The first Federal inheritance tax was passed in 1898. Corporate taxes were written into law in 1909. And in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified, paving the way for federal income taxes as we know them today. Ironically, that first attempt at taxing income from wages, property, and investments was the byproduct of a fierce debate on tariffs. Politicians of the day wanted to reduce tariffs and abandon the nation’s protectionist policies. Income taxes were seen as a way to offset lost federal revenues. Over a century later, we are still arguing over these same issues. But whatever transpires on… Read More

The first Federal inheritance tax was passed in 1898. Corporate taxes were written into law in 1909. And in 1913, the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified, paving the way for federal income taxes as we know them today. Ironically, that first attempt at taxing income from wages, property, and investments was the byproduct of a fierce debate on tariffs. Politicians of the day wanted to reduce tariffs and abandon the nation’s protectionist policies. Income taxes were seen as a way to offset lost federal revenues. Over a century later, we are still arguing over these same issues. But whatever transpires on Capitol Hill, one thing is for sure: income taxes are here to stay. —Recommended Link— “Banks want a hit of the marijuana business” — how you could profit (15x potential) If there’s anything we learned from 2008: Big Banks get what they want. But it’s not all bruises & bailouts this time… because their rumbling appetite for a slice of the pot pie — is putting HUGE pressure on a trillion-dollar reservoir of cash… Washington Post reports “banks want a hit of the marijuana business”… Energy & Capital says “Big Banks Want in… Read More

When Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) unveiled the “personal assistant” Siri in its iPhone in 2011, it was just the beginning… What was a basic glimpse into the field of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) at the time has now become commonplace. Today, the use of speech-based assistants has flourished inside our homes, including Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. And it’s only going to bet bigger. What many don’t know is that this tech has also flourished in the business world. A lot of that is thanks to Nuance Communication (Nasdaq: NUAN). Nuance is a pioneer and leader in the conversational artificial… Read More

When Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) unveiled the “personal assistant” Siri in its iPhone in 2011, it was just the beginning… What was a basic glimpse into the field of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) at the time has now become commonplace. Today, the use of speech-based assistants has flourished inside our homes, including Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home. And it’s only going to bet bigger. What many don’t know is that this tech has also flourished in the business world. A lot of that is thanks to Nuance Communication (Nasdaq: NUAN). Nuance is a pioneer and leader in the conversational artificial intelligence space. However, we’re not talking about the basic personal assistants like Siri or Alexa, but rather more sophisticated AI that can be utilized by large corporations like hospitals, banks, telecommunications, retail, and the government. Nuance offers customers cutting-edge solutions like high accuracy speech recognition, natural language understanding capabilities, dialog and information management, biometric speaker authentication, and text-to-speech. Without getting too deep into the details, suffice it to say that Nuance’s tech is used by police stations, hospitals, banks, telecommunications companies, automakers and more. Simply put, the stakes are high for Nuance’s customers. And if you’re going to use a… Read More

Homebuilders from Georgia to California haven’t been this busy in well over a decade. Housing starts have quickened for five straight months and are now running at an annualized pace of 1.3 million units. That means more than 100,000 new homes are going up each and every month. While residential construction rates can be choppy from quarter to quarter depending on weather and other factors, this steady upswell is gaining strength.  Building permits (a good indicator of future construction) have climbed 14% from a year ago to reach 1.46 million. That’s a new 12-year peak.  We haven’t seen numbers this… Read More

Homebuilders from Georgia to California haven’t been this busy in well over a decade. Housing starts have quickened for five straight months and are now running at an annualized pace of 1.3 million units. That means more than 100,000 new homes are going up each and every month. While residential construction rates can be choppy from quarter to quarter depending on weather and other factors, this steady upswell is gaining strength.  Building permits (a good indicator of future construction) have climbed 14% from a year ago to reach 1.46 million. That’s a new 12-year peak.  We haven’t seen numbers this strong since before the financial crash. The question is, can the gains continue?  To understand where the housing market is headed, you first have to see just how far we’ve come. —Recommended Link— 18,000 Legal Weed Businesses BEG to be “Robbed” (Grant their wish) ​​ There’s now a legal way to “rob” all of the 18,000 marijuana businesses in America… incredibly, these “robberies” could shove $7,081 in fast cash into your pockets – for every $20 you invest. Our most elite lawmakers are quietly voting to encourage it! Even crazier – ALL… Read More

