http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/index.html en-us Copyright 2007 Daily Buy-Sell Adviser. All rights Reserved. Daily Buy-Sell Adviser webmaster@iproduction.com Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:04:53 GMT Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:04:53 GMT IPS - www.iproduction.com There has been a considerable amount of talk lately about gold. It appears to show signs of promise in an otherwise bleak financial time. But is gold really all that it is cracked up to be? If so, what is a good way to buy it, and what is wise to avoid? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/investorsdigest/Richard_C_Young_Intelligence_Report1271-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Most investors enter the stock market full of confidence, often spurred on by stories of other people’s successes. But all investments are fated to go down at some point. Only then do investors get a clear picture of the eternal balance of risk and reward. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/tech-stocks1264-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS When the stock market takes off, small is good. As a bull rally gets underway, small cap stocks lead the herd. It only makes sense. There’s a lot of unrealized value in these smaller fry. They have room to grow and a market surge is just the time for them to blossom. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1263-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Debt is getting to be like the weather. Everyone talks about it — or argues about it — but nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Average citizens are labouring to bring down debt, and surely many of them are labouring more efficiently than most governments. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/precious-metals-stocks1262-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS This just in — bull markets end. When there’s a big run-up in prices, in the stock market, in precious metals, or in resources, gravity ensues. What went up inevitably goes down. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/energy-stocks1260-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Are stocks cheap? Certainly stock markets have been sliding of late, and we know that a slumping market punishes plenty of good stocks. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that a host of nifty bargains have suddenly fallen into the laps of investors. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bargain-stocks1259-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The markets are not happy. There’s been a lot more stopping than starting of late. We’ve heard plenty about the litany of woes that has been making them unhappy — a snail-like economic recovery, festering European debt, slower growth in China, and so on. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1258-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Even when the Canadian dollar goes down, it’s still up. It lost some of its value in the market slowdown — most pointedly, with the slackening of commodity prices. But it remains several cents above the U.S. dollar. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-stocks1256-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It was a long winter, but the bears are waking up. The bull market that has lasted for more than two years may be bumping its head on the ceiling. The bear market that so many have predicted may have arrived. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bear-market1255-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The U.S. economy is no longer the be-all and end-all. Market pundits, investors and journalists pore over its every move backward and forward as if they were reading tea leaves. Canadians certainly follow its machinations closely, understanding full well the many links between the two economies. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/global-economy1254-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Bad news appears to be weighing on the stock market. Commodity prices, which were supposed to go up indefinitely thanks to emerging market demand, have gotten stuck in the mud. And this may be the most plodding economic recovery in history as it takes one step forward and two steps back. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/stock-market1253-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It only counts when there’s money on the table. You can practice investing on paper all you want, but nothing prepares you for the stark reality of having your own money at risk. That’s especially true at a time when stock markets seem to be in a perpetual state of uncertainty in the face of a tortoise-like economic recovery and an unresolved debt crisis. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1252-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The world will not end when the bull market does. (In fact, one evangelical group is predicting that the world will end on May 21, bull market or not, but that’s another story.) Prudent investors will have taken steps to ensure that a bear market will not sabotage all of their investments. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bull-market1251-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Singapore is an island in more ways than one. It is separated from Malaysia by a narrow strait. It is also separated from other emerging markets. In a sense, Singapore emerged some time ago. This former British colony, an independent republic since 1965, has all the earmarks of a mature economy. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/emerging-markets1250-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS “North American markets are close to becoming fully valued.” Those lines were written as stock markets were beginning to lose momentum. They have been lurching along ever since, although the TSX has shown some promise with a two-day rally. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/ETF1249-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Even in the midst of a market slump, gold is very expensive. It opened today at US$1,490 an ounce, as the market slide continues. It has been well above the $1,500 barrier, of course. But that’s gold bullion. The gold that is being mined around the world isn’t worth that much. Gold stocks don’t get equal respect. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1248-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Selling stocks isn’t easy, either way. It’s hard to let go of a winning stock, but selling a loser looks like an admission of defeat. Yet you may have to do both if you want your investment portfolio to keep on generating the best possible returns. