by Rich Best After a rather tumultuous decade in which the overall performance of mutual funds is best described as anemic, we may be entering a period of redemption that could have investors smiling again. But the recent financial storm has left the waters somewhat murky, so, before jumping back into the water, investors should [...]
One of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips announced earnings today, pushing its share price up by 2.09% or $1.41 to $68.89 at 11:01AM Tuesday. The company saw an increase to its adjusted earnings to the tune of 79.6%, an increase in earnings to $8.8 billion compared to adjusted earnings in 2009 of $4.9 [...]
The Commerce Department released its latest new home sales data today, showing that sales have increased by 17.5% in December of 2010. The increase translates to 329,000 units annually, an important leading indicator for the economy. According to the report at Bloomberg, new home builders have reduced the new-home inventory levels to 6.9 months’ worth [...]
Amidst its efforts to rebuild its reputation, Toyota Motors Corp. issued a recall on 1.7 million vehicles. This latest recall will most definitely irk Toyota President Akio Toyoda who underlined his company’s goal of repairing Toyota’s reputation as a safe and reliable auto maker at the Detroit Auto Show. This latest recall will most certainly [...]
Amidst the sound of roaring stocks over the last few months, large cap equity income funds have remained somewhat muted, but they may garnering a closer look by skittish investors who may long for quality and stability in their portfolios . The stock market may be ebbing higher but the swells are changing direction and [...]
The Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller housing price report released Tuesday shows that housing prices continued their downward trend in November from October. As an average of the 20 cities surveyed by S&P/Case-Shiller Index, prices were shown to have dropped by an additional 1% with 19 of the 20 cities showing declines. The only city showing a [...]
As the markets touch highs they have not enjoys in several years, the skeptics and optimists alike are keeping a watchful eye on how some of the most popular companies are reporting their earnings. On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, one such company that is expected to announce earnings is Johnson and Johnson, one of the [...]
In its latest information on mutual fund flows for the month of December, Morningstar shows that the fixed income asset class is quickly falling out of favor among retail investors who are more inclined to take on risks and search for growth. The areas where investors are placing their fixed-income money do not included large [...]
Information posted on the FDIC website brings the total of bank failures for 2010 to seven. On Friday, January 21, 2010, the FDIC shuttered four additional financial institutions including the Bank of Asheville in Asheville, NC, United Western Bank in Denver, CO, CommunitySouth Bank and Trust in Easley, SC, and Enterprise Banking Company in McDonough, [...]
With the announcement of additional write-downs and Bank of America’s second straight quarterly loss, Bank of America leader, Brian T. Moynihan is facing a make or break year in 2011 as institutional investors turn up the heat and look for some serious stock price appreciation. Given the money that equity mutual funds have invested in [...]
With General Electric’s (GE) profit up 51%, it stands to reason that yet another feather has been added to the argument that this will be the year that large cap growth mutual funds enjoy tremendous returns. As a staple to many equity funds, GE’s results are more than just about how strong the company itself [...]
After the bell on Thursday, January 20, 2011, the Associated Press reported that Google‘s Eric Schmidt would be passing the reins of the company to co-founder Larry Page. Whether or not this change in management will prove positive or negative for the company remains to be seen, but we suspect that the long-term benefits will [...]
Still wondering where to invest? If our top mutual fund pick for 2011 (the Franklin Growth Fund) was not enough to get you started, consider that stocks and the equity funds that buy them remain extremely attractive. One of the most compelling reasons to start investing in equity funds is that investors face a very [...]
The recent drop in share prices of precious metal funds hasn’t yet muted the celebratory cheers of investors who rode the two-year rally to the top. But many are reevaluating their positions in the face of the increasing volatility of precious metals and some are joining in on the profit-taking that seems to be gaining [...]
A common request we receive at the Mutual Fund Site is one concerning value funds. And realistically, value investment funds offer an added cushion to the potential for long-term capital appreciation; cheap equity prices. Arguably the biggest challenge facing value investors concerns safety of capital, something that is never guaranteed but should at the very [...]
