Of the 215 utilities tracked in the How They Rate Table, only two energy, three telecom and four foreign-based companies reduced their distributions over the past year. Read More

Energy infrastructure may lack the panache of energy production. But it's a far-more-reliable road to wealth, particularly with $41 billion in new projects progressing in North America alone. Read More

Ill-conceived diversification has crippled dozens of utilities in past decades. That's why it's so encouraging when management sees the light before disaster strikes. Read More

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 200 points one day and down as much or more the next: That’s the very definition of a conviction-less stock market, which is right where we are now. Read More

One of my favorite investors to discuss markets with, my father, turns 85 years old today. His approach has always differed somewhat from my own: While I’m usually conservative to a fault, he often sets his eyes on big gains and has done quite well at it over the years. Read More

Last week, I accompanied a handful of adult leaders and three-dozen boys of varying ages to scout camp in the Virginia mountains. The first day’s weather was unexpectedly cool and rainy. As the week progressed, however, the days were increasingly hot and dusty. Not surprising, tempers rose accordingly, calming only with the oncoming chill of night and the eternal fascination of a raging campfire. Read More

“This is a mental recession,” not a real one, asserts former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm. The current advisor and co-chairman of Republican candidate John McCain’s presidential campaign went on to state: “We have sort of become a nation of whiners…complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.” Read More

In a bull market, success is measured by how fast and reliably your wealth builds. Bear markets have a somewhat different benchmark for performance: holding on to what you have. And that’s become increasingly difficult this summer. Read More

Utility averages are practically flat for the first half of 2008, an island of calm in an otherwise turbulent year. However, beneath the surface, divergences between companies are wide and deep. Read More

Everybody loves a winner. In fact, not letting go of gains from time to time is one of the prime mistakes investors make. Another is not being dispassionate about losers: letting emotion induce you to sell too soon or hold on too long. Read More