Taking Stock from Creators Syndicate

Big Three Bailout Should be Junked for 11/26/2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I think this $750 billion giveaway program is foolish. In fact, I find it hard to believe that the government is going to give the Big Three automakers $50 billion to pay assembly line workers $125,000 or more a year to make cars that get 13 miles per gallon. Have we lost our common sense? Is our government dense? Are we living in a new socialist regime? Or all of the above? I'm ...

Updated: Wed Nov 26, 2008

It's Time to Hedge Your Bets for 11/26/2008

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I have $166,000 to invest. Should I wait, or should I buy now? I'm 52 and will be a long-term investor. If you recommend buying now, what issues would you recommend? Please answer soon. — G.E., Harrisburg, Pa.

Dear G.E.: The consensus is that the Dow Jones industrial averages might have skidded within a few hundred points of the bottom in October, when it skirted th ...

Updated: Wed Nov 26, 2008

Insurers Foundering in Economic Ebb Tide for 12/03/2008

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Most insurance stocks are way down from their high prices of the last 12 months. Many are down 50 percent to 75 percent and are trading so low that I've got to believe most of them offer great opportunities for a long-term investor. Please give me the names of some of your favorites you would buy. I can invest about $12,000. Thank you. — S.L., Moline, Ill.

Dear S.L. ...

Updated: Wed Dec 03, 2008

Little to Cheer About at Yahoo! for 12/03/2008

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I own 2,000 shares of Yahoo! that I bought at $27. Now that the Google deal has fallen apart, Yahoo! is talking to Microsoft again. Yahoo! is also talking to Time Warner. I have two questions. What's the real reason Yahoo! didn't take the Microsoft offer? And do you think I should buy another 2,000 shares? I've also been watching AK Steel, which in August was trading in the $60s ...

Updated: Wed Dec 03, 2008

There's Money to be Made in Pills for 12/03/2008

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I would like to buy some drug company stocks. Do you still like Pfizer, which you recommended some months ago at $18? What is your opinion of Bristol-Myers Squibb? The shares are lower today than they were in 2001, when I owned 150 shares at $70. I'm also looking at Perrigo, which makes over-the-counter cough, cold, stomach, pain and other nonprescription medicines for drugstore ...

Updated: Wed Dec 03, 2008

Walgreens Drifting Off the Charts for 12/10/2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: How does Walgreens look to you if you were to chart the stock? Would a chartist tell you to buy, hold, or sell the stock? And, fundamentally, what do you think of Walgreens at this $25 price? Would you buy it, hold it or sell it? — W.R., Kankakee, Ill.

Dear W.R.: I'm not a chartist. But I admit to knowing a few of these dedicated, terribly strange, sorcerer-like, bi ...

Updated: Wed Dec 10, 2008

Your Better off Getting Economic Advice from a Shop Owner for 12/10/2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: The nation's economists recommend that the federal government invest huge amounts of money in the nation's banks so they will have money to lend. By January, the banking system will have more cash on hand than it's ever had. But it's not working because banks are still not making loans. At some point, the banks will have so much cash on hand they will be forced to lend it or suf ...

Updated: Wed Dec 10, 2008

Canadian Energy Stocks Losing Steam for 12/10/2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I would like to invest in a few high-yielding stocks with dividend yields better than 10 percent. My stockbroker recommended some Canadian energy stocks like Harvest Energy, Provident Energy Trust and Penn West Energy. Please comment on these issues. If you feel there are other issues to look at, I'd appreciate some recommendations from you. I know this is a tough market, but th ...

Updated: Wed Dec 10, 2008

Little Profit Seen in Suing Broker for 12/17/2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: My wife and I have Independent Retirement Accounts that combined are worth about $1.3 million. We're both 68 and still working because we like what we do. Each of us bought 1,000 shares of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brother's preferred stock in our IRAs and, as you know, they went belly-up. We bought them in the mid to high teens because our Merrill Lynch broker believed ...

Updated: Wed Dec 17, 2008

Today's Market is No Place to Find Stability for 12/17/2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: When do you think the market will stop moving up or down 300, 500 or 700 points in a single day? It's difficult to make any investment decisions because the market is so treacherous. I have nearly $137,000 to invest in stocks, but the huge swings in the Dow Jones industrial averages make me very uncertain. I also have $33,000 to invest in some very speculative high-yield funds w ...

