By Keith Fitz-Gerald Investment Director Money Morning/The Money Map Report One of the things people don’t understand about buying gold for diversification is that it doesn’t work all the time. It works over time. That means that you can’t simply switch from one asset class to another when the going gets tough and expect miracles. Nor can you expect higher returns. And that’s the really cruel part. Many so-called alternative investments, gold being the most notable, are being sold right now on the basis of recent high returns to salivating investors desperate to stop the bleeding in their portfolios. No question, the yellow metal offers diversification; but near all time highs, its “protection” is debatable at best, when viewed against the harsh light of historical data. Which is why, at the risk of receiving some very testy email, we have to point out that if you bought ...

Think your stocks are doing bad? Try the best steakhouses in the country, in the last year Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUTH) shares have fallen 70% and Morton's Restaurant Group, Inc. (NYSE:MRT) is down 64%. Beef. It's what people don't want to pay for when out for dinner. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant ...

by James Hamilton Could the phenomenal growth train get derailed? I remember my colleague Clive Granger telling me over a year ago about the conversations he had with people when traveling China. Everyone he spoke with seemed to believe that (1) the Chinese stock market was at that time experiencing a bubble that was going to burst, and (2) the crash would not come until after the 2008 Olympics. Clive expressed amusement that no one seemed to have worked backwards from this presumed equilibrium-- if you know the market is going to crash in August 2008, anybody with any sense would sell in July. And if there's heavy selling volume in July, the market's heading down, not up at that point, so the logical thing to do is to get out in June. But if the crash is going to begin in June, then what ...

The way Endo Pharmaceuticals (Public, NASDAQ:ENDP) chart has been looking lately; you would think that it is the end. But it’s not December 21st 2012 yet people. There is still some life in Endo - read on to find out why it’s going back to $30 a share. Endo One year Chart: In April Endo released financial results for its first quarter under new leadership, and influences of the uprising by Endo's largest shareholder, D. E. Shaw Group (which owns just less than 10% of shares outstanding), are noticeable all over the company. In late February, D.E. Shaw was pushing Endo to make a huge share buyback. The campaigner and its allies got their way earlier this month (after ushering in a new Endo CEO in March), although Endo agreed to ...