First, let’s start with the obvious: This is unlike any market meltdown I’ve seen in my career. That includes the 1987 crash, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the 1993-94 utility deregulation scare, the 1997-98 Asian Crisis and the 2000-02 Great Bear Market and utility sector collapse. Read More

Poor Wall Street: No one’s job is safe as the financial sector continues to go through its most dramatic upheaval since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, the US Congress—hardly a popular institution itself—is heaping scorn on the institution’s alleged “fatcats,” as it debates measures to stanch the global financial panic. Even the Republican candidate for Vice President has put the Street on her enemies list, railing about “corruption” and “predatory practices” throughout last night’s debate. Read More

Congressional negotiators are back at it again, working on a plan to support the mortgage market that will win enough votes. The last attempt, of course, failed spectacularly yesterday, as House Republicans refused to offer more than a sliver of support, despite the pleas of President Bush. Democrats also walked away from the bill instead of taking all the political heat for supporting the unpopular bill. Read More

Good businesses are what I prefer to buy. That means stocks, bonds, preferred shares and other securities backed by healthy, growing companies, which are becoming more valuable over time. Read More

Cruel September: Even as hurricanes batter the Gulf Coast, Wall Street has been engulfed by its own perfect storm, as the debt crisis claims a growing list of victims. Read More

America’s utilities have been joining forces for more than a century. The pace has waxed and waned over the years. But no marriage of regulated essential service companies has ever failed, and every break in the action has eventually yielded to a new wave of deals. Read More

Buying and holding companies with growing businesses that pay dividends along the way: That’s the primary strategy of the Utility Forecaster Growth Portfolio. Read More

One of the surest ways to lose money investing is to sacrifice your own judgment for someone else’s. But it’s equally foolish to wholly disregard others’ views, particularly those of smart, ambitious people who spend their time focusing on our stocks. Read More

Since late June, energy prices have tumbled on fears of slowing global economic growth. That’s now put distributions of energy producing trusts at some risk. Read More

“The same way we rebuilt Japan and Germany, we need to rebuild our power infrastructure”: Those are the bold words of Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, and his company is on the move. Read More