SKARBECK: Stocks that pay dividends can provide yield, safety
These are challenging times for savers who demand a high level of safety from their investments.
Ken Skarbeck
Articles
SKARBECK: Looking at stocks, 10 years at a time
During this century’s first decade, investors had to cope with the uncertainties surrounding 9/11; huge corporate failures
including Enron, Worldcom, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers; and volatility wrought by both the tech and housing
bubbles.
SKARBECK: What we need is a tax on stock transactions
The word “tax” tends to immediately raise the blood pressure of most Americans. And while the purpose of most
taxes is to raise revenue for the assessing government body, taxes can also be targeted toward changing individual and corporate
behavior.
HICKS: Short-term thinking won’t yield long-term payoffs
Macroeconomic forecasting is a tough â??science.â?? One may have the economy completely right, but that doesnâ??t mean it will make you any money as an investor.
SKARBECK: Even more investigations increase market cynicism
As if Wall Street needs another black eye, an expanding probe into insider trading threatens to elevate public cynicism
over whether there’s a level playing field in public markets and raise skepticism about the ability of regulators to
police them.
SKARBECK: Getting a good price hinges on stock’s value
Making investment decisions based on where a stock price has been in the past or betting on where it may go in the future is futile and foolish unless the investor has determined the value of the stock.
SKARBECK: Lenders still not serious about serious reform
The early signs point to meek efforts by the Obama administration to address gaping regulatory issues.
SKARBECK: Market a bright spot amid worrisome economy
The financial media have the corks ready to pop as the Dow Jones industrial average re-crosses what pundits claim is the â??psychologically importantâ?? 10,000 level.
SKARBECK: Trading in failed firms really isn’t ‘investing’
Who is “investing” in these stocks and why? It is safe to say they are not
investors who have done the exhaustive work of valuing the assets and liabilities, who then reached a conclusion that they
were getting good value for their money.
SKARBECK: Hedge fund superstars take it on the chin
Lauded as “masters of the universe,” the star investment managers overseeing the largest hedge funds built
huge expectations they couldn’t fulfill.
SKARBECK: Iceland offers case study of economy out of control
Nowhere else on the stage of global economics was financial boom and bust more surreally scripted than in the small isolated
country of Iceland.
SKARBECK: For numerous banks, times still troubling
Every Friday after the markets have closed, my e-mail starts getting dinged by the FDIC. That is when the government agency
publicly announces the names of banks that failed during the past week.
SKARBECK: Tax-haven crackdown starts getting serious
If you never got around to opening that Swiss bank account, you might want to wait a bit longer—at least until after
Sept. 23. That is the date the IRS has set for any tax-evading American to come forward regarding 52,000 accounts held at
Swiss banking giant UBS under a Voluntary Disclosure program.
SKARBECK: Growth of private trading should have us all worried
It is ironic that in the aftermath of the credit crunch, with investors calling for more market transparency from Wall Street,
opaque trading markets are thriving.
INVESTING: High-frequency trading comes under scrutiny
A developing case of technology theft has shed light on the proprietary systems Goldman Sachs and other investment firms
use to make millions of dollars. A 39-year-old former employee at Goldman has been accused of stealing computer
code used in the company’s high-frequency trading system.
SKARBECK: More reforms sought for target-date funds
Target-date mutual funds, a popular investment vehicle in 401(k) plans and college savings plans, have recently come under
scrutiny by Congress and regulators. Investors are in an uproar over the recent poor performance of funds nearing their target
date.
SKARBECK: Chrysler deal succeeded thanks to fed intervention
In the midst of the U.S. government’s plan to fast-track Chrysler through bankruptcy, Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock waged
a lonely and unpopular battle.
SKARBECK: Are bailouts creating a ‘moral hazard’?
Will individuals and institutions take excessive risks in the future, operating on the belief that the government will step
in to rescue them if they encounter problems?
Top investment minds weigh in on erratic market
In recent weeks, two of the planet’s most respected investment minds have weighed in with their thoughts on the state of the world’s financial affairs—Bill Gross at PIMCO in southern California and Jeremy Grantham of GMO LLC in Boston. It is always worthwhile to examine their thoughts and the logic behind them. As investor hopes […]
Data can be deceiving when the economy slows
Investors today are dealing with a variety of calculation problems when attempting to determine if stocks
are attractive values. Some of the more common ratios and statistical measures that investors regularly employ to value businesses
become skewed in an economic downturn.