It is a pleasure to be blogging about this stock this evening. Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) has been probably my best investment in my portfolio for some time. <!--more--> As part of my blogging activity on this website, I have been trying to accomplish several things simultaneously. I hope that you all have been able to follow along with me as I address these issues. First of all, I have been ...

By Jason Simpkins After a strong 2007 campaign, solar stocks - and the overall clean energy sector - fell hard in the first quarter of 2008. <!--more-->

In the previous article , I discussed the importance of microRNAs [miRNAs] and the great attention they have been receiving in the scientific industry. With every day that goes by, miRNAs gain more momentum and their cardinal role in biology is constantly being elucidated. Due to their importance and presence in such a wide range of creatures and medical conditions, from plants to humans, from canc...

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Starbucks (SBUX) lately, and it's not because I'm a bit of a coffee addict, nor the fact that I've been getting less sleep than I'm used to. <!--more-->

Every time Boeing (BA) gets a cold, its suppliers seem to catch pneumonia. In some instances, that's deserved, but not with Spirit Aerosystems Holdings (SPR). Trading at $25.01 per share, SPR is trading somewhat below its 200-day moving average and was walloped a few weeks ago when earnings met the company prediction, but were two cents short of analysts' expectations. SPR has a 52-week trading ran...

Recap of CNBC's Fast Money, Friday April 11. Click on a stock ticker for more analysis. <!--more--> General Electric (GE), Honeywell (HON, Siemens (SI)

Recap of CNBC's Fast Money, Friday April 11. Click on a stock ticker for more analysis. <!--more--> General Electric (GE), Honeywell (HON, Siemens (SI)

News that China will approve more ethanol plants that use non-grain feedstock like sweet potatoes, sweet sorghum or cassava could be good news for Sino-Forest Corp. (SNOFF.PK) since it will undoubtedly encourage ethanol production from sources such as wood waste, according to Dundee Securities.<!--more--> Sino-Forest is the largest commercial forestry plantation operator in China and had roughl...

In a recent edition of Value Investor Insight, Boykin Curry of Eagle Capital Management described why he sees unrecognized value in SLM Corporation (SLM). <!--more-->Turning to a more controversial financial industry bet, describe your interest in Sallie Mae [SLM]. ...

Norwegian-based Yara International (YARIY.PK) is thought of as a fertilizer company, but it is much more than that.<!--more-->

When a stock is down, and trading like the SDARS equities have been, the “shorts” always seem to become a popular subject. <!--more-->People speak of market manipulation, and seem to run off on a tangent that those that are short are the source of all of the problems that has an equity on the down side. With this merger, there are many reasons to short. While shorting equities is something t...

As a diabetic and as a former co-manager for an offshore private wealth fund, I have long-followed the diabetic drug market, the large pharmas, and the small-cap biotech companies in that space. <!--more-->The global diabetes market affects approximately 246 million people worldwide and this number is increasing. The World Health Organization projects that diabetics will increase to 300 million...

Oil refiner Valero Energy (VLO) doesn't extract its own oil. As the price of oil has risen, its margins have been pummeled, and so have its shares, down 30% YTD to $48. It recently projected Q1 EPS of $0.10-0.35, way below Street forecasts of $0.91.<!--more--> Barron's says that despite the gloom, crack spreads (the difference between the price of gas and crude) have bottomed and are widening; ...

U.S. Bancorp (USB) operates as the holding company for U.S. Bank, which provides commercial banking and financial services in the United States. It generates various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings, and time certificates of deposit accounts.<!--more--> The company is a dividend aristocrat as well as a major component of the S&P 500 inde...

General Electric’s (GE) earnings miss on Friday was a shocker even to management, and market reaction was understandable:<!--more--> GE has rarely disappointed the Street, and the $0.44 EPS was sharply below the $0.51 analysts expected. GE also lowered 2008 guidance from $2.43/share to $2.20-$2.30. Barron’s admits it was overly rosy on GE in June, but says investors shouldn’t throw ou...

On Thursday, April 10, an article posted by Morningstar’s Ganesh Rathnam discussed some wonderful ways to profit from selling PUT options against the shares of Capital One (COF), as the author believes that the market has it wrong. Remember, the analyst is suggesting a bullish strategy.<!--more--> Here are the highlights of the analyst’s report and a few comments:...

Barron's interviews investing guru Jim Rogers, who's gung-ho on China:<!--more--> China is going to be the next great country. The 19th century was the century of the U.K. The 20th century was the century of the U.S. The 21st century is going to be the century of China....

Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) is a global supplier of advanced materials, engineered components and manufacturing tools. <!--more-->

Barron's interviews investing guru Jim Rogers, who's gung-ho on China:<!--more--> China is going to be the next great country. The 19th century was the century of the U.K. The 20th century was the century of the U.S. The 21st century is going to be the century of China....

The past few months have been very hard on the uranium mining industry's equity investors. <!--more--> Many uranium companies' shares are trading near 52-week lows after a handful of problems have crept up for many in the industry. Now that the market seems to have priced in the mining problems at a handful of companies, the fact that many drill results are going to take longer than expected t...