If short-selling has intrigued but also intimidated you, read on   THE BASICS   When you buy a stock outright, your goal is to buy low and sell high. Simple.   When you sell a stock short, you want to do the same thing—just in… Read More

The market was clearly overdue for a reaction. But the fact that its mid-March slide followed the tragic bombings in Spain is a stark reminder of the world’s continuing vulnerability to out-of-the-blue events.   Still, with monetary, economic, and technical conditions remaining upbeat, we’re not abandoning… Read More

As tech products come down in price, investors need to get a lot pickier   The chart below graphically presents the dilemma you face when it comes to investing in tech. Depicting the role information technology has played in the economy over the past eight years,… Read More

They have found ways to control pricing and keep profits flowing   First, some recent quarterly results. We don’t plan on getting complacent, but nearly all our Growth Portfolio picks came through with earnings in line with or better than expectations. The worst miss came from… Read More

With REITs turning a bit frothy, we’re selling CBL Properties   With yearend earnings in for all our holdings, this is a good time to review our portfolio. We’re making one sale—a REIT, thereby lightening our overall exposure to this area—and everything else remains a buy. Read More

A utilities index fund that will gain as natural gas prices rise   With interest rates at rock-bottom levels, it has been a tough slog for mutual fund investors interested in income. Pure fixed-income funds are a disheartening prospect and won’t appreciate much even when the… Read More

A picture-perfect outlook for a maker of digital camera chips   The fund family that includes Bjurgman, Barry Microcap fund, which was sold this issue from FundFolio, recently launched a new, more general, fund. Called Bjurgman, Barry All Cap Growth fund (BACFX),… Read More

It carves out a niche in the burgeoning pharmacy management area   Editor’s note: Our Fast Track portfolio, launched by Kevin Casey, is now under the aegis of Genia Turanova, assisted, for the time being, by me. SL     First, a review of some… Read More

Homebuilders are shedding their cyclical qualities and becoming growth plays   Sometimes Wall Street is slow on the uptake. And that’s good for quick-witted investors, who can scoop up undervalued sectors under the radar.   Case in point: homebuilders. Wall Street persists in viewing homebuilders… Read More

Warren Buffett: He’s No Donald Trump   Berkshire Hathaway—a longstanding member of our Growth Portfolio—recently released its latest annual report. It’s written in plain, straightforward prose and clearly reflects the thinking of Berkshire chairman Warren Buffett. Buffett, of course, is widely acknowledged to be the greatest… Read More