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• When a Good Quarter Isn't Really Good, But It Doesn't Matter Anyway

  By Jason Hall - May 23, 2013 | Tickers: CLNE, RDS-B, RDS-A, TA, WPRT

  As we emerge from earnings season, I've taken some time to review a few of my favorite companies and come to terms with where things stand. That's led me to take a hard look at the part of my portfolio that's dedicated to the expansion of natural gas as a transportation fuel. There are a handful of companies that are early in the game:

  Don't let more »

• Perk Up Your Portfolio With a Little Caffeine

  By Nauman Aly - May 23, 2013 | Tickers: DNKN, GMCR, SJM, SBUX, THI

  Coffee has long been the beverage of choice in many parts of the world, and the US has joined the coffee craze with gusto. Although Americans don’t tend to like it quite as strong as it is served in Spain, Italy, France and throughout Central and South America; the continued strong performance of such giant coffee chains Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Dunkin’ Donuts (NASDAQ: DNKN) makes an investment in more »

• Italy, Spain, And Greece: Are There Any Opportunities?

  By Federico Zaldua - May 23, 2013 | Tickers: SAN, E, GREK

  Following Fitch's upgrade of Greece's credit rating, ten-year Greek government bond yields fell below 8%, the lowest yield since June 2010. Meanwhile, Italian and Spanish bonds have also rallied strongly and then now yield 3.85% and 4.18% respectively. All these economies are still suffering, but some world-famous hedge funds are already making long bets. Should you go long on any of those economies? 

  One politically complicated more »

• This Company Is Making a Killing on the Patent Cliff

  By Mohammed Shaaban - May 22, 2013 | Tickers: CVS, RAD, WAG

  If you have been following the pharmaceutical industry lately, then you're probably no stranger to the "Patent Cliff" phenomenon that the industry is facing. The giant pharmaceutical companies are struggling to get new medications approved to replace the onslaught of blockbuster drugs that were approved in the 1990s, and are currently going off patent year after year.

  This following is a chart depicting the number of new medications approved more »

• Profit From Africa's Growth With These 3 Early Movers

  By Rupert Hargreaves - May 21, 2013 | Tickers: BCS, C, DB, MA, V

  According to the IMF, Africa's economic growth is surging, especially south of the Sahara with the Ivory Coast and Mozambique leading the way. Economic growth in countries south of the Sahara is expected to be 8% this year. South Africa, the continent's biggest economy, is expected to grow at 3.3% after recovering from the crippling mining strikes in the country last year.

  Meanwhile, the IMF predicts that more »

• This Company Is Doomed

  By Timothy Green - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, P

  The number of companies which offer a music subscription or internet radio service seems to be growing larger every day. There's Pandora (NYSE: P), which has proven to be exceptionally popular with its free ad-supported model and an ad-free subscription service. Then there's Spotify, which has a much larger library than Pandora and also offers a free ad-supported version. Pandora has about three times as many active users more »

• Will These Theme Parks Take Investors on a Wild Ride?

  By Robert Ciura - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: FUN, SIX

  Income investors have a tough job, which is the increasingly difficult search for yield. Markets keep breaching new highs, and it seems that the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index are up a percent or more every single day.

  When it comes to producing yield from your equity investments, it’s easy to default to the usual suspects: utilities, consumer staples, or telecom stocks. While those are more »

• A New Drug Sales Model

  By Reuben Brewer - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: NVO, PFE, TEVA

  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is trying a new sales paradigm, selling direct to patients. If this effort works, it could completely change the pharmaceutical industry.

  Little blue pills

  One of Pfizer's best selling drugs is Viagra, which is used to treat erectile dysfunction. That particular ailment carries material social stigma and the pills, which are still under patent protection for many more years, can be expensive. That has proven to more »

• Billionaire Activist Zeroes in on Sony

  By Marshall Hargrave - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: BBRY, SNE, ERIC

  Sony (ADR) (NYSE: SNE) has been a perennial under-performer since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. The stock peaked in 2000 at around $156 a share and has been a terrible investment for investors ever since. The collapse and similarities I see in the chart reminds me of the BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) collapse in 2008.

  In many ways I ask myself how did this company miss so many technological changes more »

• The Fruitless Quest for the Elusive Omni-Computer

  By Leo Sun - May 18, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG, MMI, SSNLF

  Last month, BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) CEO Thorsten Heins claimed that the popularity of tablet computers, dominated by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android devices, would wane over the next five years. Heins predicted that computer users would become increasingly dependent on a single computing device, such as a smartphone docked into a workstation, for all their daily tasks. Heins also vaguely hinted that BlackBerry would eventually release more »

• Is Big Tech Still Really Cheap?

