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

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

For a year that started with one of the best first quarters in history, the second quarter has proven to be something of a disappointment. On the first trading day of June, the U.S. averages had their worst performance of 2012, pushing the Dow Industrials into negative territory for the year. The S&P 500 is...Read More

“Buy low and sell high” is the standard advice of any value investor. It can also be remarkably hard to put into practice. You see, we humans are herd animals, and we tend to think and act as groups, particularly during times of stress. Call it the primal human instinct to seek strength in numbers....Read More

Utilities are the proverbial red-headed stepchild of stock market sectors. During bull markets (so the thinking goes), utilities tend to underperform more aggressive sectors like technology or industrials. But during a good market rout, utilities take a beating along with the rest. How unloved are utilities? As I wrote in a recent article, they were...Read More