Today’s vernacular is riddled with acronyms ending in the letter “O”: IMO, YOLO, BOGO, and the newest one that’s most relevant to the investing racket, FOMO, which stands for “Fear of Missing Out”.  FOMO can often drive the type of investment behavior that can lead to bubbles and mania. We saw lots of FOMO during the dot-com bubble of the late 90s.  However, professionally speaking, “fear of missing out” sounds almost as absurd as “fear of success”. FOMO in relation to investment behavior is the notion that an investor will chase prices without regard to valuation or fundamentals, driven solely… Read More

Today’s vernacular is riddled with acronyms ending in the letter “O”: IMO, YOLO, BOGO, and the newest one that’s most relevant to the investing racket, FOMO, which stands for “Fear of Missing Out”.  FOMO can often drive the type of investment behavior that can lead to bubbles and mania. We saw lots of FOMO during the dot-com bubble of the late 90s.  However, professionally speaking, “fear of missing out” sounds almost as absurd as “fear of success”. FOMO in relation to investment behavior is the notion that an investor will chase prices without regard to valuation or fundamentals, driven solely by the fear of not being able to participate in a rally. When this happens on a widespread scale, many hearts are broken, and a lot of money is lost. Pundits and talking heads contend that the market is entering this phase. I can neither confirm nor deny this. However, there are a few late-cycle bargains level-headed investors can take advantage of at the expense of FOMO lemmings. #-ad_banner-#The Financials I Like Right Now If you’ve followed my writing on StreetAuthority, you’ll know that I’m a frequent fan of asset manager stocks and master limited partnerships (MLPs). These firms… Read More

The year is still young, but the S&P 500 has already run up more than 6%. That’s not bad at all — especially considering that we’re only two weeks into the year!  For such a short time, this is outstanding. And this should make you happy, especially if you subscribe to the so-called “January Theory,” which states that a strong (positive) month of January will often be followed by a strong year in the markets.  —Sponsored Link— The Only 5 Stocks To Buy And Hold For 2018 It may be one of the most controversial… Read More

The year is still young, but the S&P 500 has already run up more than 6%. That’s not bad at all — especially considering that we’re only two weeks into the year!  For such a short time, this is outstanding. And this should make you happy, especially if you subscribe to the so-called “January Theory,” which states that a strong (positive) month of January will often be followed by a strong year in the markets.  —Sponsored Link— The Only 5 Stocks To Buy And Hold For 2018 It may be one of the most controversial stories gripping the U.S. at the moment. But it’s already turned smart investors into millionaires. The best part — stocks that once returned 200%, 300%, even 500% are offering us another ground floor opportunity to double, if not triple our returns this year. To learn more about these stocks, check out the full story here. But the truth is that, as much as every investor’s situation is unique, every year in the stock market’s history is quite different from the rest, too. This year’s set of circumstances range from the enactment of the new corporate tax… Read More

Contrary to what some pundits might tell you, this bull market is indeed aging. The longer it goes on, the more likely cyclical forces will take their toll. What goes up, must go down, after all.  However, income investors have their own special goals and needs. Some of you aren’t too concerned with the market’s gyrations — because you might not be overly concerned about the preservation of principal.  —Sponsored Link— The ‘Green Gold Rush’ Begins NOW Marijuana legalization is sweeping the country. On Election Day, California, Nevada and Massachusetts all roundly voted to legalize… Read More

Contrary to what some pundits might tell you, this bull market is indeed aging. The longer it goes on, the more likely cyclical forces will take their toll. What goes up, must go down, after all.  However, income investors have their own special goals and needs. Some of you aren’t too concerned with the market’s gyrations — because you might not be overly concerned about the preservation of principal.  —Sponsored Link— The ‘Green Gold Rush’ Begins NOW Marijuana legalization is sweeping the country. On Election Day, California, Nevada and Massachusetts all roundly voted to legalize recreational marijuana use. And this sea change could kick-start the birth of this $100 billion industry. Take action TODAY, and you have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn a tiny $50 investment into an absolute fortune. Click here to find out how. This makes a lot of sense. Let’s say, for the sake of simplicity, that your portfolio consists of one stock worth $10,000 and yielding 5%. Your annual dividend will, therefore, be $500 and your portfolio will be yielding 5%. Easy, right?  Now, if your imaginary stock declined 25% but kept its payout, your portfolio’s value… Read More

