Utilities, long a bastion of safety in down markets, have given up some ground since the start of the credit crisis. Sector losses, however, haven’t run as deep as the market at large. And if you owned preferred shares in some of nation’s best-run utility companies, you’ve probably fared even better. Read More

Despite all the attention and talk regarding the presidential candidates and the major campaign issues, there’s little analysis on how the election will affect the most important parts of the federal bureaucracy: US defense and intelligence circles. Read More

In the decades leading up to and following World War I, railroads played a leading role both in classic Hollywood films and off the set as the primary mode of long-distance transportation for both freight and passengers. Read More

US stocks rallied today, with investors gravitating towards beaten down shares of energy producers. Read More

US stocks tumbled today, with lower oil prices weighing heavily on shares of energy producers. The failure of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) to obtain a capital injection from Korea Development Bank likewise did little to buoy investor sentiment. Read More

With all the unfolding shenanigans--from stock analysts pimping companies they know aren’t worth the ink and paper used to report trades on your brokerage statements to hedge funds and prime brokers getting to play by different sets of rules--the market continues to get more and more dicey for the average stock investor. Read More

The three major US stock indexes posted rallied today, as the government’s seizure of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) sparked hope that the move would help calm the roiling global credit markets. Read More

With the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down double-digit percentages and foreign markets, currencies and commodities going south, Neil J. George--editor of Personal Finance and The Yield Letter--speaks on what's working now: bonds. Read More

Advantage Portfolio Holding Hercules Offshore (NSDQ: HERO) touched our recommended stop order today, so you should now be out of this position. Read More

The three major US stock indexes shrugged off record foreclosures and rising unemployment figures to finish the day with mixed results. Read More