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/selling-stocks1247-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS At $120,000 a share, most people can’t even afford just one. That’s the lordly price tag attached to the “A” shares of Mr. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE-BRK.A). Despite the embarrassment of a recent insider trading scandal in his organization, Mr. Buffett is still widely regarded as the world’s most successful investor. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/successful-stocks1246-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Waste not, want not. That proverb is more than two centuries old, and it sometimes seems as though it hasn’t really been followed for at least a century. We waste a lot in our society. No doubt we could all be more efficient. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/renewable-energy-stocks1244-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS In investing, the “barbell strategy” isn’t just about muscle. It’s also about safety. It’s usually applied to bonds. Yet one Canadian analyst explains how investors can put this strategy to work with stocks. It’s a sound strategy for uncertain times, writes Ms. Jennifer Dowty in The MoneyLetter. It allows investors to play defense without giving up too much offense. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1243-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The U.S. dollar still has its days, but it’s just not like the old days. Despite the occasional spurt, the general trend for the greenback appears to be down. If you’re an income investor in the U.S. this is not good news. (If you’re a Canadian exporter it’s not the greatest news, either, but that’s another story.) http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-investors1242-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Silver was trying to tell us something. The price of silver had one of the biggest runs in its history for the eight months before Easter. It passed US$20 an ounce in September, $30 in February and $40 in April, reaching a high of $49. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/sell-in-May1241-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS They all went down in a heap. Oil, the Canadian dollar and commodities of all kinds were routed in the markets this week. Whether or not this is a temporary retreat we will soon find out. But it’s sending a message to which all investors should be listening. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/commodity-prices1240-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Perhaps people are “selling in May and going away.” The market has been tumbling and fears of a correction are no doubt cropping up in many minds. Yet stock markets have been remarkably buoyant for over two years, snapping back from a series of economic setbacks, natural disasters and political crises. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/value-stocks1239-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Being a contrarian is not supposed to be easy. While everybody else is coasting downstream, you’re swimming upstream, usually with a few waterlogged turnaround stocks in tow. Yet if the evidence of two Canadian contrarians is anything to go by, it can also be challenging, fun and ultimately, very rewarding. As long as you accept that some of those turnaround stocks will not make the turn. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1238-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The world admires Canadian banks. U.S. investment publications in particular often sing the praises of the Canadian banking system and its performance during the financial crisis. It was not a perfect performance, as several of Canada’s big banks got caught with bad paper. But it was far better than most. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bank-stocks1237-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS We’re taking one more look at the nuclear industry. A month and a half after the shocks that struck the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in Japan, officials are still fearful of a leak. And many others are fearful that the once-bright future of nuclear plants around the world has grown dim. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/uranium-stocks1236-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS One U.S. advisory always leads off with a cartoon. This month’s was taken from the days leading up to the potential shutdown of the U.S. government by the budget wrangle. A guy is watching TV, leaning forward and grinning widely with fingers crossed on both hands. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bull-market1234-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The best investors seem to get farther and farther away from the big city. At least that’s the case with one group of small cap investors. They’re the average Americans who follow the microcap stock strategy of Mr. Max Bowser, himself a resident of Newport News, Virginia. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1233-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It’s the principle of the thing. But which principle? At issue is whether or not governments should step in and rule on mergers between private corporations. Is this reasonable oversight or unreasonable interference? Or is it sometimes good and sometimes bad? Does a foreign takeover of “strategic assets” justify greater vigilance by governments? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/merger1232-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS How you spend your money says a lot about you. How a company spends its money says a lot about it. And if you watch carefully just how companies spend their money, you’ll spend your money much more productively as an investor. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/cash-flow1231-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS If you were going to build your portfolio from the ground up, starting today, how would you go about it? Well, you would start by determining what kind of investor you are, how much time you have to meet your goals, and so forth. In short, you would follow the basic steps set down in the standard book of good investing. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/investment-portfolio1230-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Almost every day, there’s an update on the conditions at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in Japan. 34 days after the first shock of the earthquake and tsunami, there is still a great deal that just isn’t known. That is partly due to the secretiveness of the officials on the spot. But it is also due to the fact that nuclear radiation, once unleashed, sets up a frightful chain of consequences that is not easily contained. