It’s no secret that businesses want your e-mail. It’s the holy grail of marketing today — especially for every fly-by-night outfit advertising on social media. You see, if a business can get your e-mail, they can begin an almost scientific process of turning you into a paying customer.  They do this by offering some free report or trial offer. And once you take the bait and provide your e-mail, they enter your e-mail address into a sales funnel. Here, they automatically send you an e-mail every few days trying to get you to read or listen to a long sales… Read More

It’s no secret that businesses want your e-mail. It’s the holy grail of marketing today — especially for every fly-by-night outfit advertising on social media. You see, if a business can get your e-mail, they can begin an almost scientific process of turning you into a paying customer.  They do this by offering some free report or trial offer. And once you take the bait and provide your e-mail, they enter your e-mail address into a sales funnel. Here, they automatically send you an e-mail every few days trying to get you to read or listen to a long sales letter. This sales letter is an attempt to sell you a high-priced product or service. And the process couldn’t be easier. The business offers their product or service, and then at the end of the pitch, they offer a bunch of freebies to sweeten the deal.  You know the process. “Buy my $100 book and you’ll get five BONUS reports giving you secrets that only my customers know.” And believe it or not, this funnel system works. #-ad_banner-#In fact, research shows that once an e-mail address is entered into a sales funnel, it takes roughly 45 days to make that… Read More

Have you ever wanted to own and manage your own champion NBA team? Or maybe you were into politics and dreamt of one day ruling over the greatest nation on earth?  Maybe you’re the type who dreams of saving humanity from natural disasters… or piloting your starship to alien galaxies and ward off evil.  —Sponsored Link— Want To Invest In Weed And Don’t Know Where To Start? Well over half of the country already has marijuana legally available in some form. Eight states plus our nation’s capital have made it completely legal to anyone over… Read More

Have you ever wanted to own and manage your own champion NBA team? Or maybe you were into politics and dreamt of one day ruling over the greatest nation on earth?  Maybe you’re the type who dreams of saving humanity from natural disasters… or piloting your starship to alien galaxies and ward off evil.  —Sponsored Link— Want To Invest In Weed And Don’t Know Where To Start? Well over half of the country already has marijuana legally available in some form. Eight states plus our nation’s capital have made it completely legal to anyone over the age of 21. And now with the recent marijuana legislation in Canada, the marijuana stock market is preparing to take off. Watch this short video and see whether jumping on this moon-bound stock rocket is right for you. When I was a kid, these daydreams were the sparks that excited the mind of many a geek like me (and maybe a few of the cool kids). Back then, 8-bit primitive video games helped feed these fantasies. Unfortunately, the games were rudimentary and usually required a trip to the local arcade — along with a healthy… Read More

In 1956, geologist M. King Hubbert came up with what seemed to be an accurate prediction of “peak oil”, a theory regarding the maxing out of U.S. oil production that goes back to 1919, using statistical modeling. Hubbert projected that U.S. oil production would peak between 1965 and 1971. With the onset of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and ensuing energy crisis, Hubbert’s theory seemed dead on, mainly due to the United States’ dependence on imported oil increasing during the latter part of the 20th century. But here’s what really happened. The red line shows Hubbert’s… Read More

In 1956, geologist M. King Hubbert came up with what seemed to be an accurate prediction of “peak oil”, a theory regarding the maxing out of U.S. oil production that goes back to 1919, using statistical modeling. Hubbert projected that U.S. oil production would peak between 1965 and 1971. With the onset of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo and ensuing energy crisis, Hubbert’s theory seemed dead on, mainly due to the United States’ dependence on imported oil increasing during the latter part of the 20th century. But here’s what really happened. The red line shows Hubbert’s prediction. The green line represents actual U.S. oil production. Hubbert’s “Oilmageddon” never happened thanks to the shale revolution.  And the effect on the price of oil? We know that story from visiting the pumps.  #-ad_banner-#The price of West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) has declined nearly 62% in the last decade. Has demand dropped off? Hardly. But supply and the ability to efficiently manage the supply has changed dramatically. Never say never, but the odds don’t favor the price of oil reaching triple digits any time soon, at least not in my lifetime — and I think… Read More

A joint committee from the House and Senate has agreed on a reconciled tax proposal that combines the two packages from each chamber.  While stocks have jumped more than 5% since mid-November in anticipation of the new tax package, a look at individual industries shows there may still be time to position ahead of the companies that stand to disproportionately benefit. Besides lowering the overall corporate tax rate, the bill includes several other key proposals that could drive corporate earnings for 2018 and beyond. That means some industries and even specific companies could see an even… Read More

