Fools were out and about this week in an investing world jam-packed with actions and ideas. Here are three articles you might find useful as you decide how to invest your money.
These Schools Are Getting Schooled
The economy never sits still. Remember when for-profit educators were getting high marks during the economic downturn as people took classes to improve their employment prospects?
That was great, but many of those same companies flunked out Monday, after a report showed bad student loan repayment rates, as longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz wrote.
ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ESI), Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO), Strayer (Nasdaq: STRA), and even Kaplan parent Washington Post opened to double-digit percentage declines. Even worse, Rick reported, the federal government is considering ending government-backed loans at schools with inadequate repayment rates.
Click to the article to learn more about how to invest in this sector.
How to Go Broke in the Market
It helps to have friends in Foolish places when emails touting hot stocks arrive in your in-box. Penny-stock scammers might be upping their game, but Fool Seth Jayson reminds us to be alert to "the stock market's equivalent of the flea-bitten carny."
"You know who I'm talking about: the bozos who spam your email with faux stock tips, touting tiny, mostly revenue-less wonders as the next big thing," writes Seth. "These days, the come-ons often appear in the guise of market news, with a couple of legitimate tickers thrown in to try to lend respectability to what is otherwise a good old-fashioned scam."
Seth does more than talk. He's set up a TMFStockSpam CAPS page to share the pitches and performance behind some of these awful stocks. Click to the article to read more and check the CAPS page before acting on an email that has more exclamation points than periods!
Buffett Is Buying J&J. Should You?
Imitating Warren Buffett isn't necessarily a good thing. His Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) picked up a boatload of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) shares in the second quarter, but you shouldn't pile in without thinking.
Fool Brian Orelli helps investors think through whether they should follow the Oracle's lead, noting that it depends on how long you plan to hold the shares for. Forever is Buffett's favorite holding period, you know.
"Like its pharma compatriots -- Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) in particular -- much of [J&J's] lower valuation is due to current and future patent expirations that have slowed growth," writes Brian. "But Johnson & Johnson has also been knocked down by myriad recalls recently." Investors hoping for a quick turnaround might be disappointed.
"The best way to play Johnson & Johnson may be to buy in over time, enjoy the solid 3.6% dividend yield, and realize you're in good company," writes Brian. Click to the article for more.
