Ted Williams, who some consider baseball’s greatest hitter, was the last player to bat over .400 during a single season (1941). That means Williams got a hit during 40 percent of his at-bats. Surprisingly,…
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) are a nearly perfect cameo of where the stock market is now, and where it is likely to remain after earnings season. Apple has…
The FDIC has begun the process of the creation of a road map to show how massive financial firms should be put to death if they become threats to the global credit system. Presumably…
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: (NASDAQ: DELL) is seeing some unusual activity ahead of its earnings report. Perhaps more interesting is what is causing the move. There are a couple of rumors that either Dell will…
The most recent minutes from the FOMC are out and this shows us a bit more about how quantitative easing may work. The consensus is that monetary stimulus is appropriate if growth becomes too…
Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) is going private, at least that is if the deal is accepted. The company has received a proposal letter from its Chairman and CEO, Mr. Tianfu Yang and Baring…
Things are looking better and better for China as it is one of the key growth engines of the world. Moody’s Investor Service has placed the sovereign credit rating of “A1” on review for…
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is neither a company nor a stock that is without controversy. It has a lot of fans who have been buying shares before and after it became a…
As investors ready themselves for Halloween, images of the macabre are hard to escape. The stock market also is filled with death metaphors. Companies SLASH costs and stocks are PUMMELED by bad news. Meanwhile,…
Exchange traded funds cover almost every strategy that the retail investor can imagine. If you can’t find an ETF, there may be a futures contract out there to trade an instrument. As if the…
The TARP program is no more. The Treasury Department issued its final report on the cornerstone project meant to save the US financial system from failure. “In light of the recently announced AIG restructuring…
Credit metrics are still continuing to show modest improvements across the land, yet recent government action via a Department of Justice antitrust suit has put the hit on shares of American Express (NYSE: AXP)…
It is almost routine now that Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB) trades lower. Whether it is ongoing fears about Ireland as a whole or whether it is a fear that the bank will…
You have to love it when there are two high profile calls on the same topic that effectively say the exact opposite of each other. That is the case when it comes to research…
The opening scene of a by-now-familiar drama has just been completed in the latest unfriendly merger transaction. Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) first tried to sweet talk Hypercom Corp. (NYSE:HYC) into a deal where Verifone…