Has it really been only nine years? On March 6, we celebrated yet another anniversary of the current bull market. This bull, having recorded a better than 300% return from the closing low of 666.79 set on March 6, 2009 (not counting dividends), is already in the running for the longest such run in history. However, this comparison to the bull markets of the past brings out fear of a pending bust. There have simply been too many instances where bear-market selloffs followed bull-market rallies. The “dot-com” crash, for instance, came at the end of the massive 12-plus years 1990s… Read More

Has it really been only nine years? On March 6, we celebrated yet another anniversary of the current bull market. This bull, having recorded a better than 300% return from the closing low of 666.79 set on March 6, 2009 (not counting dividends), is already in the running for the longest such run in history. However, this comparison to the bull markets of the past brings out fear of a pending bust. There have simply been too many instances where bear-market selloffs followed bull-market rallies. The “dot-com” crash, for instance, came at the end of the massive 12-plus years 1990s bull market (when stocks jumped by more than 800%). —Sponsored Link— ‘Forever Income’ Retirement Plan: 7.5% Dividends, 56% Upside If you’re currently investing in dividend stocks for retirement income — or nearing retirement and plan to live off dividends in the years ahead — then please take a few minutes to read this urgent new report. Not only could it prevent you from making a huge mistake, it will also show you how to secure 7.5% income and 56% gains! Click here for details, along with three great stocks to buy… Read More

A diversified portfolio is essential to long-term investment success. That’s because a well-thought-out strategy helps investors earn consistent returns. And it reduces overall portfolio risk. But there’s more to diversification than adding different asset classes to a portfolio. Investors need a balanced approach to diversification. And this need goes well beyond simply placing income-producing securities into an equity portfolio. #-ad_banner-#That’s because a properly diversified portfolio doesn’t just expose an investor to different asset classes. It offers geographic diversification through exposure to emerging market (EM) economies as well. This mitigates an investor’s exposure to the type of risk where some macroeconomic… Read More

A diversified portfolio is essential to long-term investment success. That’s because a well-thought-out strategy helps investors earn consistent returns. And it reduces overall portfolio risk. But there’s more to diversification than adding different asset classes to a portfolio. Investors need a balanced approach to diversification. And this need goes well beyond simply placing income-producing securities into an equity portfolio. #-ad_banner-#That’s because a properly diversified portfolio doesn’t just expose an investor to different asset classes. It offers geographic diversification through exposure to emerging market (EM) economies as well. This mitigates an investor’s exposure to the type of risk where some macroeconomic event affects all asset classes at the same time. But not everyone agrees. Some investment advisers decry the need for exposure to emerging markets. They believe that EMs depend too heavily on developed economies. This dependence means that emerging market economies mirror the volatility of the developed nations. But they do so with weaker political and social contracts. This makes them less suitable for conservative investors.  A New Era But these advisers are missing an important point. What was true in the past isn’t true anymore. You see, emerging market economies have entered a new era. They are now… Read More

Stock markets remain volatile. While this can sometimes be good news, unfortunately for traders, there is no clear directional bias to the volatility. —Sponsored Link— As Easy To Buy As Amazon Or Apple… And you can get into these stocks now. Before the next wave of money comes flooding into the market. One company posted 7,820% gains in just eight months! Another posted 6,233% gains in just four months! Click here to find out how… The chart below shows that prices are at the same level they were three weeks ago. Read More

Stock markets remain volatile. While this can sometimes be good news, unfortunately for traders, there is no clear directional bias to the volatility. —Sponsored Link— As Easy To Buy As Amazon Or Apple… And you can get into these stocks now. Before the next wave of money comes flooding into the market. One company posted 7,820% gains in just eight months! Another posted 6,233% gains in just four months! Click here to find out how… The chart below shows that prices are at the same level they were three weeks ago. But, to get nowhere, the S&P 500 index fell sharply, rallied sharply and then drifted lower.   This is a difficult market for positional traders who like clear trends. If the trend is up, they can simply buy and hold. If the trend is clearly down, traders can either hold cash or use strategies like selling futures contracts to benefit from the decline. In a trendless market, traders tend to suffer short-term losses no matter which strategy they use. This can lead to frustration. Some traders will become so frustrated that they look to other markets. One market many… Read More

Few sectors have been battered like retail. A trifecta of bearish pressure, including the explosive growth of online shopping, consumer burnout, and with a failure to change with the times, combined to knock the sector lower. #-ad_banner-#Retail stocks are lower by around 30% on average in the last three years. Some have plunged much more, and others have closed their doors permanently. Toys “R” Us is the latest casualty of the retail apocalypse. Over 6,700 retail locations closed their doors in 2017 — a staggering figure no matter how you look at it. Opportunity lays in adversity, and nowhere is… Read More