  By Ken McGaha - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, CSCO, MSFT

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) at a recent price of $453.26 is up 17.7% from its 52-week low, hit less than a month ago. At a recent $21.27, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) has risen 42.8% from its 52-week low established last July. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has gained 26.4% from its low of $26.26, established in December of last year and Intel has jumped 24.2% off more »

• Does Icahn's Offer Add up for Dell Shareholders?

  By Bob Chandler - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: DELL, HPQ, LXK

  Famed investor Carl Icahn and money manager Southeastern Asset Management have joined forces to provide shareholders an alternative to Michael Dell's controversial $24.4 billion bid to take the company he founded, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), private. Mr. Icahn and Southeastern believe that Dell's $13.65 a share offer, with private equity firm Silver Lake, is an opportunistic effort to buy the company at a bargain price.

  Icahn's more »

• Who Wins And Who Loses When This Battle Is Done?

  By Chad Henage - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, BBY, EBAY, TGT, WMT

  When a $226 billion a year business is about to change, it makes sense for investors to pay close attention to the potential winners and losers. This is exactly what's happening with Internet sales and the potential behind the "Marketplace Fairness Act." If passed, this act would require sales tax collection from any online retailer with sales over $1 million. This bill has the potential to change how customers more »

• Best Places to Play Eagle Ford

  By Dana Blankenhorn - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: COG, CHK, EOG

  On a recent trip to South Texas the recent impact of the Eagle Ford shale oil play was obvious on every road.

  Brand-new pick-ups and SUVs, many with dealer tags, filled the roads, darting in and out of traffic, their drivers seemingly heedless of the risk of a wreck. It's something you tend to see in an economic boom, this crazy driving of new Detroit iron, and it's more »

• It's Time to Get Carbonated and Caffeinated!

  By Leo Sun - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: GMCR, SODA, SBUX

  Two niche products have become surprisingly mainstream over the past five years - SodaStream International’s (NASDAQ: SODA) home beverage carbonation systems and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ (NASDAQ: GMCR) Keurig K-Cup single-serving coffee brewers. SodaStream’s stock has risen more than 100% over the past two and a half years since its public debut, while Green Mountain has racked up an 850% gain over the past five. Why have these two more »

• The Right Way to Replicate Hedge Fund Holdings

  By Andrés Cardenal - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: ALFA, AIG, GURU, JCP

  Replicating the moves of the most famous and renowned hedge fund managers is certainly an interesting idea. After all, they are supposed to be the “smart money” and they should be able to make some really smart investing decisions to justify the hefty fees they charge to clients for their services.

  But investors need to be careful in their approach to this strategy, hedge funds holdings can be a fertile more »

• Is the Shipping Industry Ready for a Dynamic Comeback? No, It's Not!

  By Fani Kelesidou - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: DSX, DRYS, NMM

  Over the past couple of years, the shipping industry has been engulfed in an endless spiral of macroeconomic headwinds and slashed daily rates. Last year, the Baltic Dry Index, the barometer that gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk commodities around the globe, hit rock-bottom levels smashing every glimmer of hope for an industry recovery.

  However, Greek ship owners, who more or less hold the reins of the shipping industry more »

• The New Bubble: Elon Musk?

  By Jason Hall - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, SCTY, TSLA

  I've done very well by Elon Musk, at least in the past few months. But is it coming to an end, and all the recent profits are just the product of a short squeeze?

  Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Solar City (NASDAQ: SCTY) both have prominent places in my portfolio, and unless you've been living under a rock this month, you know how that's worked out for me more »

• Let the Mobile Chat Wars Begin!

  By Leo Sun - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, FB, GOOG, MSFT, TCEHY.PK

  A new battle has erupted in the mobile world of smartphones and tablets - the battle of the instant messaging apps.

  Research firm Informa recently estimated that across the world, 19.1 billion mobile instant messages were sent daily in 2012, compared to 17.6 billion traditional SMS messages. This indicates that old SMS functions are losing their technological relevance as users with Internet data plans opt to send free messages more »

• Did Burger King Really Outperform McDonald's and Wendy's?

  By Erin McBride - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: BKW, CMG, MCD, PNRA, WEN

  Burger sales are down at McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) and Wendy’s (NASDAQ: WEN). But Burger King’s (NYSE: BKW) first-quarter earnings more than doubled even though revenue fell. If sales were down at the two largest burger retailers, why were they up at the third largest? The answer may come as a surprise.

  Burger King earned $35.8 million, or 10 cents per share, in the first quarter, up more »

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