The funny thing about pessimism is that once it takes hold, investors assume that it will last forever. The stock market exhibits these same human tendencies in a bear market. Pessimism never seems to end… except that it almost always does! That's why the best investors, like Richard Band, keep an even keel no matter the situation.

Does anyone else wonder what would have happened had the Federal Reserve not bailed out Bear Stearns? If you believe the propaganda, we very well may have avoided financial Armageddon. But is that really true? As a die hard free market guy, the intervention bothers me at a base level. But, for those investors who manage their portfolios with ETFs, the Bear Stearns bailout provides the "all clear."

Given that the global economy depends on fossil fuels, anything that replaces oil will be quite huge. It is really cut and dry. That's why the solar sector has drawn so much interest. Hey, the sun will be here for billions of years. No worry about supply and no worry about waste. The sun burns clean and the conversion to energy leaves no smokey mess. So why in the world are solar stocks getting pummeled in the market?

It may seem counterintuitive, but investment banks are rolling in the dough. Despite the massive write downs of sub-prime mortgage losses trading desks are making big dollars due to high volumes and volatility. If you think of your own portfolio as a mini-investment bank, you can do the same. Here's how.

As we all know, every major Wall Street investment banks have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis. But what many investors don't realize is that many of these firms had to be bailed out by Sovereign Wealth Funds form China and other Asian countries. Here's what they do and how they bailed out U.S. Banks.

At a time when investor uncertainty is high, individuals considering throwing in the towel may be better served by letting someone else steer the ship! They can't. That's why now is the perfect time to augment your portfolio with mutual funds. And a good place to start is Dan Wiener's The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors.

As I write this missive, the global markets are selling off in the wake of the Bear Stearns implosion. Remarkably the U.S. market is not following suit, well at least not yet. Could the markets be any more uncertain? I think not. So, what is an investor to do in this crazy environment? Ride the rails!

I'm really happy for those Wall Street fat cats that have been saved once again by our philanthropic Federal Reserve, but the recently announced bailout will do nothing to help Main Street. In fact, one could make a serious argument that the emergency action to infuse $200 billion of liquidity into the credit market will only make things worse for the average investor. While the market rallied (can anyone say DEAD CAT BOUNCE?) after the news, oil prices continued their ascent. We hit $110 per barrel and that price will hit you and me right where we can least afford it. If you are not up in arms about all of this you should be! The government is being run by a bunch of dopes that want to steal your money. Here's what you should do now.

Are you ready to ride the green wave? No, I'm not talking about Tulane! This green wave is all about alternative energy and the companies that help our society move away from the choking effects of carbon burning. Green has always been the color of money. And this clean energy stock will be rolling in it in no time!

We all know that the market is inefficient. At any moment in time we can find specific stock stories that can be exploited for short term profits. That's the theory behind Jon Markman's StrataGem portfolio offered in his top performing Strategic Advantage newsletter service. In March, his selection of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) caught my eye. Here's why...

The market takes no prisoners at times like this. As a result, some really good companies are being thrown out with the bath water. Take for example defensive play, Yum Brands (Symbol: YUM), the company that operates various restaurants, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Since reaching a high of $40.60 in November, shares have dropped by 13%. Some reward at a time when the company actually raised guidance for 2008 from $1.82 per share to $1.85 per share. So, what gives?

By now investors should know that most Bull Market periods will end with a blow-off rally pushing valuations to unsustainable levels. When reality returns, and the business cycle ends, those stocks that have benefited from the rally tend to fall the hardest.

Richard Young recommended McDonald's (MCD) in his Intelligence Report when the stock was out of favor and struggling. Today, I suspect Mr. Young is looking long and hard at Starbucks (SBUX) as a possible related speculation. Why? Because the similarities are striking. They are both former growth stories that hit bumps in the road losing focus, customers, sales and ultimately market value. The difference is that MCD recovered after a long and painful process of redefining itself and its image. Will SBUX do the same?

With the major U.S. indexes closing another week with a loss, many are wondering if the bottom is near and if it's time to start buying again. The good news is that things are looking up for investors who are trying to capitalize on China stocks.

Shares of foam rubber shoe maker Crocs, Inc. (CROX) nosedived yesterday after reporting record 4th quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday. If Trending 123's, John Lansing was bullish on the stock under $33 per share, he must be jumping up and down in his CROX

Urban legend has it that the original color of Coca Cola was green. An interesting tale for certain, but not possible when you consider that the original formula called for caramel to give the drink its dark brown color. This week, shareholders of Coca Cola were seeing green. The company blew by estimates for the fourth quarter reporting sales of $7.3 billion versus consensus estimates of $7.0 billion.

It's no surprise that everyone is wondering when the current market volatility will end. I don't blame anyone for asking this question. Just in January, we experienced 16 days in which the Dow jumped up or sold off more than 100 points. This is bad enough, but when you take into consideration that there were only 21 trading days in the month, the picture gets a bit more frightening.

Jamie Dlugosch, Executive Editor for InvestorPlace, talks about Microsoft's unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo and what that says about the troika in search—Google, Yahoo and Microsoft! You won’t want to miss a word on these important developments.