Taking Stock from Creators Syndicate

Stolen Wallet Leads to a Huge Headache for 02/15/2012

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: My wallet was stolen a year ago, and most folks have no idea what a job it has been to get my life back in order.

The credit agencies have me listed as a bum, even though I pay all my real bills, and I still get calls from vendors who accepted my stolen cards. I now have four driving permits in four different states, and I have a speeding ticket in New Jersey in my name, ...

Updated: Wed Feb 15, 2012

Kick That Broker to the Curb for 02/15/2012

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: We are 74 and 76. We've used the same broker since early 2002, and our account, which was worth $765,000 back then, is barely worth $705,000 today.

Our mutual funds haven't done well, and we've lost money in various unit trusts. Our two variable annuities are barely even. While our utility issues and our few tech issues have done well, our drug stocks and real estate inve ...

Updated: Wed Feb 15, 2012

Would the Real Malcolm Berko Please Stand up? for 02/15/2012

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: What stock exchange firm do you work for? Is it true that you accumulate a big holding of a stock for all of your clients and then write good things about that stock in your newspaper column so that millions of investors will read about the stock? And when all these people who read about the stock think it's good, they buy the stock and push it up to a much higher price than wha ...

Updated: Wed Feb 15, 2012

Natural Gas Firm Looking Like a ‘Buy' for 02/08/2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: A long-time friend of mine (name omitted) who says he knows you well has had some good successes in the market during the past six years buying oil and gas limited partnerships, high-yielding convertibles and preferreds. He just recommended that I buy 200 shares of Regency Energy Partners for my joint account; he says it'll give me above-average income and "decent long-term ...

Updated: Wed Feb 08, 2012

Rosy-Eyed Washington Projections Should Be Taken With Caution for 02/08/2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: My only stock market investment is $207,000 in several Fidelity mutual funds, which are in my company retirement plan. I'm 56 and single. I earn a decent living and have almost zero debt. Both of my children are living away from home.

A broker who has become a friend is so excited and bullish on the stock market for 2012 that it's become infectious, and I've become a 90 p ...

Updated: Wed Feb 08, 2012

Money Laundering: A Delicate, Dangerous Art for 02/08/2012

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: A friend of mine is going to sell a building he's owned for years at a very large profit, and the tax bite, according to one accountant, will be almost $120,000. A New York City lawyer and CPA he consulted said he could avoid these taxes with an impossible-to-detect series of electronic commodity money transactions.

Can you tell me how this works and how safe it is? They ...

Updated: Wed Feb 08, 2012

Home Builders May Be on the Rebound for 02/01/2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I think the home building stocks will come back a lot sooner than expected. In fact, I think that home building stock prices have hit bottom. My broker tells me that his firm is neutral on the industry and can't recommend any stock to me unless it's on his firm's "buy" list.

I took some good profits in late 2006, when you put the kibosh on home building stocks, ...

Updated: Wed Feb 01, 2012

Bucolic Banks Beat Bumbling Behemoths for 02/01/2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: The big New York money center bank stocks look like they may be selling at attractive prices. I have about $43,000 in my brokerage money market account that my broker thinks I should invest in Citigroup, Bank of New York, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. I would like to have your advice on this. — SA, Kankakee, Ill.

Dear SA: Now, that's a v ...

Updated: Wed Feb 01, 2012

Bank of America Too Big for Its Britches for 02/01/2012

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I'd like to buy 3,000 shares of Bank of America for a long-term investment. Please give me your opinion on this stock. If you don't like it, would you recommend another bank or banks that I can invest in for a three- to five-year time frame? — ME, Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

Dear ME: I don't like Bank of America (BAC-$7.37). I never did and never will. Nor do I like its ...

Updated: Wed Feb 01, 2012

Mystery Checks and Big-Box Bets for 01/25/2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I recently got a check for $23.46 from Wexford Clearing Services concerning a Bank of America Fair Fund and MFS Emerging Growth Fund. I called Bank of America, wasted over 35 minutes on hold, and after being transferred to various people in various departments, I still don't have any idea why they sent me this check or how they decided $23.46 was the right amount to send to me.< ...

