and reality. Quarterly portfolio window dressing is one of many immortal Jaberwock-like creatures that roam...

The comically complicated PSA (Personal Savings Account) legislation bouncing around Congress will raise taxes, increase investment risk, and expand the size of government. Let's stop applying Band-Aids to spouting arteries. We are looking for a guarantee...

Gets your attention, doesn't it? The unfortunate thing though, is that most people will react negatively to this intentionally inflammatory, media-ready, title statement. Has some Wall Street virus attacked our financial experience memory chip? Bouncing...

Real estate investing is not nearly as complicated, financially burdensome, or time consuming as you might think. In fact, It's easy to add raw land, shopping centers, apartment complexes, and private homes to your portfolio without brokers, bankers, atto...

So what do your Investment Manager and your neighborhood bartender have in common, other than the probability that you spend more time with the latter during market corrections? Antoine Tedesco, in his "The History of Cocktails" article, lists three thing...

The caller seemed surprised that I had never heard about Compound Stock Earnings Programs, or CSEs. "People are earning three to six percent per month with little or no risk", she continued, "I'm thinking of attending a seminar". A wise man once said: "If...

Smack, right up alongside the head. Your 401(k) investment program deteriorated rapidly as the stock market and the economy weakened. Who would have thought that there was so much risk of loss in those mutual funds, and ETFs? Fortunately, the pain is most...

I've been thinking about starting a stock market prediction business. Clearly, there is a huge market for timely and accurate information of this type, and just as clearly, predicting the future is much easier than dealing with the realities of whatever i...

For most individual investors, trading is approached in a totally speculative manner. Stock trading, in its more popular forms (Day Trading, Swing Trading, etc.) includes none of the elements that a conservative investment strategy would contain: little i...