bull market bear market, 2011-12-23

---

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Stock prices are drifting upwards and volatility is declining as the holidays near. So, here's a year-end reminder -- and a bold hope for 2012...... ConocoPhillips Wins Dividend Battle Vs. Chevron, Exxon Restructuring, including spinning off refining operations and selling Lukoil has allowed ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to increase profitability...... Protect Your Portfolio From Wall Street Tricks Here are several common ways investors can be hoodwinked -- and how you can prevent that from happening. ..... Dominion Is a Great Investment for Conservative Investors Regulated utilities companies like Dominion (NYSE:D) usually offer more security for dividend investors. They have never cut their dividend...... Find Big Option Premiums in This Top Emerging Market Economic growth in 2012 will be minimal in the United States, non-existent in Europe and slowing in China, from the looks of current data. However, one place we see a big potential for growth is Brazi..... 10 Worst Countries for Tax Evasion The U.S. tops the list -- but it's more complicated than that. It's more a function of how big America's economy is. Still, the problem is huge...... How to Profit From Oil’s Likely Rise in 2012 Forecasting oil prices is a crapshoot, but one company -- Brazil's Petrobras -- could do well no matter happens in Europe and the global economy. ..... Intel Chipped By Shrinking Demand Thai flooding this summer certainly made a dent in Intel's business this year, but there have been several indications that PC sales were slowing before that...... Readers’ Choice: Top Market Stories of 2011 The votes are in. Here's how InvestorPlace.com readers ranked the year's biggest market-moving news headlines of 2011...... What We Can Realistically Expect From the Market’s Latest Buy Signal Resistance lines are seldom broken on low-volume, pre-holiday sessions. Here's when they'll most likely break...... Regional Banks Coming Back to Life The SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF broke its long-term downtrend yesterday. ..... How Does Sony’s ‘Super Phone’ Stack Up? Sony's newest entry to the Xperia line of smartphones will include a powerful camera and be built for 4G use. Here's how it compares to the competition...... Thursday Apple Rumors: German Judge Has Had It With Apple German judge snaps after Apple's latest injunction against Samsung. Also, a leaked memo says Gannett is stockpiling iPhones, iPads for its employees...... BT Group Proves Its Worth to American Dividend Investors With a 5.6% average dividend yield over the past five years, BT has proven it can reward income investors. But those payments will come a little erratically. ..... Congress Ends 2011 Mired in Gridlock But there's hope -- slim as it is -- that 2012 can bring results, if the hyper-conservative GOP House members realize what Americans really want...... Yahoo’s Parts Are Worth More Than Its Sum As the company mulls the sale of its Asian assets, its core operations are likely undervalued...... Precious Metals, Miners Lower as Jobless Claims Hit 44-Month Low Gold and silver were off just less than 1% in Thursday morning trading, and mining shares were broadly lower as well...... 6 Retailers on the Ups Picking retail stocks during a recession is a difficult prospect. Here's six retailers from all walks of business that have performed well and could go further...... Toyota in the Comeback Driver’s Seat for 2012 Toyota is projected to drop from No. 1 to No. 3 in global sales this year, but ambitious plans could propel TM back to the top spot...... 4 Trucking Stocks That Will Keep Rolling Next year won't be perfect, but two trends -- a pickup in manufacturing and lean inventories at retailers -- offer promise for the right stocks...... The Case Against Arthur Sulzberger at The New York Times His record as chairman since 1997 has been terrible for shareholders. NYT needs new blood as a leader , someone like Ford's Alan Mulally...... Valero Fuels up for an Early 2012 Run Expect VLO to move back toward the 200-day moving average of $24.50 by June expiration. Get the trade...... Dividend Stock AmBev Is Mightier Than the King of Beers With AmBev, you're investing in the higher-growth subsidiary of the largest brewing company in the world...... Walgreen Not Sweating Loss of Express Scripts Customers to CVS — Should It Be? CVS says it could gobble up to 23M prescriptions that Walgreens has sold through Express Scripts if a deal isn't announced. So far, WAG is sticking to its guns...... Fade the Gold Pop With GLD Options The rally in GLD may continue for a few more days before a new wave of selling takes hold. .....