Updated: Wed Jan 25, 2012

Look to the Great White North for Good Bank Stock Prospects for 01/25/2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I have $16,000 to invest in my IRA, and my broker has recommended that I buy Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Bank of New York. He believes these five banks have "very attractive two- to three-year appreciation potential" and that my investment could triple in the coming three years.

Please tell me what you think of this investment. Or perha ...

Updated: Wed Jan 25, 2012

The Parable of Alabama Earl's Inadvertent Long-Term Investment for 01/25/2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I am 38 and married with an IRA worth $337,000, and I can save more than $1,500 a month. I've had some extremely good luck playing the market this year because I made a bunch of short-term trades that gave me sleepless nights, but some divine guidance made most of them work out.

I want to have $6 million in the bank by the time I retire at age 60, but I don't have the sto ...

Updated: Wed Jan 25, 2012

Takeover Candidates May Make Good Health Care Investments for 01/18/2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: What do you think of the health insurance industry? Are there any good stocks in this area that you think will move higher during the next year? I'm 59. My 401(k) is down 40 percent from 2007, and I'm trying to be smartly aggressive to make up this loss. If you think the health care insurance industry is green to go, please recommend some issues. I have $29,000 in cash looking f ...

Updated: Wed Jan 18, 2012

Exchange-Traded Funds Still Useless Trash for 01/18/2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: A broker wants me to sell my 600 shares of General Electric (I have a $3,000 loss) and invest in some exchange-traded funds. One ETF he likes is the MSCI Kokusai, which is very diversified because it invests money in stocks of 22 different companies. The broker believes that using ETFs, he can build a portfolio that will appreciate 8 to 12 percent annually during the coming 10 y ...

Updated: Wed Jan 18, 2012

Preferred Issues for the Discriminating Investor for 01/18/2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: We have $30,000 in our joint account that we want to invest in a few issues that will pay us between 9 and 12 percent for the next few years. We know this is risky, but if we used some bonds or preferred issues rather than common stock, the principle and dividends will be safer. We're in our 70s, our kids and grandkids are taken care of and we can afford moderate risk. Our broke ...

Updated: Wed Jan 18, 2012

Wide-Eyed and Desperate in Blue Eye for 01/11/2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I would like buy 5,000 shares of Alcatel-Lucent. Please give me your thoughts. Also, is there any clear way for you to explain the bailout process of the troubled European countries without going into all those fancy banking terms that none of us understands? — WP: Troy, Mich.

Dear WP: Blue Eye, Ark., halfway between Table Rock and Oakville, sits at the junction bet ...

Updated: Wed Jan 11, 2012

Buying American Airlines Stock Akin to Waiting for Godot for 01/11/2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Some people are buying 10,000; 25,000; or more shares of American Airlines at 45 cents to 55 cents a share because they think it will recover when American comes out of bankruptcy. If not, then they figure the stock can go up to at least $1, and they can double their money.

What do you think of me buying 20,000 shares at 50 cents and selling it if the company comes out of ...

Updated: Wed Jan 11, 2012

Tread Carefully and Do the Math When Looking at REITs for 01/11/2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I am considering the purchase of $6,000 in Chimera stock and $6,000 worth of American Capital Agency stock, both of which pay dividends that yield 19 percent. How do these companies (there are others, too, with similar high yields) get such big returns when interest rates are so low?

Please tell me the risks involved here and if there are any ways to limit my risk. I'm pr ...

Updated: Wed Jan 11, 2012

Sweeping Our Fiscal Problems Under a Very Large Rug for 01/04/2012

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: What is your opinion about reducing the payroll tax to stimulate the economy? Is this a stroke of brilliance on part of the administration to put more spendable money in the consumer's pocket? Will it prevent as much borrowing and increasing of the national debt? It certainly will increase consumer spending. Do you think the reduction from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent is a good id ...

Updated: Wed Jan 04, 2012

Sweeping Our Fiscal Problems Under a Very Large Rug for 01/04/2012

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800