March 9 marks the second birthday of the bear-market low reached in 2009. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index has surged 95% since then, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 87%.
But many investors have missed these big gains. They're still parked on the sidelines afraid of losing money to market volatility. A recent study showed 73% of Americans find it impossible to plan for retirement because of wild markets.
Archives for March 2011
March 2011 - Page 8 of 10 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
Unshakable Stocks for Your Retirement Portfolio
Bond Market Outlook: Four Ways to Hedge the Looming Fixed-Income Fiasco
Many investors are afraid of inflation because they understand the run-up in prices will take a big bite out of their wallets – and their buying power.
While that's a valid concern, I'm much more worried about one of the other possible fallout effects of the expected inflationary surge – the potential for the worst global bond rout in nearly 20 years.
But here's the thing: Even if that happens, it doesn't have to hurt. In fact, you can turn it into such a big profit that even the inflationary pressures will seem like a minor nuisance.
U.S. Investors Don't Put Much Faith in Bull Market
Today, March 9, the U.S bull market in stocks celebrates its second birthday.
But what everyone really wants to know is this: A year from now, will we be celebrating again – or will we be trying to outrun the bear?
So far, 2011 is delivering on that bull market promise. February represented the third straight month of U.S. stock-market gains.
Hedging Strategies: At a Time of Record Gold Prices, This Simple Option Play Will Protect Your Profits
If you bought gold at any time during the first 10 months of 2010, you're sitting on some pretty healthy profits.
And thanks to renewed inflation fears and the growing unrest in Egypt, Libya and other Middle Eastern nations, most forecasters believe the "yellow metal" still has lots of room to run.
But if you watched gold struggle during January 2011, you may also be worried about keeping those hard-won profits – even with the rebound and run to record highs that gold prices have made.
Western Digital-Hitachi Deal Means One Less Hard Disk Drive Manufacturer
Two decades ago, there were 86 hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturers. Soon there will be just four, as Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) yesterday (Tuesday) announced a $4.3 billion deal to acquire Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST). The addition of Hitachi's business will give Western Digital approximately 50% of the HDD market, putting it well […]
Are You Worried About Your Retirement Savings?
Retirement used to be synonymous with leisure and travel. Americans believed that decades of hard work and thriftiness would make for a prosperous and successful life they could enjoy after their jobs – the "American Dream."
Now retirement doesn't evoke the same sense of tranquility for most U.S. workers. Instead, economic anxiety has taken its toll.
Americans used to ride a "three-lane highway" into retirement: a traditional pension, Social Security, and individual savings plans, like 401(k)s.
But the recent economic downturn packed a devastating punch to many 401(k) accounts, U.S. households have dipped into savings to make ends meet, and debt-laden federal, state and local governments will have trouble meeting pension and Social Security obligations.
Oil and Gold Prices Surge as Speculators Bet Billions Shorting the Dollar
Oil reached a 29-month high (yesterday) Monday morning in London and gold hit an intraday record as investors sought to hedge against inflation and traders bet billions shorting the dollar.
Brent crude futures contracts in London gained 0.1% yesterday to close at $116.11 a barrel, pushed higher by the Middle East crisis disrupting the oil supply. Crude for April delivery was up 0.9% to $105.36 in Monday afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
Fighting in Libya so far has reduced the country's oil output by 1 million barrels per day.
Cashing in on CoCos: How to Profit From Contingent Convertible Bonds
There have now been three successful issues by banks in Europe of a new type of investment – the contingent convertible (CoCo).
Since each CoCo issue was for several billion dollars, and European banking authorities want banks to carry a lot of their capital in this form, we should expect issues over here pretty soon. Those who know my cynical attitude towards banking innovation will be surprised to hear me say this, but actually they're a good idea for banks.
Forward-looking investors should make sure to keep this new security on their radar screen: CoCos could prove to be a decent deal for investors, provided that you pick the right bank to invest in.
For some specific "CoCos" profit ideas, please read on...
Hot Stocks: Motorola Mobility Inc. (NYSE: MMI) Sending a Clear Signal That It's Ready to Bounce Back
A string of cutting edge products such as the Xoom tablet and the Atrix 4G smartphone, both of which use Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android operating system, have reversed Motorola Mobility Holding Inc.'s (NYSE: MMI) downward spiral.
The success of its new hardware, combined with strategic acquisitions that show Motorola's desire to offer its customers cloud-based services, has breathed new life into a company that was on life support just a couple of years ago.
Motorola's Droid line of smartphones helped turn a $1.6 billion operating loss in 2009 into a $76 million operating profit in 2010. The recently-launched Xoom has earned rave reviews and has given MMI a critical foothold in the tablet market.