Why Dividend Darlings Will Burn You in 2012 Two sectors sucked in conservative investors in 2011, but dividend chasers should beware these groups next year......     Make Money Practically Every Time You Take Out the Trash In today’s uncertain market, there is one certainty – Americans will generate lots of garbage in 2012. ..... Rogue Traders: Not as Rare as You Think It's only when their "unauthorized" bets go bad that they make news. Otherwise, what the so-called rogues do is business as usual...... Find Gold in Dividend-Linked Miners If you believe in gold's ability to recover, miners that link their dividends to the yellow metal's price represent an enticing long-term opportunity...... 5 Aerospace and Defense Stocks to Buy Even as the troops have officially left Iraq, companies like Boeing and Lockheed are still receiving contracts and adding muscle...... 6 Clothing and Accessories Stocks to Buy The retail sector moves at the slightest hint of market volatility. However, 2011 has been forgiving for clothing and accessory stocks like Coach...... Blame Bargains for Best Buy’s Demise Best Buy's problem isn't unique among retailers -- businesses need sales to bring in price-conscious consumers, but their revenues are getting killed...... 5 Stocks Doomed to Disappear in 2012 These toxic companies bombed in 2011, and they're likely to be bought out -- or fall off the face of the earth entirely -- in the next 365 days. Watch these five vanish...... When You Should Decide to Turn Bullish Stocks will more than likely continue to trade sideways until the big money enters the market. Here's when you can expect the momentum indicator to turn positive...... IBM No Longer Overpriced – Buy Now IBM has corrected to our buy point. See our trading target for the stock...... Oracle Decks Techs — Wednesday’s IP Market Recap The software giant's first earnings miss in a decade didn't go over well...... 10 Best Last-Minute Deals for Christmas 2011 From a Victoria's Secret sweater dress to a Nikon camera bundle, here are 10 great last-minute deals for the hurried and harried shopper. ..... 5 Cruise and Car Stocks to Sell Cruises and new cars are becoming too luxurious for the recession-weary investor not lucky enough to win a showcase showdown on the Price Is Right...... 5 Energy Equipment Stocks to Sell The energy sector is predicted to rapidly grow in 2012, which cannot come any sooner for depleted energy equipment stocks such as Transocean (NYSE:RIG)...... ECB’s Loans Will Do Little to Fix Europe Itself Banks might have gained liquidity, but is it prudent for them to turn around and buy indebted countries' shaky government bonds?..... Wednesday Apple Rumors: Tapping China The company is seeing surging growth in app store revenue from the world's most populous country...... 7 Specialty Retail Stocks to Sell The recent holiday cheer on Wall Street and record-setting holiday shopping hasn't stopped some specialty retail stores from singing the Christmas blues...... Ariad Pharmaceuticals Still Might Have Upside Ariad Pharmaceuticals is up 120% in the past 12 months, mostly fueled on optimism over its trial leukemia treatment. But some analysts think the ceiling is higher...... A Lesson About Greed From MF Global MF Global is a shining example of how investors -- even sophisticated folks -- can be suckered into some very bad investments by the promise of outsized riches. Here's why the firm's collapse matters ..... Gold, Silver Lower as Banks Flock to Borrow ECB Money Eldorado Gold, Pan American Silver were among a few gainers going against the grain of downward-moving metal prices, miners Wednesday morning...... Beware of the Falling VIX in December December's VIX performance is notoriously unreliable and prone to reversal. It may actually be a contrary indicator for the broader market...... Oracle Sounds Another Warning Bell for Tech Sector The stock took a big hit after missing earnings estimates, causing investors to grow more wary of the tech sector...... Emerging-Market Opportunists: Tell the BRICs to Hit the Bricks The world's top investors are finding opportunities in emerging markets other than the BRICs. Mark Mobius and others are investing millions in MINTs and VISTA...... Pair of Asset Managers Poised for a Rebound Asset managers' stocks have been whittled away this past year, but Invesco and Ameriprise are setting themselves up to reverse the trend...... Amgen CEO Resigns, Stock Perks Up The CEO may be leaving in May, but the returns are starting right now in AMGN options.....