China made waves with a bad manufacturing report this week, sending world equities–and particularly Japanese equities–sharply lower. But the issues in Asia go beyond just exports and currency rates. It’s about plummeting birth rates and demographics, and what it means for Chinese and Japanese investments. Jeff Reeves of InvestorPlace.com and I talk things over. As I...Read More
The numbers came in last week: France is in recession again, for the third time in five years. A triple-dip recession. Sacre bleu! There is some debate as to whether this is a double-dip or a triple-dip recession; that mini-recession in 2012 was questionable. But there is no escaping the broader point here. France has a...Read More
Investors are starved for yield. It’s not exactly breaking news. With traditional savings vehicles such as savings accounts, CDs, and bonds yielding next to nothing, investors have been flocking to dividend-paying stocks for years. On the surface, this makes all the sense in the world. Unlike fixed income investments, dividend-paying stocks tend to enjoy rising payouts...Read More
In my last article, I noted that “Big Money” managers was wildly bullish on U.S. stocks—74% were bullish and only 7% were bearish. But what about those legendary masters of the universe—the global macro hedge fund managers who, if their reputations are to be believed, hold the fates of companies and even entire countries in the...Read More
I’ve been a big believer in vice investing—and particularly tobacco stock investing—for a long time. I turned bearish on tobacco stocks late last year, but this was based purely on price. In my view, tobacco stocks had simply gotten too expensive relative to other dividend-paying options—and I would reiterate that view today. But if ol’ tobacky...Read More