A joint committee from the House and Senate has agreed on a reconciled tax proposal that combines the two packages from each chamber.  While stocks have jumped more than 5% since mid-November in anticipation of the new tax package, a look at individual industries shows there may still be time to position ahead of the companies that stand to disproportionately benefit. Besides lowering the overall corporate tax rate, the bill includes several other key proposals that could drive corporate earnings for 2018 and beyond. That means some industries and even specific companies could see an even bigger boost.  In fact, three components of the new tax deal caught my eye as particularly beneficial, and I’m using them to rebalance my own portfolio. #-ad_banner-#​Broad Changes In The New Tax Bill The broadest change in the new tax package is the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% starting next year. Companies would pay a 15.5% rate on foreign income held as cash or an 8% rate on income invested in property or equipment. Owners of pass-through businesses will be allowed to deduct 20% from their business income before paying taxes at their personal… Read More

While decorating for Christmas, I noticed how many of our decorations have been around for years. Some of my favorite ornaments are the oldest, like the ones celebrating “Our First Christmas Together” and “Baby’s First Christmas.” These are irreplaceable. Then, there are the more recent additions, decorations that are often based on the latest characters being marketed to my kids. (Although, I will say that some of these new decorations still feel old, like our “Frozen” ornaments. Even though it feels like we’ve already watched it 400 times, that movie was only released four years ago.) —Sponsored Link—… Read More

While decorating for Christmas, I noticed how many of our decorations have been around for years. Some of my favorite ornaments are the oldest, like the ones celebrating “Our First Christmas Together” and “Baby’s First Christmas.” These are irreplaceable. Then, there are the more recent additions, decorations that are often based on the latest characters being marketed to my kids. (Although, I will say that some of these new decorations still feel old, like our “Frozen” ornaments. Even though it feels like we’ve already watched it 400 times, that movie was only released four years ago.) —Sponsored Link— I Stuffed $379,363.80 Into My Retirement Accounts With This… It’s a surprisingly simple investment technique, but it can work wonders for retirees. Free report reveals how to copy this strategy inside your own retirement account. Free report here… There are also old characters that are new again: Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman have been reaching new audiences every year for decades as younger generations of children discover these classics.  This year, there are more new characters. Disney introduced new characters in its latest major theatrical release, “Coco.” Then, there are the old characters… Read More

Professional investors utilize a wide variety of tactics and techniques to manage their portfolios. The specific strategies and methods are often as different and unique as each investor.  However, I have discovered a strategy that is nearly universal to winning stock market investors. This approach is what allows hedge funds,… Read More

Companies hate to cut dividends. Knowing the backlash they’ll get from stockholders, many executives and board members consider it a desperate act of last resort. They will halt non-discretionary expenditures, reduce payroll and overhead, and even take on debt in order to maintain distributions.  And that’s exactly why dividend hikes send such a strong bullish signal. A company wouldn’t bump quarterly payouts to $0.60 per share from $0.50 unless it were fairly certain that incoming cash flows would be more than sufficient to cover the higher dividend, with room to spare. The last thing they want is to raise it… Read More

Companies hate to cut dividends. Knowing the backlash they’ll get from stockholders, many executives and board members consider it a desperate act of last resort. They will halt non-discretionary expenditures, reduce payroll and overhead, and even take on debt in order to maintain distributions.  And that’s exactly why dividend hikes send such a strong bullish signal. A company wouldn’t bump quarterly payouts to $0.60 per share from $0.50 unless it were fairly certain that incoming cash flows would be more than sufficient to cover the higher dividend, with room to spare. The last thing they want is to raise it today only to lower back down tomorrow. A dividend hike is a clear vote of confidence for future success.  —Sponsored Link— He Taught 3rd Graders How To Invest In 3 Easy Steps While financial “experts” use industry jargon to confuse you, one former chemical engineer set out to do something radically different. Using three easy steps, he successfully boiled investing down to a language and a system that even a 3rd-grader can understand. So if an elementary student can learn to use his strategy effectively, imagine the incredible power it could have in your hands…… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling… Read More

As an experienced investor, I know there are times to employ different strategies when buying and selling stocks. Two of my favorite strategies are to buy stocks at deep discounts to their intrinsic values (value investing). I also love to look for stocks at the center of some long-term mega-trend. These stocks I buy and hold for decades. Less commonly, I pay attention to what retail investors (individual investors buying for their personal accounts) are doing. But in today’s market, I’m doing the exact opposite. You see, retail investors often follow the herd mentality and end up buying and selling stocks at just the wrong times. Many professional investors use a contrarian strategy. That is, they buy when retail investors are selling and sell when the herd is buying.  #-ad_banner-#Now, watching the crowd is not something I spend a lot of time doing. But when certain economic metrics get to extreme levels, it becomes critical to monitor conditions that might indicate retail investors are in full herd mentality. To this point, several metrics are starting to show extreme, or near extreme, levels of greed. This indicates that retail investor sentiment is heating up — potentially indicating that… Read More