It’s been a downhill slide for AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC) over the past couple months. Fortunately, underlying business trends have been moving in the opposite direction. AMC welcomed 87.1 million visitors to its theatres last quarter – a record. Even more impressive, it managed to push through a 3.3% hike in average ticket prices, while its peers only hiked by 0.65%. The company continues to dramatically outperform the industry average by several hundred basis points in terms of attendance growth and revenue growth per screen. #-ad_banner-#More of those guests lined up at the concession stand for popcorn and beverages… Read More

It’s been a downhill slide for AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC) over the past couple months. Fortunately, underlying business trends have been moving in the opposite direction. AMC welcomed 87.1 million visitors to its theatres last quarter – a record. Even more impressive, it managed to push through a 3.3% hike in average ticket prices, while its peers only hiked by 0.65%. The company continues to dramatically outperform the industry average by several hundred basis points in terms of attendance growth and revenue growth per screen. #-ad_banner-#More of those guests lined up at the concession stand for popcorn and beverages too. Food and drink revenues per patron rose 5% to hit a new third-quarter high. So, what does all this mean for revenue? Well, AMC took in $1.32 billion over the past three months, a healthy increase of 8%. After adjusting for a non-cash accounting change, EBITDA rose 33% from a year ago to reach $157 million. Of course, that figure excludes interest expense, which can’t just be ignored (AMC paid $85 million in interest for the period). But operating cash flow has improved sharply as well, rebounding to $56 million from just $2 million a year ago. I suspect… Read More

What’s up in the stock market? Pretty much everything! Last week, large-cap stocks (S&P 500), mid-cap stocks (S&P 400), and small-cap stocks (S&P 600) all reached new 52-week highs. Breadth indicators for the index also reached new highs. In other words, we are experiencing a broad-based rally in the stock market. —Recommended Link— Snag This “5G Savior” For $5 A Share Up to $31 billion in new business… as much as $6.6 billion in patent royalties… and its biggest competitor banned in America… this 5G tech stock could be the opportunity of a lifetime. But… Read More

What’s up in the stock market? Pretty much everything! Last week, large-cap stocks (S&P 500), mid-cap stocks (S&P 400), and small-cap stocks (S&P 600) all reached new 52-week highs. Breadth indicators for the index also reached new highs. In other words, we are experiencing a broad-based rally in the stock market. —Recommended Link— Snag This “5G Savior” For $5 A Share Up to $31 billion in new business… as much as $6.6 billion in patent royalties… and its biggest competitor banned in America… this 5G tech stock could be the opportunity of a lifetime. But you’ll need to make your move quickly… as soon as word gets out, banks and hedge funds could run the price up 10, 20, or 50X. Click here for details. Momentum is also bullish for major market indexes. Weekly charts of the S&P indexes are shown below with stochastics at the bottom. In strong bull markets, stochastics tend to move to high levels and then stay there for extended periods of time. For all three indexes, the position of the stochastics indicator is consistent with that trend; they all also show… Read More

Last week, I wrote about the staggering numbers behind global trade. I even mentioned a couple of ways investors could potentially profit. One of those ways is with containership leasing firm Seaspan (NYSE: SSW). A Seaspan assist ship docking with a bulk carrier (above) Seaspan made its market debut in 2005 with ownership of 13 containerships. That fleet size doubled to 25 vessels within two years and doubled again to 50 just three years later. Today, the company owns 112 ships. That makes it the world’s largest independent containership owner, with 15% more capacity than the next-closest competitor. Read More

Last week, I wrote about the staggering numbers behind global trade. I even mentioned a couple of ways investors could potentially profit. One of those ways is with containership leasing firm Seaspan (NYSE: SSW). A Seaspan assist ship docking with a bulk carrier (above) Seaspan made its market debut in 2005 with ownership of 13 containerships. That fleet size doubled to 25 vessels within two years and doubled again to 50 just three years later. Today, the company owns 112 ships. That makes it the world’s largest independent containership owner, with 15% more capacity than the next-closest competitor. These ships span the full spectrum, from small “feeder” vessels to mid-sized liners to ultra-large containerships (ULCS) that can hold up to 14,000 containers. Those containerships aren’t experiencing much downtime these days. Those ships were “on-hire” 99.6% of the time last quarter. That’s the highest utilization rate since 2011. Other than a few days in dry-dock for scheduled maintenance, Seaspan’s ships have essentially been available – and chartered – around the clock. And rates are holding steady. With a growing fleet, charter revenues have increased 5% year-to-date to $843 million. It helps that Seaspan has longstanding relationships with seven of… Read More

