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Oil States International: The Best Stock to Buy Now

January 5, 2011
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Last week’s New York Times had an interesting column by John Tierney, recounting the result of a five-year bet with Mathew R. Simmons, author of the book Twilight in the Desert; The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. In brief, five years ago, Mr. Simmons bet Mr. Tierney that over the course of 2010, oil prices would average at least $200 a barrel in 2005 dollars … up from $65 a barrel in 2005. Mr. Tierney took the other side of the bet, not because he had any particular knowledge of the oil industry, but because he...

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5 Reasons for Optimism

January 4, 2011
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5 Reasons for Optimism

For my first column of the New Year, I want to lead with a quick broad reminder of why, despite all the problems the media bombard you with daily, there are great reasons for optimism. 1. Americans are beginning to understand the enormity of the problem posed by our high levels of debt—a problem recognized is a problem half-solved—and they’re beginning to take steps to solve it. On the individual level, people are saving for major purchases, instead of just buying them on credit. At the state level, even the governors of both New York and Massachusetts—typically tax-and-spend Democrats—are...

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Stock Market Analysis Video: Focus on China

December 10, 2010
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In this week’s Stock Market Analysis Video, Cabot China & Emerging Markets Editor Paul Goodwin discussed the U.S. and Chinese markets. The U.S. market had a good week, but our China-Timer has turned negative after the government there announced that it would hike interest rates. Stocks discussed: Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Acme Paket, (APKT), VanceInfo Technologies (VIT), Ctrip.com (CTRP), Dangdang (DANG) and Youku.com (YOKU). Watch the video.

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Five Problems and Five Good Things

August 11, 2010
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On this day in 1974, Richard Nixon resigned as President of the U.S., to be replaced by Gerald Ford, who had replaced Spiro Agnew as Vice President after Agnew resigned amid criminal charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Thus Ford became the only U.S. President who was elected neither President nor Vice President, while Nixon, who was (and remains) the only person to be elected twice to both offices, became (and remains) the only President to resign! But at least one of Nixon’s greatest achievements has born wonderful fruit.  When Sino-Soviet relations began to deteriorate, Nixon saw the...

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The Decade in Verse

December 17, 2009
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Because the year and decade is winding to a close, and because I am more than just a studly stock picker (I also have a softer side that comes out around the holidays), here’s a poem I put together … a decade in review.  Hope you enjoy! When we review the decade past, Since Y2K came storming through, We see 10 years of trouble, which Boils still, like a witch’s brew. Truth, the decade’s been so rife With scams and major market troubles History should face the facts And call it just “The Age of Bubbles.” Bubble One (The...

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