The “Abe Trade” is back on…for now. The “Great Bernanke Scare” of May and June hit Japanese equities hard, forcing the Nikkei into “official” bear market territory (a loss of 20 percent or more is considered a technical bear market by most analysts).  But in the six weeks that have followed, Japanese stocks have recouped...Read More

The US Food and Drug Administration announces it is considering banning or strictly regulating menthol cigarettes…and the share prices of the companies that make and sell those menthol cigarettes take a tumble.  Haven’t we seen this movie before? Midday Tuesday, the share prices of Altria ($MO), Reynolds American ($RAI) and Lorillard ($LO) were down by...Read More

Income investors had a little scare in May and June.  Bond prices took a tumble and dragged down assets that have come to be viewed as bond substitutes—including popular dividend-paying stocks, MLPs and REITs. Now that the dust has settled and the income markets have regained some semblance of normalcy, let’s take a step back...Read More

The votes have been counted.  Japan’s Liberal Democrats—the party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe—won a landslide victory over the weekend, securing control of both houses of parliament. The implications here are huge.  Abe is as close as you can get in modern Japan to a militant nationalist, and the win will only encourage him to...Read More

From Covestor: A good investing IQ goes hand in hand with strong financial knowledge and decision-making skills. That’s something that the majority of Americans lack, according to the latest nationwide study that seeks to measure the financial capability of U.S. adults. The National Financial Capability Study sponsored by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation asked participants five questions that tested...Read More