In 1851, Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park. Not only was the building itself a wonder but attendees could also see the most fantastic products available, from an early version of the fax machine to American photographer Michael Brady’s daguerreotypes. Another exhibit was of an unusual photograph of Prince Albert’s wife, Queen Victoria. The image was presented in 3-D. Attendees were shocked by the technology. #-ad_banner-#Yet it was almost another 100 years before movie studios came up with the first generation of 3-D… Read More

In 1851, Prince Albert organized the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park. Not only was the building itself a wonder but attendees could also see the most fantastic products available, from an early version of the fax machine to American photographer Michael Brady’s daguerreotypes. Another exhibit was of an unusual photograph of Prince Albert’s wife, Queen Victoria. The image was presented in 3-D. Attendees were shocked by the technology. #-ad_banner-#Yet it was almost another 100 years before movie studios came up with the first generation of 3-D technology in an attempt to lure audiences away from their living-room televisions and back into the theater. A generation later, the advent of digital projection, computer-generated animation and other technological advancements culminated in “Avatar,” which was the first film to be devised specifically for 3-D technology. This was a game-changer. It’s the kind of watershed moment that gets me in research mode for Game-Changing Stocks. One of the biggest gambles of the project was Avatar’s producers James Cameron and Jon Landau’s pitch to movie theaters about the advent of a new… Read More

Investors need to be on guard against “the sideways churn.” This happens when a market that had been steadily rising is now see-sawing back and forth. Such a shift is often a sign that buyers are slowly pulling back and sellers are starting to take root. The sideways churn often presages the next move: a market downturn, where the sellers get even bolder and buyers lose interest. With that in mind, it’s time to focus on five companies that could see sharp pullbacks in the months ahead. #-ad_banner-# 1. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S)… Read More

Investors need to be on guard against “the sideways churn.” This happens when a market that had been steadily rising is now see-sawing back and forth. Such a shift is often a sign that buyers are slowly pulling back and sellers are starting to take root. The sideways churn often presages the next move: a market downturn, where the sellers get even bolder and buyers lose interest. With that in mind, it’s time to focus on five companies that could see sharp pullbacks in the months ahead. #-ad_banner-# 1. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) Shares of this wireless phone service provider have risen nearly 50% since early December as optimism spreads that faster phone networks will lead consumers to justify ever-higher phone bills. Indeed, Sprint has been able to push through recent price hikes as it rolls out 4G service in more markets. But investors seem to be forgetting a few important facts. First, Sprint’s network remains inferior to its rivals, especially Verizon (NYSE: VZ). That may explain why Verizon continues to steal market share: it added 907,000 net new subscribers in the… Read More

As an income investor, I’m always looking for companies likely to raise dividends sooner rather than later. Right now, I see good potential for dividend growth in a small corner of the REIT (real estate investment trust) universe — health care REITs. These REITS, which invest in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and senior retirement centers, delivered a 69% increase in dividend payouts in 2010 — the largest in the industry, according to SNL Financial data. Even better, health care REITs are… Read More

As an income investor, I’m always looking for companies likely to raise dividends sooner rather than later. Right now, I see good potential for dividend growth in a small corner of the REIT (real estate investment trust) universe — health care REITs. These REITS, which invest in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and senior retirement centers, delivered a 69% increase in dividend payouts in 2010 — the largest in the industry, according to SNL Financial data. Even better, health care REITs are expected to repeat this performance by again producing the highest REIT dividend payout in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg data. #-ad_banner-#Health care REITs are poised to grow dividends because of more than $11 billion of industry acquisitions last year. During the real estate meltdown, these REITs were able to acquire properties at bargain prices from private sellers and grow their stream of rental income. As REIT income rises, dividends go up, since these companies are required by law to distribute the majority of their income to shareholders as dividends. An added benefit is that health care… Read More

#-ad_banner-#The challenge for great investors is to do a regular reality-check on each stock you own, assessing whether it still holds value every time it moves up a few points. When shares of Couer D’Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE) started to rally, soon after I recommended it, I noted that a quick upward move was taking place. [See: “The 3 Best Stocks to Own Now”] The silver-mining firm was riding the back of a powerfully rally in the underlying metal. Shares moved up from $22 in mid-January to $35 by mid-April. Read More

#-ad_banner-#The challenge for great investors is to do a regular reality-check on each stock you own, assessing whether it still holds value every time it moves up a few points. When shares of Couer D’Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE) started to rally, soon after I recommended it, I noted that a quick upward move was taking place. [See: “The 3 Best Stocks to Own Now”] The silver-mining firm was riding the back of a powerfully rally in the underlying metal. Shares moved up from $22 in mid-January to $35 by mid-April. The 60% gain in just two months gave me pause, especially as the precious metal itself was showing all the signs of a manic buying spree that would end badly. The logical move then was to take profits, as I suggested in April. But it’s time to shift course yet again. Those who missed out on the 60% upward move have just been given a second chance, though this move could take many quarters to play out. Most importantly, Couer D’Alene doesn’t need to ride the back of another powerful silver rally — it needs to simply… Read More