Here’s a bit of trivia… Did you know there are at least 79 different shoe sizes?  There is even an International Organization for Standardization publication for footwear sizing explaining the conversion of sizing systems and how manufacturers should size their products. Shoes are obviously important, and that level of detail is certainly necessary. And, thanks to detailed formulas included in the standard, we can all be certain to find shoes that fit.  I wish there was a similar publication explaining how to allocate positions in an investment portfolio. But, there’s not. There are some general guidelines. One is the 60/40… Read More

Here’s a bit of trivia… Did you know there are at least 79 different shoe sizes?  There is even an International Organization for Standardization publication for footwear sizing explaining the conversion of sizing systems and how manufacturers should size their products. Shoes are obviously important, and that level of detail is certainly necessary. And, thanks to detailed formulas included in the standard, we can all be certain to find shoes that fit.  I wish there was a similar publication explaining how to allocate positions in an investment portfolio. But, there’s not. There are some general guidelines. One is the 60/40 approach. This is when you allocate 60% of your portfolio to stocks and 40% to bonds. Another approach is to use your age. To determine the allocation using this method, subtract your age from 100 to determine the percentage of your portfolio that should be in stocks. So, a 20-year old would have 80% in stocks under this formula while an 80-year old would place just 20% of their portfolio in stocks. These guidelines are fine, but they don’t tell us very much. Among the things the formulas don’t tell us is how to generate income when interest rates fall… Read More

The last of the leftover turkey and pumpkin pie are gone, which means the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. And thus far, it has been a smashing success for retailers. While Black Friday has traditionally been considered the kickoff to the holiday season, many retailers are moving the start earlier and earlier. An estimated 40 million Americans jumped the gun and hit the stores on Thanksgiving Day in search of special deals and promotions. While checkout lines weren’t quite as long on Friday (according to RetailNext, foot traffic slipped 2% after rising 2% on Thursday), shoppers still spent freely,… Read More

The last of the leftover turkey and pumpkin pie are gone, which means the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. And thus far, it has been a smashing success for retailers. While Black Friday has traditionally been considered the kickoff to the holiday season, many retailers are moving the start earlier and earlier. An estimated 40 million Americans jumped the gun and hit the stores on Thanksgiving Day in search of special deals and promotions. While checkout lines weren’t quite as long on Friday (according to RetailNext, foot traffic slipped 2% after rising 2% on Thursday), shoppers still spent freely, both online and offline. Adobe Analytics (which monitors real-time spending at 80 of the nation’s top 100 retailers) estimates that online shoppers spent $7.4 billion on Black Friday, up from $6.2 billion last year. By Sunday night, physical and virtual stores had rung up a combined $69 billion in sales over the long four-day weekend. But The Shopping Binge Didn’t End There… Cyber Monday defended its title as the busiest shopping day of the year, with online retailers taking in $9.2 billion in sales. That’s a healthy 17% increase from last year – and a new record high. #-ad_banner-#Research… Read More

Interest rate policy can be boring. I’m reminded of this every six weeks as the Federal Reserve meets and Wall Street’s attention turns towards the Eccles Building in Washington, D.C. For years, CNBC has used the building as the backdrop for reporters when the Fed meets — as they were yesterday. Each time the Fed meets, traders anxiously wit to see what happens. Traders watch the news, largely consisting of a reporter standing in front of a building saying things like, “There’s a meeting going on inside.” Analysts will try to explain what members of the Fed were thinking at the meeting. Read More

Interest rate policy can be boring. I’m reminded of this every six weeks as the Federal Reserve meets and Wall Street’s attention turns towards the Eccles Building in Washington, D.C. For years, CNBC has used the building as the backdrop for reporters when the Fed meets — as they were yesterday. Each time the Fed meets, traders anxiously wit to see what happens. Traders watch the news, largely consisting of a reporter standing in front of a building saying things like, “There’s a meeting going on inside.” Analysts will try to explain what members of the Fed were thinking at the meeting. —Recommended Link— [TRENDING] Weird trade doubles your money in 3 days?​ This is going to be big… Jim fink just released the details of his 310F trade. This “Friday phenomenon” could generate returns of up to 100% or more… in the next 3-10 days… and continue to pay out… week after week. You can get in on the action now by following this link. The Fed’s thinking is nearly impossible to understand, but the Fed’s goals are relatively straightforward. The Fed operates under a mandate from Congress to “promote effectively the… Read More