Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot, I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent To blow up the King and Parli’ment. Three-score barrels of powder below To prove old England’s overthrow; By God’s mercy he was catch’d With...Read More

I’m always a little skeptical of any stock market screen called a “magic formula,” but I do like to consult Joel Greenblatt’s screener by that name from time to time. Greenblatt, who made the screen famous in his book The Little Book that Beats the Market ranks stocks using two criteria: Valuation, as measured by...Read More

I love China stocks as an investment … for the next few years, anyway. As I wrote recently, Chinese stocks are almost ridiculously cheap at current prices. Plus, the reorganization of the Chinese economy away from investment and export and into “Western-style” domestic consumption should create incredible opportunities for Chinese stocks, as well as for...Read More

For an ETF dedicated to companies with sustainable competitive advantages—or “wide moats” to borrow a term from Warren Buffett—you might expect relatively low turnover.  After all, moats don’t dry up overnight. Yet in its annual reconstitution last month, the Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF (MOAT), which is based on the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index,...Read More

According to a recent study at Oxford University, nearly half of U.S. jobs are at risk of computerization. 45% of America’s occupations will be automated away over the next two decades. That sounds scary, and my bet is that it proves to be true. But it’s also nothing new.  Technology has been making jobs obsolete...Read More