Since 1951, the American Cancer Society has been releasing a detailed report on the status of this dreaded disease, and our progress in fighting it.  A valuable feature of these publications is their projections of the number of cancer cases and deaths expected in the country as a whole and in each state, broken down by specific types of cancer. Most recently, for instance, we learned that the recent trend of the decline in mortality rates — a decline that began in 1991 — has continued. As of 2015, the latest year for which figures are available, the mortality rate… Read More

Since 1951, the American Cancer Society has been releasing a detailed report on the status of this dreaded disease, and our progress in fighting it.  A valuable feature of these publications is their projections of the number of cancer cases and deaths expected in the country as a whole and in each state, broken down by specific types of cancer. Most recently, for instance, we learned that the recent trend of the decline in mortality rates — a decline that began in 1991 — has continued. As of 2015, the latest year for which figures are available, the mortality rate dropped to 159 per 100,000 (a decline of 26% since 1991); this translates into 2.3 million-plus fewer cancer deaths over this period. The death rate has declined especially sharply for the four most common cancer types: lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate. This is wonderful news, and there are two big reasons for this progress.  #-ad_banner-#One is related to public-health efforts, in particular the reduction in smoking. In 1991, about 46.3 million adults in the United States (25.7%) smoked cigarettes; by 2016, this number declined to 15.5% of all adults (37.8 million people).  The other has everything to do with science… Read More

Lately, I’ve been noting the importance of the 200-day moving average (MA). The first chart I want to look at this week shows that the S&P 500 failed to break above that MA.  I’ve also highlighted another section of the chart that is a good illustration of how important the 200-day MA can be. During that period, the index reached its top in October and began selling off. The initial declined when the price broke below the 200-day MA.  For almost eight weeks, the S&P 500 remained within a few percentage points of this level. Then, in early December, the… Read More

Lately, I’ve been noting the importance of the 200-day moving average (MA). The first chart I want to look at this week shows that the S&P 500 failed to break above that MA.  I’ve also highlighted another section of the chart that is a good illustration of how important the 200-day MA can be. During that period, the index reached its top in October and began selling off. The initial declined when the price broke below the 200-day MA.  For almost eight weeks, the S&P 500 remained within a few percentage points of this level. Then, in early December, the index broke sharply below its moving average, sparking a 15% tumble that reached a low of 2,351 on December 24.  In the six weeks since those lows, the S&P 500 staged a steady rally back toward its 200-day MA (spurring an increase of bullish opinions)… but it stalled out last week after failing to break through the MA for two days.  —Recommended Link— Thousands Of Americans Have Joined A Revolutionary New Marijuana Profit-Sharing Plan. Their payouts have been breathtaking. The company behind this plan sends out profit-sharing checks like clockwork, and you could quickly find… Read More

If there is a single trait that all game-changing stocks, regardless of their size or industry, share, it would be their outsized growth potential. This comes with the territory. An innovative company can benefit from being a disruptor by grabbing market share from established competition, contributing to the creation of new markets or accelerating the development of existing ones. In every case, if it’s successful, its innovative nature translates into faster-than-average growth. As the company in question grows its profits, its stock price responds in kind, appreciating faster than its peers. An accelerated growth means accelerated share-price appreciation, all else… Read More

If there is a single trait that all game-changing stocks, regardless of their size or industry, share, it would be their outsized growth potential. This comes with the territory. An innovative company can benefit from being a disruptor by grabbing market share from established competition, contributing to the creation of new markets or accelerating the development of existing ones. In every case, if it’s successful, its innovative nature translates into faster-than-average growth. As the company in question grows its profits, its stock price responds in kind, appreciating faster than its peers. An accelerated growth means accelerated share-price appreciation, all else equal. This growth potential can be especially rewarding in the world of small-cap stocks. While the risks are higher — a smaller company can grow faster but it can also falter easier as it often lacks the kind of resources needed to break through competition barriers — the rewards can be significant. This is why over at Game-Changing Stocks, we continue to emphasize growth companies. And this is why the stock screen I want to share with you today is about growth as well. The Screen: Small-Cap Growth Stocks I searched for companies with market capitalization of $1 billion… Read More

I recently finished remaking one of the rooms at my house into a personal office. After rearranging and unpacking boxes, I found myself thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street,” by Peter Lynch. It had been a while since I’ve read it, and I can faithfully report that most of what Lynch writes about still holds up in today’s market. I’m sure you’re familiar with Lynch, but his track record bears repeating. While at the helm of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity, Lynch delivered a 29.2% average annual return from 1977 to 1990. Probably the greatest mutual fund… Read More

I recently finished remaking one of the rooms at my house into a personal office. After rearranging and unpacking boxes, I found myself thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street,” by Peter Lynch. It had been a while since I’ve read it, and I can faithfully report that most of what Lynch writes about still holds up in today’s market. I’m sure you’re familiar with Lynch, but his track record bears repeating. While at the helm of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity, Lynch delivered a 29.2% average annual return from 1977 to 1990. Probably the greatest mutual fund manager of all time, we have Lynch to thank for popular investing phrases like “invest in what you know,” “10-bagger” (a stock that gains 1,000%), “GARP” (growth at a reasonable price), and more. But what you might not know about Lynch is the story behind his exit from the Magellan Fund… —Recommended Link— The Single Best Group of Stocks to Buy NOW Since 1926, one collection of stocks has accounted for HALF of the S&P’s return — through every market environment imaginable. If you don’t have these picks in your own portfolio, you could be missing out on the… Read More

We’re barely a month into 2019, but the 2020 election season is already in full swing.  Personally, I don’t have any opinion on the candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring (other than that I’m not sure we need politicians running for president almost two years before the election, but that seems to be the current system).  Over the next two years, many political commentaries will focus on whether we can afford the programs candidates propose. Some will argue that deficits are already too high and adding trillions in spending will push them even higher.  Once upon a… Read More

We’re barely a month into 2019, but the 2020 election season is already in full swing.  Personally, I don’t have any opinion on the candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring (other than that I’m not sure we need politicians running for president almost two years before the election, but that seems to be the current system).  Over the next two years, many political commentaries will focus on whether we can afford the programs candidates propose. Some will argue that deficits are already too high and adding trillions in spending will push them even higher.  Once upon a time, governments were expected to balance their budgets, but then economist John Maynard Keynes realized that governments could stimulate growth by running deficits when the economy contracted. Keynes also suggested running a surplus to offset the deficits when the economy was expanding, but politicians seem to have forgotten about that part of his work. If they followed that advice, deficits would rise and fall, and, in the long run, the government’s budget would be balanced (in theory).  That theory illustrates the concept of mean reversion, where a value fluctuates above and below its average. Mean reversion has also been applied… Read More