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1229-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Enough about gold. Let’s hear it for silver. It’s no surprise that precious metals have soared in these uncertain times. They are widely supposed to represent a store of value that will anchor investment portfolios in times of trouble. Gold generally grabs most of the headlines. Yet it would be a big mistake to ignore silver, and silver stocks, says one U.S. advisory. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/silver-stocks1228-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Japan’s nuclear crisis is creating high anxiety. Yesterday, officials put the highest risk rating on the Fukushima nuclear plant, placing it on a level with Russia’s 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It’s not really as bad as Chernobyl, experts keep telling us, but that’s little consolation to those struggling with the leaking radiation. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/uranium-stocks1227-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Yesterday, the markets were down. Oil was down. Even gold was down. We have had over two years of rising markets punctuated here and there by sharp corrections. So are we reaching the end of the bull run? Or, if you’re a staunch buy and hold investor, should you ignore all these market trends? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/stock-market1226-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Well at least one crisis has been averted. The U.S. government will not be shutting down, although peace has not exactly broken out in Congress, either. What’s more, the stimulus programs that have charged up the U.S. economy and the markets now have a limited shelf life. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/high-yielding-investments1225-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The U.S government is on the brink of shutting down. Thus far, this bitter budget debate is little more than a spectator sport for those Canadians who follow politics south of the border. But a serious disruption of the American government — and the stimulus spending that has pushed the economy along — would certainly make its presence felt here and elsewhere. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/precious-metals-stocks1223-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Conglomerates were supposed to rule the world. Not so long ago, many predicted that a handful of mega-corporations would control everything from missiles to matchsticks. Certainly, there are very big companies with very long arms, but the trend of late has been for conglomerates to break up rather than make up. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/conglomerates1222-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Gold is hot again. The price shot up by almost US$20 yesterday. Yet is this really anything new? Through more than three years of crisis and recovery, gold has been pushing through new barriers. It has generally been prized as “a store of value,” a haven of security in an insecure world. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1221-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The price of oil carries a lot of baggage with it. As it rises, it brightens the prospects in Canada’s oil patch. It is also the chief prop of a strong Canadian dollar, most experts will tell you. Yet at the same time it makes things very expensive for many industries and for consumers. And not just at the gas pumps, either. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/price-of-oil1220-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Here’s how you define a good stock. Never mind how it did yesterday, how will it do tomorrow? In other words, success starts now. And in many cases, stocks that have done well tend to reverse roles with stocks that have lagged behind. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/high-tech-stocks1219-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS CNN is doing the folks at the Petroleum Club in Calgary a favour. As civil war rages in Libya and protests persist in Bahrein and other Arab nations, the world gets an eyeful. “Every additional protest in the Middle East that appears on CNN will add upward pressure to the Canadian energy sector.” http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/ETF1218-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS “The stock market today is a very scary place.” We all know the stock market has been going up for the past two years. Generally. But it still subject to sharp, jarring corrections. And each time, they raise the spectre of the bear market that may be lurking round the corner. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/analyst-expectations1217-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS If you got scared on Halloween, you missed out. We refer specifically to the ghoulish Halloween of 2006. On that day, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty lowered the boom on Canada’s income trusts with a distribution tax that would fall due in 2011. Within 24 hours, $20 billion in equity value was wiped off the market. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-stocks1215-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Once upon a time, kids were brought up on cod liver oil. It tasted awful, but it was good for you. So ran the argument. Now the value of cod liver oil is under attack from some scientific quarters, but the principle remains the same. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/market-correction1211-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Danger lurks on every side. Investors have to protect themselves against the effects of events happening thousands of miles away. Thus far, stock markets have shown remarkable resilience against political upheaval in the Middle East and a catastrophic natural disaster. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/buy-and-hold1210-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS This month, the bull market turned two years old. If there was a party, we didn’t see any invitations. But many investors have already enjoyed the festivities along the way. And there should still be time to party. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bull-market1209-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The dividends are in the mail again. Dividends never go away, of course, but they did go through a rough patch during the financial crisis and recession. Some very large names slashed their dividends or wiped them out altogether. Many others broke a pattern of raising the payout annually and just kept them where they were. