By Dan Caplinger and Lauren Kuczala | More ArticlesMay 17, 2013 | Rates on bonds and bank CDs have plunged in recent years, leaving many investors struggling to find income. But one surprising bond investment has looked increasingly attractive for ordinary investors in the current rate environment. In the following video, Motley Fool investment planning editor Lauren Kuczala talks with longtime Fool contributor and financial planner Dan Caplinger about this interesting bond investment. In going into detail on these bonds, Dan notes the two main types available, and points out their … [Read more...]

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA  ) has to know that it's making a big mistake, but with NVIDIA stock approaching its summertime highs, maybe it's letting swagger get in the way of good judgment. NVIDIA is now taking pre-orders for its handheld gaming device for June delivery. NVIDIA Shield -- a high-end Android gaming system -- is hitting the market at a lousy time. NPD Group just reported on Thursday that video game hardware sales plunged 42% in April. The weakness stems primarily from the larger consoles as diehard gamers wait for new platforms to roll out later this year, but handhelds are also … [Read more...]

By Rich Smith | More ArticlesMay 17, 2013 | The New Zealand Ministry of Defence only just finished awarding a $120-million contract to buy 10 SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare helicopters from Kaman Corporation (NYSE: KAMN  ) a week ago, but already the MoD is busy planning out its next series of acquisitions. On Thursday, the MoD published its Statement of Intent describing the island nation's key defense objectives over the next three years. Among other subjects, the MoD described it will be upgrading combat systems aboard New Zealand's ANZAC-class frigates, … [Read more...]

Next Tuesday can't come soon enough for the video game industry. Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) highly anticipated unveiling of the new Xbox gaming console comes at a desperate time, with die-hard gamers dramatically scaling back on their purchases. Industry tracker NPD Group put out its monthly retail sales data last night. It wasn't pretty. Sales plunged 25% last month when pitted against April of last year. These sharp declines have been routine for three years. The Xbox 360 may continue to be the country's best-selling console -- it's been that way for 21 months in a row -- but it's a … [Read more...]

NEW YORK (ETF Expert) -- Extraordinary rallies off bear market bottoms are typical. Bullish run-ups in March 2003 and March 2009 registered enviable unrealized gains of 35% and 65% respectively; each advance experienced little resistance for roughly nine to 10 months. Powerful moves off minor corrections are less typical, if not downright suspicious. Since mid-November, investors in the S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY) have witnessed a soothing 22% ride to all-time highs. In the last quarter century, you could probably count the number of times on your hand when U.S. stocks traveled a similar … [Read more...]

LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) may open up by 0.3% this morning, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) may also open 0.3% higher. European markets moved higher this morning, with banks and natural-resources firms among the gainers. European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Peugeot also rose following a report showing that new-car sales in the eurozone rose in April for the first time since September 2011. Surprisingly, one of the top three gainers was Spain, where new-car sales rose by 10.8% in April … [Read more...]

By Taylor Muckerman | More ArticlesMay 17, 2013 | For investors looking for potentially booming growth stocks, the renewable energy space is certainly a direction to look. However, the obvious risks involved with these companies have kept some investors at bay. Two companies that have really been firing on all cylinders lately are SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR  ) and Solazyme (NASDAQ: SZYM  ) .  Operating in two completely separate markets, both companies are attempting to help revolutionize the way we look at energy and fossil fuel use. SunPower has been successfully targeting the solar power … [Read more...]

By Anders Bylund | More ArticlesMay 17, 2013 | Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) took a break from shooting itself in the foot to announce some much-needed updates to the Windows 8 operating system. Windows division CMO and CFO Tami Reller took pains to explain that the company must have a point of view and basically stick to its guns. Microsoft is trying to revive the flagging PC market by making desktops more like tablets, but isn't that a completely backwards strategy? The company touts 1.3 billion global customers, all of whom expect a certain experience on their traditional computer systems. … [Read more...]

By Anders Bylund | More ArticlesMay 16, 2013 | You can't discuss smartphones and tablets without coming back to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Samsung. The two giants are crushing the mobile market with impunity, owning about half of the world's device sales between them (not to mention all of the mobile profits). But why should investors bother to look at market share figures? Isn't the mobile industry big enough for the two of these dueling cowboys -- and more besides? In this video, Fool contributor Anders Bylund explains why market share matters, but maybe not for the reasons you thought. … [Read more...]