Opinions

Among the many lessons to be learned by 2013’s stunning stock market performance, one is that dividend-paying blue chips can also experience significant capital gains. Portfolio strategy can be based on blue chips, but it can also include companies with varied market capitalizations; mixing it up is always useful. The

  PDAC curse or blessing? Fresh from the Letter Writer Presentations track at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference, The Gold Report asked thought leaders to share their impressions from the annual minefest. Adrian Day Asset Management Founder Adrian Day, Exploration Insights Publisher Brent Cook, House Mountain

Advances in automotive battery technology are making graphite the next big thing for commodity investors. Graphite is the critical material for the new generation of batteries, even more than lithium or rare earths. In this special interview with The Mining Report, Focus Graphite President and Chief Operating Officer Don Baxter

The S&P 500 recently traded at a record-high, just before tensions in the Ukraine erupted and the global stock market declined as fear of an escalation and war intensified. While the charts continue to show the stock market wanting to move higher after excellent gains in February, I still sense

This week, I went to one of the world’s biggest mining and exploration conventions, which was hosted by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and was held in Toronto. There were hundreds of gold mining and exploration companies showcasing their projects and making their case for how they

The chart below is of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, an index that tracks home prices in the U.S. housing market. As the chart shows, from their peak in 2007 to their low in late 2011, U.S. homes prices fell by about 30%. Since then, prices in the housing

Currently, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ/AAPL) is largely considered a commodity stock that needs to excite investors with new innovations and growth in order to propel its long-term growth. The stock has been stuck in a relatively tight range between $500.00 and $560.00 since late October 2013, as Apple looks for stronger

With the stock market jittery due to geopolitical events, its underlying strength is highlighted by the relative outperformance of the NASDAQ Composite, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Russell 2000. If these indices are doing relatively better than the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, then there is

These days, we have been hearing a significant amount of news out of Ukraine. “Pro-Russian troops” are now in control of the security and administrative systems in the Crimea region, which is the mainly Russian-speaking area of the country. World leaders are saying that this is nothing but an act

One of the most difficult things for an investor to do is look beyond the current environment. One of the biggest reasons that many investors underperform is because of their own human biases. This is perfectly natural, as we tend to expect more of the same in terms of what

The bond market is in trouble. As we all know, the Federal Reserve has been the biggest driver of bonds since the financial crisis. The central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to near zero, then started quantitative easing, all of which resulted in the bond market soaring as yields

The price action and euphoria towards battery-powered carmaker Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ/TSLA) clearly shows the demand for innovative companies that deliver a great story, as my stock analysis suggests. Investors want to see less demand for energy produced by fossil fuels and more demand for the green energy movement, whether

have been choppy since the beginning of the year and geopolitical events are now the near-term catalyst. It’s a good reminder that it’s worthwhile to review investment risk to equities and what you can tolerate in terms of potential downside with stocks. As these pages are focused on the equity

You didn’t really think that junior miners would languish forever, did you? Junior mining stocks are starting to make a careful climb from the depths after tax-loss selling in December. But some investors, beaten down as badly as mining stocks, are still hesitant. For those investors, Michael Ballanger, director of

Trading options isn’t easy. It is important that investors understand them clearly; if they don’t, they could lose their entire investment, be faced with heavy losses, or end up with a position they never really wanted in the first place if the trade doesn’t work in their favor. Knowing what

At this time last month, the stock market was full of anxiety as we were heading for one of the worst Januarys in recent memory. The talk was about how the decline in January would trigger additional selling pressure in the stock market. The Stock Trader’s Almanac suggested there was

There is a lot of liquidity out there, and all kinds of stocks are experiencing significant price momentum. It’s a bull market still, and no matter how long it has to run, it seems that valuations aren’t as important as owning the right stocks for institutional investors. Countless names have

On February 24, the S&P 500 broke to a new all-time high. There was panic buying as soon as the markets opened that day, as the chart below depicts.   Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com Looking at this, I can’t help but ask if investors have completely lost touch with reality.

We all know how bad this winter has been so far. The harsh weather across the majority of the country has impacted jobs growth, commerce, housing, and consumer spending. Of course, with the spring season on the horizon, we’ll soon see if the weak economic metrics mentioned were really an

Among blue chips, 3M Company (MMM) is getting a lot of increased earnings estimates from analysts. For such a mature company, 3M’s been doing very well on the stock market, and it looks to be well-positioned for more capital gains. At the end of 2013, 3M had approximately 89,000 employees