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividend-stocks1208-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It’s almost baseball season. You don’t have to know much about baseball to know that a four-bagger is a home run, covering all four bases with one blow. How much better, then, is a ten-bagger? There are no ten-baggers in baseball, but there are in investing. It means quite simply a stock that flies up the charts to ten times the price you paid — a 1,000 per cent bonanza. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/mining-stocks1207-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Wouldn’t want to own a stock that had oilfields in Libya these days. Or would you? Wouldn’t want to own one that just got fined almost $10 billion. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/energy-stocks1205-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS We’ve been here before. Once again the economy is getting a push from government spending and quantitative easing and low interest rates. For the most part, stock markets have responded well. They have been rocked by more than one crisis, but always seem to snap back. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/investment-risk1204-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Basically, the job of an investment advisory is to work for the average investor. Its mandate is to give investors a fair share of the knowledge and counsel that pros and insiders soak up every day. But not many advisories bring “the little guy” on to centre stage. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1203-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Almost every commodity has its bull market. The latest “bull” is just about the most fundamental commodity there is. Food. But food is far more than a bullish commodity or a hot trend. It’s a looming worldwide crisis — in a world beset with crises. It’s all tied up with growing populations, changing diets and spiralling costs. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/fertilizer-stocks1202-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Gold took it on the chin yesterday. It wasn’t the only victim, of course. Just about every commodity or security you could imagine was tossed overboard in the wake of the galloping anxiety over Japan. But in times of trouble gold always has its day. And the question inevitably comes up. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold1201-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS As tragedy piles upon crisis across the globe, it is hard to know where to look next. It is certainly not surprising that stock markets have begun to buckle under the pressure. But today we will take a step back and look at one man’s resignation. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1199-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS “Thank goodness we’ve got our health.” You hear that phrase a lot, but sometimes it seems to mean different things in the United States and Canada. Despite the attempts at health care reform — now being challenged by a Republican-dominated Congress — the U.S. still runs an essentially private system of care. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/health-care-stocks1195-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Here’s some news that’s not really news. As the North American markets opened, there was anxiety over the earthquake in Japan and slowing economic growth. And the price of gold moved up. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/precious-metals-stocks1194-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Just for the record, the price of crude oil is at US$102.80 this morning. As the Libyan crisis threatens to turn into a prolonged civil war, what is liable to happen to the price of oil? And how will it affect investors? Almost forty years ago, an abrupt rise in the price of oil hit the western economies with a shuddering inflationary shock. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/energy-stocks1193-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Do smartphones make people more intelligent? That question could lead to some hot debates, no doubt. But there’s no debate about the fact that smartphones are making some companies a whole lot richer. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/tech-stocks1191-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The governor of the Bank of Canada said it. No doubt your parents said it and your grandparents before them. You may well have said it to the next generation. Save money and live within your means. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1190-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Gold and oil. When things seem to get out of balance in the world, the prices of gold and oil act like barometers. Gold rose steadily and sometimes spectacularly in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Lately, though, it has taken a back seat to oil. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1189-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS You’d have to go a long way to find an analyst who won’t tell you to invest in emerging markets. Why not? Economies in the developing world, and especially in Asia, are growing much faster than the old western economies. There are obvious profits to be made. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/emerging-markets1187-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS What exactly is an efficiency expert? Is it just someone hired to tell a company what it should have figured out on its own? In the words of one U.S. advisory, the phrase conjures up the image of “a guy with thick glasses and a clipboard, counting paper clips and counseling executives to stop buying donuts for morning meetings.” http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/tech-stocks1186-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The printed page is supposed to be going the way of the dodo. The electronic revolution sure hasn’t helped the forestry industry. And what about the even bigger matter of the mortgage crisis in the United States? With people pushed out of their houses, there wasn’t exactly a flurry of new building going on. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/forestry-stocks1185-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Nothing succeeds like success. That expression may apply in many walks of life, but it doesn’t always apply in the stock market. Often, success just makes people nervous. It can’t go on forever. When will it come crashing down? