About Michael Brush

Author Archive | Michael Brush

A few good swing trades

At Brush Up on Stocks, I like to ferret out stocks to hold calmly for a few years for returns that beat the markets. That’s what I’ve delivered. On average, my stocks have outperformed every year, since launching the newsletter in 2010. (For a summary of returns, click here.) However, I like a quick trade […]

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First quarter sector calls

I’m going to take a break from biotech. The group has done so well, it is due for a correction. Instead, in this issue I want to focus on energy. There’s been widespread insider buying in this group in February. It is the kind of buying that suggests a group will do well. – Brush […]

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6 reasons why it’s time to take a little money off the table

Though the current economic expansion is five years old and the average expansion since 1960 has lasted only 11 months more than that, I doubt this means the bull market in stocks is about to end. So I’m a fan of staying the course with core, long-term stock holdings right now. But if you have […]

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Investing lesson from Steve Jobs: It pays to think different

In investing, some of the biggest payoffs regularly come from doing the opposite of the crowd. This is called “contrarian investing,” which I have personally learned about in conversations with some of the greats at this style over the years, like David Dreman, Marty Whitman, Irving Kahn and Seth Glickenhaus. Contrarian investing isn’t for everyone. […]

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This one simple turn of events will surprise everyone and spark the next leg up for stocks

Why is the stock market continually hitting new highs, when “everyone knows” there are so many problems out there? From the geopolitical risk in Iraq and the Ukraine, to sluggish jobs and wage growth, and lumbering Fed debt that must be unwound? It just might be that investors aren’t so stupid, after all. It might […]

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So much for Friday the 13th

A stock I suggested to Brush Up on Stocks subscribers less than three weeks ago on May 27th is up almost 90% today, on a catalyst I suggested might play out in mid-June. I’ll take it.

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Suddenly, three wars have investors selling. Should you be worried, too?

Suddenly the prospects of three wars heating up has investors heading for the exists with stocks. I m talking about 1) the war for control of Iraq, 2) the war between the far right and the far left in U.S. politics, and 3) the war between (mostly foreign) energy producers and U.S. retailers for consumer […]

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Modeling Buffett’s brains for big gains: 7 stocks

Take one investing genius. Add some great quantitative skills and a desire to make money in the stock market. What do you get? Ongoing efforts to use computers and stats to model the investing genius Warren Buffett, so that it can be replicated. One recent attempt getting a lot of buzz in investing circles attributes […]

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Time to buy a “more stable” Egypt?

Egypt is back in the spotlight as an investment them, with analysts touting exposure and fund managers pouring money into the country. These investors are betting that recently-elected president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, a former military leader, will bring a new era of political and economic stability to the country that will boost returns in […]

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Timeless indicator: Stock bull run not over yet

With stocks hitting new highs on a regular basis, investor sentiment fairly high, corporate profits at record levels, and the month we’re all supposed to sell before going away (May) just behind us, it’s tempting to think the stock market is riding for a fall. But one timeless technical indicator is telling us just the […]

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