I am a confirmed contrarian when it comes to the stock market. Investment contrarians take the opposite position of the prevailing wisdom when it comes to choosing stocks, buying picks that no one else seems to want.  Bad news is a contrarian’s best friend, as it pushes prices lower into the deep-value zone. But even better is good news that results in a selloff. Many times, positive earnings or other good news is not quite good enough to satisfy investors who expected more. Shares are dumped despite the seemingly positive news, depressing prices. Savvy contrarian investors wait for these selloffs… Read More

I am a confirmed contrarian when it comes to the stock market. Investment contrarians take the opposite position of the prevailing wisdom when it comes to choosing stocks, buying picks that no one else seems to want.  Bad news is a contrarian’s best friend, as it pushes prices lower into the deep-value zone. But even better is good news that results in a selloff. Many times, positive earnings or other good news is not quite good enough to satisfy investors who expected more. Shares are dumped despite the seemingly positive news, depressing prices. Savvy contrarian investors wait for these selloffs in the face of improving fundamentals to build long term positions.  The iconic American automobile company Ford (NYSE: F) is set up to be such an ideal contrarian buy right now. The overall bearish sentiment combined with bullish fundamental and technical metrics has skewed the risk/reward ratio solidly to the reward side.   Why Ford Should Be Your Next Buy 1. Solid Fundamentals And Performance Ford has just hit its highest free cash flow level in the last 10 years at just under $13 billion. Free cash flow is a very critical fundamental metric. In fact, as I argued in… Read More

If you fly for business or pleasure, you know that buying a plane ticket has almost become an art form.  And when it comes to your final ticket price, it turns out that when you buy may matter more than where you fly.  According to Cheapair.com, the average fare difference between the best day to buy your airline ticket and the worst is more than $200 — and that’s not counting the premium fares you’ll see if you’re purchasing a ticket within seven days of travel.  That’s because airlines don’t have a fixed ticket-price system. They change fares constantly, as… Read More

If you fly for business or pleasure, you know that buying a plane ticket has almost become an art form.  And when it comes to your final ticket price, it turns out that when you buy may matter more than where you fly.  According to Cheapair.com, the average fare difference between the best day to buy your airline ticket and the worst is more than $200 — and that’s not counting the premium fares you’ll see if you’re purchasing a ticket within seven days of travel.  That’s because airlines don’t have a fixed ticket-price system. They change fares constantly, as their goal is twofold: sell the most tickets for every flight (a goal best achieved with lower fares) and maximize the total amount received (a seemingly contradictory goal best achieved with higher ticket prices).  —Sponsored Link— Were You Born Before 1969? See if you qualify for Reagan’s secret 702(j) Retirement Plan. It could pay you $2,194 a month, tax-free… Learn more. Introducing: Revenue Management Instead, airlines utilize a system called “revenue management” — a process that looks at consumer demand patterns and the company’s business trends to ultimately determine best… Read More

To say retailers have had a tough time this year is an understatement. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is down more than 6%, underperforming the S&P 500 by almost 17% to date. The weakness across the group doesn’t begin to illustrate the pain felt by brands like Under Armor (NYSE: UA), down 31% this year, and Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), down 17%. The meme has been that apparel stocks and other traditional retailers are facing a difficult road simply on the shift from department stores to online shopping. Many investors have stuck with branded retailers and analysts continue… Read More

To say retailers have had a tough time this year is an understatement. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is down more than 6%, underperforming the S&P 500 by almost 17% to date. The weakness across the group doesn’t begin to illustrate the pain felt by brands like Under Armor (NYSE: UA), down 31% this year, and Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), down 17%. The meme has been that apparel stocks and other traditional retailers are facing a difficult road simply on the shift from department stores to online shopping. Many investors have stuck with branded retailers and analysts continue to talk up the power of brand recognition to rationalize a target price.  While the shift to online shopping means incremental losses in sales, it’s masking a larger trend. Many of these once-valued brands may not have a shot even if they can execute on an online strategy. The Retail Nightmare Isn’t Just Online Vs. The Mall Scott Galloway has been studying the evolution of consumer brands and the digital revolution for decades, first as the founder of Prophet Brand Strategy and Red Envelope and now as a marketing professor at the NYU Stern School of Business.  #-ad_banner-#He’s been… Read More