During any sort of boom, the businesses that provide supplies or any ancillary services to those chasing the boom usually make the most money. The California Gold Rush of 1849 is a prime example. A young immigrant named Levi Strauss realized he could make more money selling picks and shovels to the 49ers than the 49ers would ever make looking for gold. Eventually, he would also sell them rugged, canvas pants that became known as “blue jeans.” As the Internet emerged at the close of the 20th century as the new backbone of communication, tens of thousands… Read More

During any sort of boom, the businesses that provide supplies or any ancillary services to those chasing the boom usually make the most money. The California Gold Rush of 1849 is a prime example. A young immigrant named Levi Strauss realized he could make more money selling picks and shovels to the 49ers than the 49ers would ever make looking for gold. Eventually, he would also sell them rugged, canvas pants that became known as “blue jeans.” As the Internet emerged at the close of the 20th century as the new backbone of communication, tens of thousands of businesses sprang up to provide the picks and shovels: Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) for networking, Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) for database management software, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) for enterprise server hardware. Even more amazing is that the computer technology business has grown in what seems like the blink of an eye compared with the century or so it often takes other industries to develop. With the exponential growth comes the need for space. But providing real estate and related services for high-tech industry is very different than what it takes for other industries. Read More

As an income investor, should you be worried about inflation? You bet. On an annual basis, prices were up 2.7% in March. That’s the highest mark since December 2009. Cotton prices are up more than 170% in the past year. Oil had increased by 40% through mid-April. Copper, corn and wheat prices registered double-digit gains in the first three months of 2011 alone, from the same period last year. In the past six months, Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg’s (NYSE: K) and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) have all… Read More

As an income investor, should you be worried about inflation? You bet. On an annual basis, prices were up 2.7% in March. That’s the highest mark since December 2009. Cotton prices are up more than 170% in the past year. Oil had increased by 40% through mid-April. Copper, corn and wheat prices registered double-digit gains in the first three months of 2011 alone, from the same period last year. In the past six months, Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg’s (NYSE: K) and McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) have all put through price increases to consumers. Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) have done the same. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) CEO Bill Simon has said he thinks inflation “is going to be serious.” He warned that recent transportation-related cost hikes will be passed through to shoppers. This means the amount of income you’re earning may not keep pace with how much prices are rising — especially if you are retired and living on a fixed income. If you own long-term bonds, such as 30-year U.S. Read More

Here in the United States, the scary days of 2008 when Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. collapsed, major auto firms needed to be bailed out and Uncle Sam injected $85 billion into a teetering AIG (NYSE: AIG) are starting to seem a like a distant memory. The bailed-out auto makers are looking stronger, the rest of Wall Street failed to buckle under as Lehman and Bear did, and much-reviled AIG is valued at more than $50 billion once again. But from Berlin to Paris to Rome to Athens, the painful… Read More

Here in the United States, the scary days of 2008 when Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. collapsed, major auto firms needed to be bailed out and Uncle Sam injected $85 billion into a teetering AIG (NYSE: AIG) are starting to seem a like a distant memory. The bailed-out auto makers are looking stronger, the rest of Wall Street failed to buckle under as Lehman and Bear did, and much-reviled AIG is valued at more than $50 billion once again. But from Berlin to Paris to Rome to Athens, the painful economic crises have never left the stage. Three years on, policy makers are struggling to come up with yet another plan to save the weakest economies in Europe without saddling the larger, healthier economies with open-ended liabilities. It’s been a Sisyphean task, trying to get that boulder up the hill — and Sisyphus is getting tired. If Europe can’t reverse course and develop a better game plan, then a whole series of events will play out, with mixed implications for equity investors. #-ad_banner-#1.  Why do the problems persist? A number of European governments run persistent budget… Read More

Bill Gates founded Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 1975 and for a time was the wealthiest person on the planet, thanks to the company’s ubiquitous Windows operating system. In June 2008, Gates gave up his day-to-day role at Microsoft to spend more time working with his wife at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mexican businessman Carlos Slim has since taken the title as the world’s richest person, while Gates has shifted focus to his philanthropic efforts. A significant portion of Gates’ $56 billion wealth has shifted to his foundation as well as his private investment vehicle, Cascade… Read More

Bill Gates founded Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) in 1975 and for a time was the wealthiest person on the planet, thanks to the company’s ubiquitous Windows operating system. In June 2008, Gates gave up his day-to-day role at Microsoft to spend more time working with his wife at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mexican businessman Carlos Slim has since taken the title as the world’s richest person, while Gates has shifted focus to his philanthropic efforts. A significant portion of Gates’ $56 billion wealth has shifted to his foundation as well as his private investment vehicle, Cascade Investment LLC. The foundation received significant further support when Gates’ long-time friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett committed to donating a significant portion of his $47 billion net worth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. #-ad_banner-#When you are investing such vast sums of money for philanthropic work, you need to play it safe in terms of investment risk and preserving the long-term value of the asset base. After all, the Gates Foundation has to fund grants to support causes such as global health and related charitable gifting for many years… Read More

The stock market’s a great place to invest for the long haul, but the rollercoaster ride sure does get old sometimes, doesn’t it? That’s why I’m always looking for stocks that can enrich shareholders with as little volatility as possible. To find them, you generally have to… Read More

“You can always trust the Americans to do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other possibilities.” –Winston Churchill When it comes to our political leaders in Washington, let’s hope Churchill was right. If he’s wrong, then the U.S. Read More