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1183-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It takes a lot to keep the stock market down these days. The violent crises in North Africa and the Middle East and the spike in oil prices knocked the markets off stride for several days. But they recovered on Friday. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/bull-market1182-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS What if the Chinese economy can’t keep it up indefinitely? What if it can’t keep on pulling the world’s economy with it? Here’s how one British investor put the question. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Chinese-economy1181-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The price of oil seems to be the topic of the day. Those who went to the gas pumps this morning certainly took note. But it’s not the only commodity reacting to events around the world. Uranium, which has had a long, strong run, fell in the past week. Nothing so dramatic as a revolution was behind this move. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1179-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The price of oil can be unpredictable at the best of times. At the moment, it’s not easy to distinguish between the best and worst of times in the Middle East. Optimism and brutality follow hard on the heels of one another. But it is certainly lighting a fire under the price of crude oil. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/invest-in-oil1177-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Stock markets are behaving big cash-rich corporations. They’re leaping into bed with one another, if you’ll pardon the expression. It all started with one proposed merger and now there are three. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/stock-market-merger1175-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Imitation isn’t just the sincerest form of flattery. It could also make you money. It certainly could if you lived near Fort Worth, Texas and decided to follow the system of a particular investment advisory to the letter. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/small-cap-stocks1174-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS When you buy a stock, you own a piece of that company. In practice, acting like you own the company won’t get you very far — unless you’re Mr. Warren Buffett, who usually does a company when he invests in it. Still, you are supposed to receive a share of the company’s profits. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividends1173-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS When people make more money, they spend more money. Although many Canadians are trying to scrimp and save these days, human nature dictates that new money gets spent. And in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Asian nations in between, more people are spending more money. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1172-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS These are tough times in Australia. But this is a resilient nation, and a wealthy one. And it is going to be even wealthier. The floods that devastated northeastern Australia are the largest and latest in a series of setbacks that have jarred the country’s economy. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividend-yields1171-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Unless you’ve been nowhere near a newspaper, TV, radio or smart phone, you know that big changes are taking place in the Middle East. Two powerful rulers have been ousted and two major countries in the Arab world are waiting to see what comes next. While it may make for fascinating viewing, does it have any impact on the average Canadian investor? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1169-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Base metals have been going in the wrong direction. Up. Yet one U.S. advisory that follows junior mining stocks has been convinced for some time that they would be going in the opposite direction. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/mining-stocks1166-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS What crisis? U.S. stock markets did very well last year. Investors were heartened by double-digit returns on the Dow Jones and the S&P 500. (The S&P/TSX Composite Index had similar returns, but we’ll get to our Canadian content later.) http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1165-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It’s a good day to talk about foreign deals. The announcement of a merger agreement between the Toronto and London stock exchanges raises many questions. One of them is: does Canada give up control over its own markets? There’s already a hot debate going on in Australia over a merger between the Singapore and Australian exchanges. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/takeovers1164-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The automobile is back. It didn’t exactly disappear. Massive traffic jams still occur every day and millions of vehicles roll along superhighways and county roads. But less than two years ago, the automobile industry in North America looked like it was headed for the scrap heap. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/auto-parts-stocks1163-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS What do we buy stocks for? Well, obviously we want them to increase in price so that somewhere along the line we can cash in on the capital gains. Then there are the dividends. It’s nice to collect income while we wait for the capital gains to roll in. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividend-stocks1162-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Honk if you’re invested in emerging markets. On second thought, don’t. That would mean you’re reading this on a handheld device while driving. Still, horn honking is a symbol of one stock that is on the road to bigger and better things in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/emerging-market-stocks1161-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It finally happened. A shutout. Year after year, the two Canadian contrarians that publish Contra the Heard have had at least one of the stocks in their portfolios taken over. Not in 2010. But it was an unusual streak anyway, as these investors point out. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/turnaround-stocks1160-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS “Most people probably haven’t heard of rare earth metals.” But you’ve probably used them. They’re put to work in TVs, iPods, cellphones, magnets, lasers and X-ray machines. