Gail MarksJarvis

If you had listened to Wall Street's sloganeers and decided to "sell in May and go away," you're probably kicking yourself now. You would have missed out on a rally that lifted the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average and the Russell 2000 small-cap...

You have to love emerging market stocks. After all, they are up more than 36 percent for the year--an even more tantalizing return than the 31.6 percent average for each of the last five years. But should you love them and leave them? Analysts are...

If you are saving money for a child to go to college, make sure you know how it is invested. This is no time to blindly count on the good graces of the stock market to help you pay for college tuition. Instead, consider a rule of thumb in investing:...

Q. I will be attending college in the fall, and like many other graduating seniors I am worried about managing my finances. I plan to attend the School of Visual Arts and, like many art conservatories, it is very expensive. I have no job experience or a...

Should you bolt from your stocks and stock mutual funds? Perhaps you've been tempted lately as the stock market has plunged repeatedly since mid July. Virtually everything you own--whether you invest in U.S. stocks or those overseas--has probably plunged...

Q. I am 26, and recently started a Roth IRA. The only fund I bought is called Principal Investors Sam Strategic Growth A (SACAX). I've got just over $3,000 in it. As far as I can tell, it's a good fund. I compared it to the large-blend category it is in,...

According to Wall Street folklore, investors can expect results for September to turn out like the first trading day of the month. It's not clear if that will happen this time. But if you'd like it to be true you had better hope it applies only to the...

This has been the month of clenched teeth beneath smiles. Investors haven't liked the underlying threats posed by the mortgage mess and the way lenders doled out billions of dollars to businesses and homeowners who wanted it--even if they could not...

Flowers are nice and chocolates are sweet, but if you really want to do something loving for your mother or wife on Mother's Day, teach her how to invest . . . if she isn't already savvy about investing. And if you don't know how to invest, learn with...

You've had a scare. Not long ago, you watched the Dow Jones industrial average drop sharply--360 points one day, 223 another. If you were like many of the people who called me a week ago, you had sweat on your brow and wondered if you should sell your...

The problems in the housing market were supposed to stay there. Perhaps they would be a nightmare for some homeowners, but not for the economy in general. Or at least that's what most of Wall Street was espousing until July. Yet, in the last eight weeks,...

It's a decision filled with daydreams and nightmares. As students ponder what to say in response to the college acceptance letter they've received, their imagination might flit from parties and a glorious career to a noose of suffocating college loan...