Peter Lynch gave very good advice when he told investors to invest in what they know. And while I’ve found that many people still tend to ignore this most logical adage, it’s one rule I simply will not break.  To that end, I have found great success in going back again and again to the stocks I know best (and have made my Profit Amplifier subscribers and me money).  Michael Kors Holdings (NYSE: KORS) is one of those very stocks. About two weeks ago, we closed a quick trade in the luxury fashion brand for a 20.4% gain, and now… Read More

Peter Lynch gave very good advice when he told investors to invest in what they know. And while I’ve found that many people still tend to ignore this most logical adage, it’s one rule I simply will not break.  To that end, I have found great success in going back again and again to the stocks I know best (and have made my Profit Amplifier subscribers and me money).  Michael Kors Holdings (NYSE: KORS) is one of those very stocks. About two weeks ago, we closed a quick trade in the luxury fashion brand for a 20.4% gain, and now it is once again flashing a bearish signal after a recent rally. The recent jump in price means we can get back into a put options trade at the level we did before, and that makes me feel pretty good because I know things are only getting worse for KORS.  Investor sympathy and a hot market are what drove shares back up despite analysts becoming even more bearish. It’s this very equation that often produces the best results.  —Sponsored Link— Free Report: 7 Dividend Growth Stocks For 100 Percent-Plus Gains Forget about recent… Read More

After a 25%-plus move higher this year, many investors are starting to get nervous about the odds of additional upside in emerging-market equities. The market, however, is sending far different signals. The upward surge is far from over. In fact, it may still be in its infancy. There are seven important factors telling me to hold on to my bullish expectations for the sector.  Why I Think Emerging Markets Are Only Going Up 1. Economic Growth Developed markets are experiencing a growth slowdown while emerging markets are in a long-term expansion phase.  While developed markets are forecasted… Read More

After a 25%-plus move higher this year, many investors are starting to get nervous about the odds of additional upside in emerging-market equities. The market, however, is sending far different signals. The upward surge is far from over. In fact, it may still be in its infancy. There are seven important factors telling me to hold on to my bullish expectations for the sector.  Why I Think Emerging Markets Are Only Going Up 1. Economic Growth Developed markets are experiencing a growth slowdown while emerging markets are in a long-term expansion phase.  While developed markets are forecasted to grow by just 2% in 2017, emerging markets are projected to hit 4.5% growth this year. The growth is predicted to climb nearly 5% in 2018.  #-ad_banner-#The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) create 22% of the global GDP, a figure that continues to climb. An expected 80% of total world GDP growth will come from emerging markets over the next five years, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  India and China’s portion of world GDP has grown by six times since 1970. The G7 nations’ share of world trade has declined from 50% to 30% during… Read More

I’ve been doing a lot of reading these days about my own generation: the millennials. While I’m at the older end of the cohort, and don’t necessarily identify as one, even I will admit that we’re a tough bunch to figure out. You’ve heard the stereotypes — and many of them are true. We’re notoriously fickle, embrace irony at every opportunity, and were colored markedly by technology (as well as the financial crisis). But here’s what you might not know… the millennial population is now 75.4 million, according to the Pew Research Center. That group (born roughly between 1980 and 2000, depending… Read More

I’ve been doing a lot of reading these days about my own generation: the millennials. While I’m at the older end of the cohort, and don’t necessarily identify as one, even I will admit that we’re a tough bunch to figure out. You’ve heard the stereotypes — and many of them are true. We’re notoriously fickle, embrace irony at every opportunity, and were colored markedly by technology (as well as the financial crisis). But here’s what you might not know… the millennial population is now 75.4 million, according to the Pew Research Center. That group (born roughly between 1980 and 2000, depending on the source) now outnumber the 74.9 million baby boomers (late 1940s to 1964). Given this data — especially the fact that older millennials (like myself) are in their early 30s (prime years of consumption) — companies have been trying to wrap their heads around just what it is that makes us tick. There’s big money in that, after all… From my perspective, here’s how the media tends to portray millennials (maybe you’ve found yourself thinking this, too): — Very tech-savvy. — Hate being labeled. — Easily bored, distracted, crave instant gratification, and constantly on the move. — Waiting longer to get married,… Read More