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/rare-earth-metals1159-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Canada has become a popular place for international investors. It was never off-limits, to be sure. All those resources — “rocks and trees” as they used to be called — made sure of that. But in the wake of the long financial crisis, Canada has taken on an extra glow for many. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-stocks1158-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Canada has become a popular place for international investors. It was never off-limits, to be sure. All those resources — “rocks and trees” as they used to be called — made sure of that. But in the wake of the long financial crisis, Canada has taken on an extra glow for many. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-stocks1157-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Frequently asked questions. That’s a phrase that comes up so often it can now be identified by its initials. FAQ is almost as familiar as IOU or DNA. Today we have five investment FAQs. They come from a leading Wall Street advisory, Dow Theory Forecasts. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/tech-stocks1156-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Earlier this week, we mentioned that we were pretty much finished with stock market forecasts for 2011. But there’s a prediction for 2013 we can’t help but acknowledge. And another prediction that’s not really a prediction at all. Both of them are decidedly optimistic. The stock market is going up, possibly way up. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/stock-market1155-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Owning stocks has been a good idea for the past year or so. Especially in Canada. As one group of Canadian experts writes, “with commodities strengthening as the year grew longer, it was better to own them specifically within Canada.” The Toronto exchange outpaced its New York counterparts thanks largely to the strength of commodities. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/commodity-stocks1152-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It’s always a question of when, not if. The stock market will drop suddenly. Then it will zip back up. Sharp moves in one direction or the other represent a way of life for investors. Nor can they be easily pinned down. How many, outside of New Delhi, knew the Indian government would announce a move against inflation? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/energy-stocks1151-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS In 1904, Sir Wilfrid Laurier proclaimed that the 20th century would be Canada’s century. Although we endured two World Wars and the Great Depression, life in Canada certainly had a great deal to recommend it, especially in the second half of the century. Yet one U.S. expert tells his fellow citizens that Canada’s time is now. And American investors should be getting on board as fast as possible. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1148-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS January is winding down and so are all the forecasts for 2011. We’ll take one more look ahead. But not from this side of the Atlantic. We’ve had a satisfactory helping of North American forecasts. We’ll go to London to see how a leading British advisory views the coming year. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividends1147-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS The only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World that is still standing is the Great Pyramid of Giza. But it’s the eighth wonder we want today. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said that the eighth wonder of the world is compounding. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/dividend-stocks1146-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It’s better than it was, but it’s not the best of all possible worlds. Two and a half centuries ago, the French writer Voltaire satirized those who believed that “All was for the best in the best of all possible worlds,” even as war, famine and natural disaster raged around them. One U.S. advisory uses his words to assess the state of the economy and stock markets today. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/gold-stocks1142-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS We’re not quite finished with New Year’s previews. Every January brings its flurry of forecasts for the coming year, all of them interesting and some of them quite accurate (whether by fluke or by foresight we cannot say). But this one is less about the markets or the economy than it is about the individual investor. It’s a checklist of 12 steps you can take to monitor and improve your financial situation. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/Canadian-stocks1141-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS It sure is a New Year for income investing. Income trusts as we knew them are a thing of the past. For various reasons (usually to do with deep tax pools), some have yet to convert. And Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, don’t have to convert if they do the bulk of their business in Canada. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/income-stocks1140-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Oil is a hot topic again. A year ago, the price of oil wasn’t exactly in the dumps. It was around US$78 a barrel, not that far off this morning’s price of $91.11. Still, the price was moving sideways through most of 2010. Then in the fall, it made a sharp move upward. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/energy-stocks1139-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” That’s just as true of tall companies as it is of tall timber. As one U.S. advisory remarks, who didn’t hear the crash when Enron went down? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/large-cap-stocks1138-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS You’ve got $10,000 to do with as you please. Your roof’s not leaking, you’ve already set aside the money for your next vacation and you don’t need any new furniture or appliances. So you’re going to invest it. Where? http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/ETF1136-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS When it’s freezing outside, it’s not so easy to think of melting. Whenever the stock market starts going south, many commentators make menacing noises about a meltdown. But perhaps it’s due to heat up, or “melt up,” says one U.S. observer who knows a good deal about frigid temperatures and stock market trends. http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/news/blank/stock-market1135-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS