Just over a week ago, investors were shook from their bullish sleep. The major indexes inexplicably plunged lower as panicked investors scrambled to dump stocks. The fear-gauge, or VIX index, spiked to 50 — a level not seen in nearly a decade — signaling extreme financial terror in the equity markets. Now, a week later, things have stabilized with the VIX retreating to the 18 zone. However, it is still 100% above its lows of this month. The severe moves have refocused stock investors on this somewhat obscure index/indicator. Not since the financial crisis of 2008 have so many investors… Read More

Just over a week ago, investors were shook from their bullish sleep. The major indexes inexplicably plunged lower as panicked investors scrambled to dump stocks. The fear-gauge, or VIX index, spiked to 50 — a level not seen in nearly a decade — signaling extreme financial terror in the equity markets. Now, a week later, things have stabilized with the VIX retreating to the 18 zone. However, it is still 100% above its lows of this month. The severe moves have refocused stock investors on this somewhat obscure index/indicator. Not since the financial crisis of 2008 have so many investors needed to understand what the VIX is all about. #-ad_banner-# What Is The VIX? The VIX, short for CBOE Volatility Index, was derived in 1993 by Professor Robert Whatley. Initially, the VIX was based on the OEX 100 index, but now it uses the S&P 500 as the base index. The VIX is created via a weighted mix of prices for a variety of options on the S&P 500. The options are priced on the expected volatility or price change over the next month. Therefore, the VIX is designed to predict volatility over the next 30 days. An excellent… Read More

They said it could not go down. In fact, some bitcoin evangelists claimed it was mathematically impossible for the price to drop. Other true believers were calling for $100,000 or even $1 million as the cost of the king of cryptocurrencies spiraled ever higher. At the same time, the lesser cryptocurrencies were carried along with the bullish fever. Ripple, ethereum, litecoin, and even joke cryptos like Dogecoin rocketed sky-high  as visions of Powerball lottery-like wealth gripped the public’s imagination. #-ad_banner-#During this heady timeframe, the bearish contingent compared the price surge to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s and searched… Read More

They said it could not go down. In fact, some bitcoin evangelists claimed it was mathematically impossible for the price to drop. Other true believers were calling for $100,000 or even $1 million as the cost of the king of cryptocurrencies spiraled ever higher. At the same time, the lesser cryptocurrencies were carried along with the bullish fever. Ripple, ethereum, litecoin, and even joke cryptos like Dogecoin rocketed sky-high  as visions of Powerball lottery-like wealth gripped the public’s imagination. #-ad_banner-#During this heady timeframe, the bearish contingent compared the price surge to the Dutch tulip mania of the 1600s and searched for ways to short the monster move. Unlike most other financial markets, there was no direct way to profit from the downside. Sensing the demand, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) launched futures in mid- December 2017 to much fanfare among institutions and professional traders. During the same month, Bitcoin and the other cryptos hit their all-time highs. But after striking a high price just over $19,000, Bitcoin did what was once said to be impossible: it started plunging in value. By December 22, the leading cryptocurrency had lost 1/3 of its value in just five days. January was not… Read More

It finally happened. After years of nary a selloff, let alone a significant correction, the floodgates burst open. On Monday, February 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a mid-session 1,600 point death plunge. Buyers quickly entered the fray, with the DJIA closing down just 1,175 points, but the day was still the highest single-day point drop in history. Percentage-wise, the decline of 4.6% was the largest since the European debt crisis of 2011. #-ad_banner-#While nowhere near the carnage resulting from Black Monday, 1987 or the U.S. Financial Crisis of 2008, the wild price swings and surging volatility caught many… Read More

It finally happened. After years of nary a selloff, let alone a significant correction, the floodgates burst open. On Monday, February 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a mid-session 1,600 point death plunge. Buyers quickly entered the fray, with the DJIA closing down just 1,175 points, but the day was still the highest single-day point drop in history. Percentage-wise, the decline of 4.6% was the largest since the European debt crisis of 2011. #-ad_banner-#While nowhere near the carnage resulting from Black Monday, 1987 or the U.S. Financial Crisis of 2008, the wild price swings and surging volatility caught many investors off guard. Seven-plus years of every small selloff being quickly bought back up lulled investors into a false sense of security. The Volatility Index (VIX), which measures volatility expectations, spiked to nearly 50 during the Monday plunge. This represents the highest percentage gain in the index’s history at 84%, marking the fourth-highest close since its 1990 launch. Other historical VIX spikes include the Russian Ruble crisis of 1998, the credit crisis of 2009, and the 2011 S&P U.S. sovereign credit downgrade. The VIX move is concerning as it may be a harbinger of things to come. Just imagine a… Read More

If you’re like most modern-day stock market players, technical analysis likely plays at least a small part in your investment process. Even if you don’t study the charts yourself, you probably read some analysis of “bullish” and “bearish” patterns on stocks you own or are thinking of buying. All stock trading platforms and brokers provide some type of charting software. Some sites even allow you to place orders directly from the chart, making it extremely easy to buy or sell based on the price movement. #-ad_banner-#Things were not always this way. When I started investing, technical analysis was an arcane… Read More

If you’re like most modern-day stock market players, technical analysis likely plays at least a small part in your investment process. Even if you don’t study the charts yourself, you probably read some analysis of “bullish” and “bearish” patterns on stocks you own or are thinking of buying. All stock trading platforms and brokers provide some type of charting software. Some sites even allow you to place orders directly from the chart, making it extremely easy to buy or sell based on the price movement. #-ad_banner-#Things were not always this way. When I started investing, technical analysis was an arcane subject practiced by only the hardest of the hardcore market junkies. The practice was difficult without the help of a PC and real-time data feeds. In those days, investors would painstakingly plot daily prices by hand on graph paper or use charts provided by newspapers or financial publishers. Making things even more impossible was the fact that charts were mostly based on the daily closing price. Investors were forced to plan their trades based on charts that very well may have been out of date by the time the order went through. But today, instant availability, ease of use, and… Read More

A strange thing happens during roaring bull markets. When the economy and stock market are booming, investors seem to forget the fundamentals of stock picking. With nearly every stock being carried higher as the major indexes break record after record, investors think that value no longer matters.  But nothing could be further from the truth. Using fundamentals to locate value stocks works in any type of market. While it is more difficult to locate value during times of extreme bullishness, the extra effort can pay off in spades.  Even in the most overstretched market, value cases still exist. Sometimes a… Read More

A strange thing happens during roaring bull markets. When the economy and stock market are booming, investors seem to forget the fundamentals of stock picking. With nearly every stock being carried higher as the major indexes break record after record, investors think that value no longer matters.  But nothing could be further from the truth. Using fundamentals to locate value stocks works in any type of market. While it is more difficult to locate value during times of extreme bullishness, the extra effort can pay off in spades.  Even in the most overstretched market, value cases still exist. Sometimes a company or industry falls out of favor for no apparent reason. A weak quarterly earnings report or an external event can depress a company’s stock price for a short time, creating an opportunity for sharp investors.  Here are seven signs a stock could be undervalued. #-ad_banner-#​1. The Current Ratio The current ratio is simply a company’s current assets divided by its current liabilities. Value investors should look for a current ratio over 1.50. This assures that the company has enough assets to survive even when bear markets rear their ugly heads.  2. Watch The Debt When searching for… Read More

Investors are creatures of habit. They do the same thing over and over again without a thought of approaching the market differently. Whether they invest in stocks, bonds, commodities or even currencies, everyone has their own entrenched way of choosing investments.  However, the best investors think outside of the box… Read More

We are in the midst of the most magnificent speculative frenzy of our lifetimes. The media has been on fire with articles and chatter about the monster gains in cryptocurrency.  Small investors, some starting with under $1,000, have become millionaires over the last year. Larger investors, such as the Winklevoss twins (formerly of Facebook fame), have earned billions by risking significantly more.  Now with Bitcoin hovering around $11,000, investors are hungry to find the next millionaire-making cryptocurrency. With over 900 active choices and hundreds (If not thousands) more initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the works, choosing winning investments has become… Read More

We are in the midst of the most magnificent speculative frenzy of our lifetimes. The media has been on fire with articles and chatter about the monster gains in cryptocurrency.  Small investors, some starting with under $1,000, have become millionaires over the last year. Larger investors, such as the Winklevoss twins (formerly of Facebook fame), have earned billions by risking significantly more.  Now with Bitcoin hovering around $11,000, investors are hungry to find the next millionaire-making cryptocurrency. With over 900 active choices and hundreds (If not thousands) more initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the works, choosing winning investments has become very difficult.  As an active cryptocurrency investor, I have discovered five ways to increase your odds of finding the next bitcoin.  #-ad_banner-#​1. Monthly Volume Trading volume is a crucial method of identifying winning cryptocurrencies. Think of choosing profitable coins and tokens as a popularity contest. The more excitement and potential of a coin, the more investors it attracts. Volume often begets volume, and speculation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing the price higher.  I use CoinMarketCap to identify the top monthly volume rankings. Look at the top 25 highest-ranked cryptos to start your search for a… Read More

I have no doubt there will be a massive bear market within 15 months from today. After a decade of bullish fever, I expect the coming bear market to be devastating for unprepared investors. —Recommended Link— Larry Claims He Makes $213,000 A Year Using This System On average, a handful of investors quietly make $1,543 a month with this simple, 3-step system. Some, like Larry from Washington, will bank 6-figures this year. To find out what you’re missing, click here NOW… I am not the only one who thinks the bear will soon awaken. Major hedge fund managers like… Read More

I have no doubt there will be a massive bear market within 15 months from today. After a decade of bullish fever, I expect the coming bear market to be devastating for unprepared investors. —Recommended Link— Larry Claims He Makes $213,000 A Year Using This System On average, a handful of investors quietly make $1,543 a month with this simple, 3-step system. Some, like Larry from Washington, will bank 6-figures this year. To find out what you’re missing, click here NOW… I am not the only one who thinks the bear will soon awaken. Major hedge fund managers like Ray Dalio and Tudor Jones are sending out warning missives about the pending bear. #-ad_banner-#Dalio told the Greenwich Economic Forum, “The world, by and large, is leveraged long. When there is a downturn, I don’t think there’s much to protect investors.” At the same conference, Jones theorized that he expects the credit bubble to pop in response to the recent tax cuts. Jones said: “The ratio of debt in the world relative to the gross domestic product is at an all-time high, but the reason no one talks about it or gets alarmed is you could have said that virtually… Read More

We are standing on the precipice of an entirely new world. In almost all recorded history only the elite have been able to participate and benefit from the major economic changes.  Today, things are radically different. The internet has created a democratization of those who can capture the upside of economic shifts. Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the volatile arena of cryptocurrencies. Nearly everyone, regardless of economic status, family pedigree, or connections, can take advantage of the opportunities in this nascent field.  Not only has the concept of money started to change, but we are also seeing… Read More

We are standing on the precipice of an entirely new world. In almost all recorded history only the elite have been able to participate and benefit from the major economic changes.  Today, things are radically different. The internet has created a democratization of those who can capture the upside of economic shifts. Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the volatile arena of cryptocurrencies. Nearly everyone, regardless of economic status, family pedigree, or connections, can take advantage of the opportunities in this nascent field.  Not only has the concept of money started to change, but we are also seeing the first steps of a completely new way of carrying out transactions and contracts.  A Brief History Of Monetary Change The first major shift in the history of human transaction was from the physical trading of commodities and services to the use of commodities (precious metals or other valuable items) to represent and exchange value from one person to another.  #-ad_banner-#Next, coins and paper money, backed by precious metals, made it easier to transfer value back and forth among users.  Fiat currency, money that is not backed by precious metals — but only by faith in government, soon arose,… Read More

Have you ever wondered why some investors consistently profit from the financial markets while the majority barely break even or even lose money over time? It almost seems that these winning investors have some secret formula or magical ability to extract money from the markets year after year. —Recommended Link— New Dividend Program Lets You Pick Your Pay Date We call it “dividends on demand” because you can schedule a payment whenever you want. And they’re often bigger than a regular dividend. If you have $15k, it’s our favorite way to… Read More

Have you ever wondered why some investors consistently profit from the financial markets while the majority barely break even or even lose money over time? It almost seems that these winning investors have some secret formula or magical ability to extract money from the markets year after year. —Recommended Link— New Dividend Program Lets You Pick Your Pay Date We call it “dividends on demand” because you can schedule a payment whenever you want. And they’re often bigger than a regular dividend. If you have $15k, it’s our favorite way to pile up cash. I’ll admit, this question has bothered me. I knew there must be a simple reason why some investors are consistently lucky, and others are not. I knew it had little to do with intelligence or even education. I have known many highly educated and intelligent investors who have a tough time earning consistent money from the markets. At the same time, I know several “regular Joe” types with no more than a high school diploma who earn substantial income by investing in the stock market.  After much research and thought, I have determined that the difference between… Read More