Why would a country about the size of Alabama with a population less than a third of California’s matter to you? Yet, the lowering of Greek’s sovereign debt rating to “junk” status on Tuesday drove world stock markets down by over 2%.

There was nothing boring about the world’s stock market this week. On any given day, you could find at least one market that was up or down at least 1% or more. Volume here at home has also picked up. I expect more of the same as investors continue to work off some of the [...]

Last week it appeared the markets were in for a rough period. Stock averages swooned on the news that Goldman Sachs was the target of a law suit by the government. At the same time, rumors of further problems with Greece’s finacial health were making investor’s jittery. The stock market had reached a critical level [...]

Aviation, probably more than any other mode of transportation, is at the mercy of weather and natural calamities. The Icelandic volcano-related troubles occurring over the skies of Europe right now illustrate that point, but this rather dramatic illustration is actually a minor blip in the airline’s ongoing battle with weather.

In case you missed it last week, my column ended with “My target for the S& P remains in a range of 1,200-1,235.” Thursday, the index hit 1,213.92, a new high for the year and just short of the mid-point of my target range. Friday morning’s bombshell announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing [...]

Every now and then the topic of replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency tends to hit the front page. The subject has come up yet again over the last few weeks largely prompted by a Chinese Central Bank proposal. The proposal by Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, would be [...]

While the three market indexes made respectable gains again this week, underneath those averages certain individual stocks are exploding upward. If you happen to own any of these “story stocks” you may be enjoying outsized capital gains that are leaving the indexes, mutual funds and ETFs in the dust.

Every day is Earth Day as far as the government is concerned, at least when it comes to converting America’s homesteads to green power. Energy efficiency makes sense from a bottom line point of view, whether you are a millionaire or just one of us working stiffs. Here’s why.

Short sales have gone from an obscure, last ditch method of unloading hard to sell foreclosed property to the Great White Hope for ending the housing crisis, all in one week.

In the financial services industry, most people don’t know the difference between a stock broker, insurance salesman, financial planner, advisor, consultant or wealth manager. That’s not an accident. Wall Street has spent a great deal of money and time confusing you on purpose. I believe in this age of confusion, misinformation and desire for honesty, [...]