When a business changes its name, it’s usually a big deal.  You see, it can cost millions for a company to rebrand itself under a different name. It has to change its signage, advertising copy, and a million other things. It’s a task not to be taken lightly. For example, when Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC (NYSE: YUM), it did so to get the word “fried” out of its advertising in an age of health-conscious customers. Cigarette maker Phillip Morris did the same when they rebranded to Altria (NYSE: MO) in 2003. The political pressures associated with… Read More

When a business changes its name, it’s usually a big deal.  You see, it can cost millions for a company to rebrand itself under a different name. It has to change its signage, advertising copy, and a million other things. It’s a task not to be taken lightly. For example, when Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC (NYSE: YUM), it did so to get the word “fried” out of its advertising in an age of health-conscious customers. Cigarette maker Phillip Morris did the same when they rebranded to Altria (NYSE: MO) in 2003. The political pressures associated with “big tobacco” created a need for a less caustic moniker.  But it’s important to understand that neither KFC nor Altria changed their businesses. They still sell fried chicken and tobacco respectively. They just do it under more appealing names.  #-ad_banner-#Now, companies don’t just change their names to avoid negative connotations. Some companies try desperately to take advantage of some prevailing social trend. This was never more obvious than when companies added “.com” to their names during the tech craze in the late 1990s.  This was confirmed in a research article that indicates firms that added “.com”… Read More

Canadian officials warned on January 10 of increasing likelihood that the United States would give six months’ notice of withdrawal from NAFTA. Negotiations have moved little in five rounds of talks with the sixth scheduled on January 23 in Montreal. Renegotiating the 25-year trade old agreement was always going to be difficult. Trade between the three North American countries (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) tops $1 trillion and the prevailing business model in several industries is built around the cross-border agreement. To make matters worse, political events this year could put up a roadblock to… Read More

Canadian officials warned on January 10 of increasing likelihood that the United States would give six months’ notice of withdrawal from NAFTA. Negotiations have moved little in five rounds of talks with the sixth scheduled on January 23 in Montreal. Renegotiating the 25-year trade old agreement was always going to be difficult. Trade between the three North American countries (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) tops $1 trillion and the prevailing business model in several industries is built around the cross-border agreement. To make matters worse, political events this year could put up a roadblock to the negotiation process.  The market is still optimistic that the three governments can avoid the cataclysm that would result from a complete scrapping of the agreement, but at this point it’s not looking good.  #-ad_banner-#A termination of NAFTA could be the year’s biggest market mover and it will be tough finding winners in the fallout. Will NAFTA Fall Apart? Canada and Mexico have both rejected U.S. hardline requests of a five-year automatic termination clause, the elimination of dispute panels and stricter rules on auto and dairy. That has stalled negotiations and prompted many to believe President Trump may give… Read More

It is one of the hottest — and most polarizing — topics in finance over the past few months. It’s talked about in the media nearly every day. Some have hailed it as the next “big thing,” while others have called it “rat poison.” Some believe we are just in the beginning of a bull market (despite its meteoric rise), while others relate it to the tulip mania bubble of the 1600s. I’m of course referring to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  —Sponsored Link— Is Amazon About To Shock Bitcoin Investors? If you’ve invested or are… Read More

It is one of the hottest — and most polarizing — topics in finance over the past few months. It’s talked about in the media nearly every day. Some have hailed it as the next “big thing,” while others have called it “rat poison.” Some believe we are just in the beginning of a bull market (despite its meteoric rise), while others relate it to the tulip mania bubble of the 1600s. I’m of course referring to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  —Sponsored Link— Is Amazon About To Shock Bitcoin Investors? If you’ve invested or are planning to invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies… You MUST click here and see what could be the biggest shock of 2018. This could be your only chance of turning $100 into a retirement fortune… In a matter of months… all thanks to Amazon. Click here for details. Now before you roll your eyes and write off the rest of today’s issue — which is what I used to do anytime I read something with the word “bitcoin” or “cryptocurrency” in it — there’s something you need to understand about this new… Read More