Muni Bonds Are Still Boring But Really Cheap

Dec 01, 2008

Since the credit crisis began unfolding, many strange things have occurred in the fixed-income markets. Among the strangest has been the downturn of municipal bonds. High-grade municipals have long been considered reliable investments, but during...

The Price Is Right

Dec 01, 2008

Last month, as Wall Street was melting down and the global stock markets were crashing, I gave my parents some investing advice: I told them to invest in U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs). Talk about the strength of one's convictions: I...

Master Limited Partnerships: An Investment You May Have Overlooked

Nov 20, 2008

Equity investors are...

Master Limited Partnerships: An Investment You May Have Overlooked

Nov 20, 2008

Equity investors are finding that continuing increases in share prices are no longer something they can count on. As a result, many investors are taking refuge in income-oriented investments, such as bonds, utilities, and dividend paying corporate...

Retirement Roulette

Nov 01, 2008

Ever since brokers started swapping shares under that buttonwood tree in lower Manhattan, parallels have been drawn between Wall Street and the casino. Wall Street itself recognizes the similarities. Many proprietary trading firms, in fact...

Better Late Than Early

Nov 01, 2008

Talk about going from bad to worse. To optimistic insiders who bought shares of their own banking companies over the last 12 months, the stocks must have felt like falling knives. Indeed, the entire financial system seems to be falling apart so...

Expectation Control

Nov 01, 2008

I have a friend, a financial advisor, who keeps what he calls The Yell-At-Tom Index. (His name is Tom.) Interestingly, The Yell-At-Tom Index (TYAT) is low right now, he says. That's right. Despite the utter carnage in the equity markets, the...

Gurus: When It's Time To Buy, You Won't Want To

Nov 01, 2008

Steve Leuthold, the veteran chief investment officer of the Leuthold Group, is bullish. Why should you care? Leuthold, a curmudgeonly value manager who relies heavily on quantitative data (in addition to fundamentals), has posted a pretty solid...