Lest I be labeled a doom monger, I want to be clear on a few things. I do not believe that the Eurozone will break up. Greece could—and probably will—be asked to leave sometime this summer, but most would agree that this would be addition by subtraction. The other problem countries—most notably Spain—have shown the...Read More

Have you ever noticed that new “premium” vodka brands seem to pop up every other year, yet the quality scotch brands you see on shelves today are the same ones you might have seen in your grandfather’s liquor cabinet? There is a reason for that. Vodka is colorless, flavorless and can be mass produced from...Read More

“A few years ago, I said: if people do not watch it, Europe will become an open-air museum for traveling Chinese. Well, we are halfway there.” The quote above was from a Financial Times interview with Johann Rupert, Chairman of the Swiss-based Richemont (Switzerland:CFR), the second largest luxury goods group in the world (see “Tourist...Read More

For all the talk of dividend investing in recent years, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the average U.S. stock, as measured by the S&P 500, still yields a paltry 1.9%. Even the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: $VIG), a core long-term holding in my ETF portfolios—barely yields 2%, and this is...Read More

The most annoying thing about old Wall Street adages like “Sell in May, go away” is that once in a while, they are actually true. Sure, most of the time it makes sense to be invested during the summer months.  If history is any guide, they are more likely to be positive than negative.  But...Read More