Updated: Wed Dec 17, 2008

College Saving Plan Can't Make the Grade for 12/17/2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: We have a lovely 9-year-old daughter and we want to be sure there's enough money for her go to a college in eight years. A broker at Merrill Lynch, who told us about a 529 college saving plan, wants us to invest in a very good mutual fund that he believes will be worth a lot more in eight years than it is today. The presentation sounds very good to my wife and me, we're ready to ...

Updated: Wed Dec 17, 2008

Market Offers With Long-Term Potential for 12/24/2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Can you tell us where the bottom of the market is, and if now is a good time to invest? We have a lot of money to invest in the stock market for the long term, well actually for the rest of our lives, which should be at least 35 to 40 years. I don't want to own mutual funds, but I want to own a large portfolio of high-quality stocks that pay dividends and has good potential to i ...

Updated: Wed Dec 24, 2008

Time to Warm Up the Alphabet Soup for 12/24/2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Now that the government has put together a huge funding package making it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow more money, our economy should be back on track. With credit so much easier, how long do you think it will be before the stock market reacts to the easy credit atmosphere and begins to move up? — T.A., Durham, N.C.

Dear T.A.: I think it could be a ...

Updated: Wed Dec 24, 2008

Capitalism Thrives on Government Largesse for 12/24/2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I find it hard to believe that the government is tossing money around like ticker tape at a parade. At some point we, or our children will have to pay for the big mess created by Wall Street greed. Ordinary people like us have no choice in the matter and are forced to go with the flow. We get nothing out of this $750 billion giveaway and are forced to lump it or like it. It seem ...

Updated: Wed Dec 24, 2008

Business Comes First for Ratings Companies for 12/31/2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Our investment club has three questions. First, how is it that Standard & Poor's can give Fannie Mae an A rating and four weeks later it declares bankruptcy? Second, what is the next big concern in the stock market? Could it be a possible rise in the cost of oil, a huge federal deficit, or higher taxes? What do you anticipate? Third, all of us are older than 74, and all of u ...

Updated: Wed Dec 31, 2008

Deepwater Drilling Firm Stands Tall for 12/31/2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Which deepwater oil drilling company would you own? All of them are down significantly from their highs, but I just can't seem to make up my mind. One broker recommended Pride International Inc., another recommended Noble Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., but none appeal to me. I have $14,000 to invest, proceeds from the sale of Yahoo!, and I want aggressive growth. I sh ...

Updated: Wed Dec 31, 2008

Greenbacks Making a Strong Comeback for 12/31/2008

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: Will you tell my very skeptical colleagues and me why the dollar is rising against the euro and other foreign currencies. Considering the banking situation, our mortgage mess and other economic problems, it seems that the dollar should be declining — not rising. Yet the rise in the dollar so far has been unanticipated and significant. I can't explain the reason for the ris ...

Updated: Wed Dec 31, 2008

Financial Watchdog Looks More Like a Lapdog for 01/07/2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I lost about 70 percent of my retirement funds to Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme and I blame an organization called Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA. I was a broker in Cleveland, where I also read your column, for 32 years and retired here three years ago. Two years ago, I invested with Madoff because I believed his claims and corporate books had been given a cle ...

Updated: Wed Jan 07, 2009

Class-Action Suit Not Worth Filling Out the Paperwork for 01/07/2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I recently received a thick bunch of legal papers about a lawsuit against General Motors Corp., whose stock I owned a couple of years ago. It's a settlement of some kind, and I've been asked to complete a bunch of pages and return them to a claims administrator. I've tried to read all that stuff and none of it makes sense to me. The gobbledygook wording looks like it came from a ...

Updated: Wed Jan 07, 2009

Take a Pass on the Alphabet Soup for 01/07/2009

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Dear Mr. Berko: I've just retired and will convert my 401(k) into an independent retirement account. As you can imagine, quite a few advisers have solicited me. I have narrowed my search down to two people. Broker A is a young man of 38. He has many impressive credentials on his business card and stationery, such as CPA, C.S.C., C.S.S., C.S.A., C.S.F.P., M.B.A., Ph.D, and B.S. His stock market ...

Updated: Wed Jan 07, 2009