Jason Hall

Editor's Choice

• 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 »

• The Only Reason You Need to Own Apple Forever

  By Jason Hall - May 3, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GE, IBM |

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has spent more time in the financial news over the past few years than probably any company on the planet.  And when one considers that it essentially makes and sells only a half-dozen different things, the weekly product-to-article ratio may be the highest in history. And while these articles have run the gamut of subjects, as investors, we have to filter out the "noise," and focus on more »

• Apple Still Has a Cash Hoard "Problem," and That's Great News

  By Jason Hall - May 3, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, XOM, GOOG, MSFT |

  "What will Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) do with its massive cash hoard?"

  This is probably the most reported-upon single aspect of any public company in history.  Millions of words have been written and spoken about this topic: And while they have ranged into the outlandish, like Apple buying Intel, or one of the other several hundred S&P 500 components that the company has enough cash to buy, typically the two more »

• Wanna Get Rich? Stop Buying Stocks. You'll Probably Live Longer, Too

  By Jason Hall - April 8, 2013 | Tickers: ATVI, BRK-B, BRK-A, RSP, SPY |

  A few years ago I spent 17 days traveling around Europe.  It was something that my wife and I had planned to do for years, and was the culmination of lots of effort, and money.  And I was stressed for most of the trip because I wasn't able to constantly monitor my portfolio.  To say that I was distracted puts it lightly.  I think that this will put it more »

• Making an Ethical Stand: Does It Matter to Investors?

  By Jason Hall - March 22, 2013 | Tickers: CMG, GOOG, WFM |

  Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) recently made an ethical stance in support of equality when it backed out of a commitment to sponsor a Boy Scout event in Utah. From Yahoo News:

  "Chipotle's anti-discrimination policy states that the company shouldn't support organizations that exclude based on sexual orientation. When company leaders found out about the promise to offer coupons, they nixed the idea, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said more »

• Too Big to Fail, or too Good to Pass Up?

  By Jason Hall - March 6, 2013 | Tickers: AIG, BAC, C, JPM, WFC |

  Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). American International Group (NYSE: AIG). Citigroup (NYSE: C). Just the names alone are cringe-inducing for a lot of us. 

  After all, with the help of ratings agencies Moody’s and McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's, these companies combined to not only nearly cripple the American economy, but destroy billions of dollars in shareholder wealth at the same time. And when one considers that much of more »

• YUM Just Left a Bad Taste in This Investor's Mouth

  By Jason Hall - February 5, 2013 | Tickers: CMG, MCD, PNRA, PZZA, YUM |

  I was nearly done with YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) this morning. 

  I've been a shareholder for less than two years, and as a buy-and-hold investor, it's rare for me to give up on a company.   Here's the recent Q4 earnings announcement that almost did me in:

  "For the quarter, total revenues came in at $4.15 billion, more or less flat over the same period the previous more »

• For Investors, Is HOG a Pig, or Ready for a Nice Ride?

  By Jason Hall - January 29, 2013 | Tickers: BAMXF, HOG, HMC, PII |

  If you've never been on the back of a motorcycle, there's little that I can tell you to explain the feeling.  We can talk about the wind, the way it pushes against you, grabbing you in a way you never experienced on that 10-speed bike as a kid.  I could describe the noise of the engine, the feel of the bike and motor, and the road beneath it more »

• Death! Gold! Excitement! Calm Down and Get Boring if You Want to Get Rich

  By Jason Hall - October 30, 2012 | Tickers: BRK-B, BIP, GLD, SBUX, WM |

  Death! Long-term Investing is Dead!
  

  Jake Zamansky, contributor to Forbes, recently wrote, describing long-term buy-and-hold investors: 

  "Such investors are sitting ducks for the new breed of “high frequency” traders, the nefarious “dark pools” and Wall Street firms who use retail investors as dumping grounds for their dubious products and shares."

  Once upon a time, it was the norm to buy and hold shares for years, even decades.  In the 1960s more »

• 3 Reasons You're Losing, or How Beating the Market Means Beating Yourself

  By Jason Hall - October 24, 2012 | Tickers: BRK-B, FB, MAKO, SYK, ZNGA |

  More individual investment wealth has been lost due to emotion, whether the hubris of overconfidence or the grip of fear and uncertainty, than every recession in the past century combined. 

  Yes, that's an anecdotal statement, and I don't have any evidence to prove it.  But it's likely a true one.  Take the Great Recession:

  ^INX data by YCharts

  The S&P 500 is still off of it more »

• You Might as Well be Dealing Drugs

  By Jason Hall - September 17, 2012 | Tickers: DPZ, JACK, MCD, PZZA, YUM |

  I consider myself to be an ethical investor.  I really like investing in companies that not only have huge potential for growth and profit, but also have huge potential to improve the world we live in, the lives of those that use their products and services, and the lives of the company’s employees and suppliers.  But I’m not really unique in that, am I?  I am sure that more »

• Can Big Tables and Free WiFi Make You Rich?

  By Jason Hall - September 12, 2012 | Tickers: BWLD, CMG, DRI, PNRA |

  I was chatting with my wife one recent Saturday morning, discussing our schedules for the upcoming week.  She is on the board of a professional association, the members of which are women, and range from undergraduate science students to C-level professionals.  This group is both social and charitable in nature, with its primary focus to provide a place where women in science and technology fields can network together, grow their more »