Finance Trends Letter

Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock ( VRX ) continued its slide, as news of an SEC investigation fueled additional selling on Monday. The embattled drug company's stock has been trending lower for several months now. VRX ended the day down 18% on volume of 27 million shares, triple its recent average daily volume. After a huge run up from 2009 to mid-2015, VRX began showing signs of topping and distribution (selling by major holders) in the fall of 2015. The stock is down 35% year-to-date in 2016 and down 67% over the past year ( Finviz stats, click chart below).  Let's take a look at the charts and examine the troubled stock's downtrend, and the huge uptrend that preceded it. I'll also offer some ideas on how to avoid major stock declines (or at least limit your losses in such instances ) . Below, the multi-year consolidation pattern that launched VRX 's 2010 -2015 advance. The stock would climb from $2 3 to over $250 in that 5-year period.   ...

Legendary speculator Bernard Baruch discusses trading on inside information, stock tips, and the problems of information overload back in 1957 (excerpt from Bernard Baruch - My Own Story ). Bernard Baruch on inside information : "The longer I operated in Wall Street, the more distrustful I became of tips and "inside" information of every kind. Given time, I believed that "inside" information can break the Bank of England or the United States Treasury". Baruch adds that most "inside information" is designed to mislead the gullible and that corporate insiders are just as likely to be led astray by their "infallible" informational advantage and belief in the company. His comments closely resemble Jesse Livermore's sentiments on stock tips and insider information.  Trading on tips : Echoing Joseph Kennedy's anecdote about the stock-tipping shoe shine boy of 1929 , Baruch relates his own tale of taxi drivers, shoe shine ...

Mark Cuban ( Broadcast.com co-founder, Shark Tank investor, Dallas Mavericks owner and Blog Maverick ) opens up about being a famous billionaire entrepreneur, why people succeed or fail in business, and how to stay one step ahead of your competition in this uncensored, 1-hour video interview (Watch it here).   Want the interview highlights? Here are 12 key les sons and quotes from M ark Cuban in this excellent discussi on. Future entrepreneurs, take notes! 1. On the difference between being a millionaire and being a billionaire . Mark replies that it is "like having a dollar vs. having a thousand dollars. It's a huge difference. In terms of what you can do [as a billionaire], and the opportunities it can buy, there's no comparison."  2. Staying accessible . Cuban stays close with his network and is open to meeting new people and hearing new startup pitches and ideas on Cyber Dust (his messaging platform) and via email. These are his preferred co...