Few sectors have been battered like retail. A trifecta of bearish pressure, including the explosive growth of online shopping, consumer burnout, and with a failure to change with the times, combined to knock the sector lower. #-ad_banner-#Retail stocks are lower by around 30% on average in the last three years. Some have plunged much more, and others have closed their doors permanently. Toys “R” Us is the latest casualty of the retail apocalypse. Over 6,700 retail locations closed their doors in 2017 — a staggering figure no matter how you look at it. Opportunity lays in adversity, and nowhere is this more evident than the stock market. Buying when there is blood in the street is a time-proven way of earning outsized returns. However, the question has always been when and what to buy. To be sure, some retailers will not survive the current rout. Others will grow stronger and thrive in the face of the meltdown. This is where technical analysis makes sense. While far from 100% accurate, technical price charts can key you in to when trend changes may occur. Things appear to be slowly improving, with the S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT) just slightly lower in 2018… Read More

I have to say… the way recent events are playing out has me slightly unnerved. Namely, the surprise tariffs on foreign metals and the subsequent resignation of Trump’s chief economic advisor, the level-headed Gary Cohn. —Sponsored Link— Sell These Stocks Right Now These stocks may look solid — but there is trouble lurking underneath the surface. Just-released free list from Zacks Investment Research reveals the names of 220 stocks rated “Strong Sells” to sell immediately. Protect your portfolio — get your FREE copy here. As much as I am pro-America (believe… Read More

I have to say… the way recent events are playing out has me slightly unnerved. Namely, the surprise tariffs on foreign metals and the subsequent resignation of Trump’s chief economic advisor, the level-headed Gary Cohn. —Sponsored Link— Sell These Stocks Right Now These stocks may look solid — but there is trouble lurking underneath the surface. Just-released free list from Zacks Investment Research reveals the names of 220 stocks rated “Strong Sells” to sell immediately. Protect your portfolio — get your FREE copy here. As much as I am pro-America (believe me, I am), I believe the tariff increases could have been executed a bit differently. As one of the world’s most watched “teachers,” we shouldn’t encourage the students to act first, negotiate later. Protectionism may seem like a positive in some aspects, but I agree with past examples that trade wars in a heavily intertwined global economic fabric likely have no winners. The bottom line is that this abrupt shift in trade policy changes the narrative and sentiment quite a bit. And although much of it is likely noise, there’s a real threat to global economic stability and sentiment, even… Read More

February’s spike in volatility saw the largest one-day drop in the Dow’s history — a rude awakening after several years of stock market calm and rising prices. Not only has general volatility spiked but headwinds in specific sectors are causing massive disruptions in the larger index. Shares of tech companies now account for 27% of the S&P 500 with Monday’s sell-off largely driven by weakness in the sector. #-ad_banner-#The 6%-plus drop in shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) alone took 0.1% off the S&P 500 for the day. With the fiscal stimulus of tax cuts already in the rearview, 2018 lacks… Read More

February’s spike in volatility saw the largest one-day drop in the Dow’s history — a rude awakening after several years of stock market calm and rising prices. Not only has general volatility spiked but headwinds in specific sectors are causing massive disruptions in the larger index. Shares of tech companies now account for 27% of the S&P 500 with Monday’s sell-off largely driven by weakness in the sector. #-ad_banner-#The 6%-plus drop in shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) alone took 0.1% off the S&P 500 for the day. With the fiscal stimulus of tax cuts already in the rearview, 2018 lacks a macroeconomic catalyst to support investor enthusiasm. In fact, investor hope has turned to fear of a potential trade war or at least a tariff-induced slowdown. When uncertainty peaks, I like to seek shelter in best-of-breed dividend names. I look for companies with solid balance sheets and a five-year history of growing dividend payments. These dividend growth picks won’t be immune to a broad market selloff, but those regular dividend payments represent a source of guaranteed positive returns. The companies’ commitment to growing those dividends also means you earn a progressively higher return for years on that initial investment. Could… Read More

It’s official. President Trump has just signed an executive order enacting protective tariffs on aluminum and steel. Shipments originating from Mexico and Canada are temporarily exempt while new a new framework for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is hammered out. All other imports will be subject to duties of 10% and 25%, respectively. —Sponsored Link— Bitcoin Is Skyrocketing! But while the rest of the world is fixated on watching Bitcoin grow.There’s an even BIGGER story developing. There’s a little-known digital asset that could be your key to turning a small investment into millions. Read More

It’s official. President Trump has just signed an executive order enacting protective tariffs on aluminum and steel. Shipments originating from Mexico and Canada are temporarily exempt while new a new framework for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is hammered out. All other imports will be subject to duties of 10% and 25%, respectively. —Sponsored Link— Bitcoin Is Skyrocketing! But while the rest of the world is fixated on watching Bitcoin grow.There’s an even BIGGER story developing. There’s a little-known digital asset that could be your key to turning a small investment into millions. And it’s more accessible and less risky than Bitcoin. But like all good things, there is a catch. You only have until April 27 to get in on the ground floor. Once this digital asset goes offline, you’ll have missed out on your chance of turning your money into $2.3 million dollar fortune. Click here to learn more about this digital asset now. The decision was made under the auspices of national security, as the United States doesn’t want to be overly dependent on foreign sources of strategic metals. Still, the move drew swift condemnation from… Read More