Jason and Frank both purchased 100 share positions in Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) after its share price dropped 11% because of lower-than-expected earnings guidance. I wanted to chime in on my assessment of the company, and share why I think now is not the time to buy. Let’s look at the company as...

Investing can be tough some times. Wouldn't it be great if you just won the lottery? Man, that would set you for life. Seriously. Now, we're not suggesting you run to the closest mini-mart with your life savings. The odds of winning the Big Game (a multi-state lottery open to adults in...

Let’s briefly talk about two indicators, ROC and Equity Growth, that are useful when looking at the strength of a company. Both these tools, used by Warren Buffett, demonstrate how fast a company can grow the money it has to invest in itself. Return on Capital (ROC) There’s been a lot written...

Recently one of our readers sent us an email asking us how to invest in a foreign company. Below you'll find their oringinal question, and a tidier version of my response to it. Which contains a bit more information than when I first responded. Simple questions: If I found a company (Australia's...

The Washington Post announced the Post 200 today. You can find it here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/post200

With the Enron trial featuring prominently in the news, we're all reminded of the corporate governance issues that have recently faced the economy. It's refreshing to see a company take a new approach to how it runs its business. In this case Progressive has changed how it distributes dividends....

Some of you may know that I play a little poker and that I used to play a lot of poker. Actually, my first trade (SIRI back in September of 2004) was funded using money I won playing poker. What can I say; gambling is in my blood. Of course my favorite forms of gambling are the kinds where I can...

After the recent release of Phil Town’s book, Rule #1 (review), many people seem to be asking about “the arrows.” What are these mysterious arrows anyway? And can you make money just by using them? Arrows are simply a visual way to show a chart reader that a key statistic has generated a buy or a...

One of the things that really drew me into the blogosphere was the community that develops within networks of blogs. You become friends, share ideas, and help spread the word on great posts that are timely and informative. I spent a good deal of time over the weekend sniffing out other blogs in...

There is a rapidly growing online community of online investors. But, despite the critical mass we are obtaining, our community is still in need of a central hub for exchanging ideas, nurturing new investors, and venting frustrations. Yahoo!'s investing forums are probably the most active, but...