Ever think that if you were able to count all the customers who walked into a store that you might be able to do pretty well investing in its stock?  Turns out that you can–sort of.  Check out Alexa.com. Alexa is an authoritative web site for Internet traffic ranking.  You can go to Alexa...
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It was Tuesday, August 17, 1982, and I can still remember hearing the radio report that day that famed economist Henry Kaufman, dubbed by the press as Dr. Doom,1 had issued a statement that interest rates would fall.  The market surged from 792 to 831, a one-day 4.9% gain.2 This was arguably the day...
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It seems crazy.  Don’t save and spend more than you earn, year after year.  Not a good way to run a household or a business.  But running a country?  Maybe it’s not so bad. There’s an economic term here central to understanding the issue:  the “real rate of interest.”  This refers not to the...
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In July 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it was canceling the “Uptick Rule,” a cost-free protection that had been in place for almost 70 years.  Installed in 1938 as the United States was emerging from the Great Depression, the rule protected the stock market from “bear raids” by short sellers...
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Looking for a stock that will perform when the recovery hits?  Take a look at Ford ($3.25 closing price on April 3, 2009).  It may seem surprising given the turmoil of the U.S. auto industry, but consider the following to start: •    It is now clear that Ford’s financial condition is materially different from...
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