Alan Greenspan is retiring at the end of January, after nearly 20 years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. Looking back at his tenure, can we draw any conclusions about what might lie ahead for the economy? Yes—especially if you believe, as we do, that history… Read More

Why, when, and what to buy   Over the long haul, small-cap stocks have outperformed the market—but they also have crashed and burned. Right now, selected small stocks—particularly those leveraged to energy prices—are ripe for purchase. For others, we’d wait until inflation picks up and valuations come… Read More

No longer just a big name, it’s now making real money   This issue we’re beefing up our stake in the Internet by adding one of the best-known names of all—Amazon.com—to our Growth Portfolio. We’re selling cable operator Comcast.   Amazon… Read More

Platinum and wind continue to pay off for income investors   It was a great first three quarters for our Income Portfolio, and several of our recommendations have moved through our price targets. Below we review some of these sterling performers and update some targets.  … Read More

Yes, large-cap funds are down—but it still makes sense to own one   Over the past five years—indeed, historically— small caps have outperformed big caps, by a significant margin (see p.1). But while in the years ahead selected groups of small-cap stocks should be strong performers,… Read More

Google, unlike InterActive, knows how to dominate   Legg Mason Value Trust, a blended large cap fund, has been a consistently strong performer. While its relatively high expenses have kept it out of FundFolio, we’ve been happy to glean ideas from its savvy manager Bill… Read More

To book a profit on this gigantic bookseller, sell it short   When we see a company that is facing competitive pressures, has a deteriorating growth profile, sports weak fundamentals and/or very high debt, and appears overpriced, we’re ready to grab it—as a short.  … Read More

They’re the best financial innovation in generations   For years, if investors wanted to gain a stake in a particular market sector without having to pick and choose among individual stocks, their only recourse was to buy an open-ended mutual fund. And the best funds, run… Read More

David Malpass: Bear Stearns’ Good News Bull   David Malpass, chief global economist at Bear Stearns, has an enviable knack for discerning good news where nearly everyone else sees only doom and gloom. He recently shared his optimistic outlook in a telephone conference moderated by Byron… Read More

This issue’s p.1 article discusses small-cap investing in the context of broad economic trends. In it, we recommend buying a few small caps for now—mainly energy companies—while going slow on others until conditions become more clearly favorable to small caps in general. This is sound advice for… Read More