Bargains are only bargains if they aren’t better bargains the following month. This is why we start this issue with coal and natural gas stocks. These are the key fuels for the Steady Eddie part of the economy, electric power generation. Read More

Now isn’t the time to speculate about the direction of crude oil prices. Instead, we need to focus on sustainability. Which market sector is most likely to make it if, or when, we head into recession? Read More

One of the better ways to get through a bear market is to focus on industries that keep the cash coming during boom as well as bust times. Read More

Yellow pages--those massive paper directories that show up on your doorstep every year--have been Americana since the late 19th century. In just nine short months, however, yellow page stocks have transformed from darlings to flea-bitten dogs. Read More

Though patience is in short supply when the market keeps swiping at us, better to hole up and hibernate a bit more than get mauled. Read More

A well-run company that dominates a growing market and pays superior dividends is almost always a good investment. As expected, Verizon Communications and rival AT&T dominated the Federal Communications Commission’s auction of US government airwaves. Read More

Although $100 crude oil consistently makes the headlines, few realize that US coal prices recently surged to a fresh high, as illustrated in the graph “Rex Carbonis” in Marketwatch.  Read More

This year’s Merrill Lynch survey of nearly 200 global fund managers made for some depressing reading. Among the fund managers, 42 percent reported that they’re holding an unusually large amount of cash. Read More

With few signs that the credit crunch afflicting domestic and foreign markets is abating, the past few issues of Personal Finance have highlighted a number of securities that are positioned to weather the bear market and, in some cases, even potentially thrive. Read More

The global warming camp gained another piece of ammunition in late March with the revelation that a large part of the Antarctic Wilkins Ice Shelf, spanning more than 415 square kilometers, is collapsing. Read More