I’m convinced that no one gets a bargain when it comes to buying a new car or showroom furniture. Those deals just don’t exist. But when some investors say the market is too expensive, I’m not convinced. There’s always a bargain somewhere. Granted, it may be a bargain for a reason that will ensure it becomes even cheaper. But it’s usually the case that those who can’t find anything to buy aren’t looking hard enough. Yes, I agree that stock markets are at record highs. Making a broad-based bet on the market moving up could make an investor wonder aloud… Read More

I’m convinced that no one gets a bargain when it comes to buying a new car or showroom furniture. Those deals just don’t exist. But when some investors say the market is too expensive, I’m not convinced. There’s always a bargain somewhere. Granted, it may be a bargain for a reason that will ensure it becomes even cheaper. But it’s usually the case that those who can’t find anything to buy aren’t looking hard enough. Yes, I agree that stock markets are at record highs. Making a broad-based bet on the market moving up could make an investor wonder aloud if he’s paying too much. If he was focusing on the most widely-held names, he’d would be correct. If a bond investor was seeking income, he’d have to buy the longest maturities available to get paid anything. Even then, those yields would be miserly, not to mention the principal risk involved with a longer maturity and the threat of rising rates. Despite those challenges, I’ve found a closed-end fund (CEF) that trades at an attractive discount relative to its net asset value (NAV) and the market, throws off a well above average income stream, and can hedge an entire portfolio… Read More

The current housing market in the United States is undergoing dramatic changes, and there are very few ways for the average American to capitalize on it. Today’s trade is one of them. Most of you probably know that real estate prices have been on the rise for the past few years. Just take a look at the below chart of the S&P Case-Shiller 30 City Index, which recently made a new all-time high. And yes, you are seeing that correctly… real estate prices have now exceeded their previous 2006 highs… the height of the housing boom. Unfortunately, the… Read More

The current housing market in the United States is undergoing dramatic changes, and there are very few ways for the average American to capitalize on it. Today’s trade is one of them. Most of you probably know that real estate prices have been on the rise for the past few years. Just take a look at the below chart of the S&P Case-Shiller 30 City Index, which recently made a new all-time high. And yes, you are seeing that correctly… real estate prices have now exceeded their previous 2006 highs… the height of the housing boom. Unfortunately, the average American isn’t celebrating this achievement, as wage increases haven’t kept up with these costs. For many, the American Dream of owning your house has become exactly that — a dream. ––Recommended Link— Clues From The Ultra-Rich To Grow Your Wealth Billionaires and institutional investors are dumping hedge funds. They’ve already pulled a record $100 billion. What they’re doing with their money now could be the one clue you need to secure your wealth forever… Full story here. In fact, only the wealthiest of the wealthy are seeing their household income increase on the same trajectory as real estate… Read More

The Republican Party’s attempts to “fix” the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have been nothing short of disastrous. And if it weren’t for the seriousness of the issue, it would be downright hilarious. Whether you agree the government has a role in healthcare or not, it should be clear to everyone that the federal government has no idea how to solve the myriad problems they themselves create. Incompetent Washington bureaucrats have only made health care worse in America. And sadly, these same bureaucrats will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. But their incompetence isn’t just relegated to… Read More

The Republican Party’s attempts to “fix” the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have been nothing short of disastrous. And if it weren’t for the seriousness of the issue, it would be downright hilarious. Whether you agree the government has a role in healthcare or not, it should be clear to everyone that the federal government has no idea how to solve the myriad problems they themselves create. Incompetent Washington bureaucrats have only made health care worse in America. And sadly, these same bureaucrats will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. But their incompetence isn’t just relegated to the healthcare debate.  The problems in healthcare mirror the problems of Social Security (OASDI) — although social security’s unfunded liabilities are orders of magnitude the size and scope of healthcare. Unfortunately, the end-result will be the same. —Sponsored Link— Big Tobacco’s Punishment: A Long Time Coming In November of 1998, the “Big Four of Big Tobacco” were sued for using misleading advertisements and manipulating scientific research. And in a landmark settlement they agreed to pay a historic sum of money in perpetuity to those affected. We estimate they’ve been paying out about $686 million a… Read More