Financier Baron Rothschild famously said, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” What he meant is that the largest profits are made when traders purchase shares in companies whose share price has been beaten down so far that most investors have lost all interest. It’s at this point that spectacular turnarounds can happen. Today, one industry in particular has come under fire. Extreme regulatory pressure, public outcry, massive defaults, and even having its financial lifeline threatened have caused investors to flee the sector in droves. Stock prices in this sector plunged to lows last July. Then,… Read More

Financier Baron Rothschild famously said, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” What he meant is that the largest profits are made when traders purchase shares in companies whose share price has been beaten down so far that most investors have lost all interest. It’s at this point that spectacular turnarounds can happen. Today, one industry in particular has come under fire. Extreme regulatory pressure, public outcry, massive defaults, and even having its financial lifeline threatened have caused investors to flee the sector in droves. Stock prices in this sector plunged to lows last July. Then, before prices recovered, investors quietly starting snapping up shares again. These brave investors have since been rewarded handsomely with monster gains. The leading names in the sector have been trading higher by over 30% year-to-date, and I expect much greater gains over the next several years. That sector? For-profit education. Regulatory Pressure Has Crushed Profitability The for-profit education sector is a $23 billion industry with over 1,000 active businesses. Recently, for-profit universities and colleges have increasingly come under fire for their marketing tactics and admissions standards. The industry suffers from a shockingly high level of student loan defaults and… Read More

While there are no sure things in the stock market, there is one thing that’s almost certain: After stocks go up, bears start calling for a correction. You might remember the bears warning in April 2009 (shortly after the market bottomed) that the rise in stocks was a bear market rally and new lows were inevitable. The S&P 500 had jumped more than 15% in three weeks at that time and was overbought… according to the bears. Yet, stocks continued higher from there, embarking on a seven-year bull run. Fast-forward to present day, and after the S&P 500 shot up… Read More

While there are no sure things in the stock market, there is one thing that’s almost certain: After stocks go up, bears start calling for a correction. You might remember the bears warning in April 2009 (shortly after the market bottomed) that the rise in stocks was a bear market rally and new lows were inevitable. The S&P 500 had jumped more than 15% in three weeks at that time and was overbought… according to the bears. Yet, stocks continued higher from there, embarking on a seven-year bull run. Fast-forward to present day, and after the S&P 500 shot up 5.5% in less than a month’s time, the bears are once again calling the market overbought. Stocks being overbought means prices have gone up too far, too fast. There’s no precise definition of “too far, too fast,” but many analysts use indicators like the stochastics oscillator shown at the bottom of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) chart. When the market becomes overbought, a pullback is expected. That’s the theory anyway, but the chart shows why it doesn’t really matter if the market is “overbought.” Beginning in 2012, stochastics showed SPY was overbought for 42 consecutive months. Read More

Editor’s Note: In the past year, one expert has used market pullbacks similar to the one John is predicting to capture huge returns in a matter of days. These include 62.4% in nine days, 33.8% in four days and 18.5% in a single day. As you read John’s report, consider how this strategy could help you get positioned for the next market sell-off. Stocks took a breather this past week following three consecutive weekly gains in the major indices. The decline was led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (-2.7%) and small-cap Russell 200 (-2.4%), which were both leaders… Read More

Editor’s Note: In the past year, one expert has used market pullbacks similar to the one John is predicting to capture huge returns in a matter of days. These include 62.4% in nine days, 33.8% in four days and 18.5% in a single day. As you read John’s report, consider how this strategy could help you get positioned for the next market sell-off. Stocks took a breather this past week following three consecutive weekly gains in the major indices. The decline was led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (-2.7%) and small-cap Russell 200 (-2.4%), which were both leaders on the way up. #-ad_banner-#One catalyst for last week’s decline was yet another failed attempt by the Nasdaq 100 to remain above its March 2000 tech-bubble high, which it has been negotiating since August. I’ll talk about this in more detail later in the report. From a sector standpoint, all sectors of the S&P 500 ended in negative territory for the week except financials, energy, materials and industrials. Much, if not all of this, was related to the recent spike in long-term interest rates, which has boosted financial stocks while driving investors into hard assets as a hedge against what… Read More

The Trump rally may have stalled but the best trades of 2017 may still be made in companies that will benefit from policy changes in Washington. One of those trades has gotten started early with a court decision mid-November and could help boost earnings in important sectors of the economy. Companies in these sectors were looking at dramatically higher staffing costs but now may be able to beat expectations as the economy heats up and costs stay low. I’m going after two best-of-breed companies that stand to benefit big time. Business Strikes Back Against Wage Regulations A federal court… Read More

The Trump rally may have stalled but the best trades of 2017 may still be made in companies that will benefit from policy changes in Washington. One of those trades has gotten started early with a court decision mid-November and could help boost earnings in important sectors of the economy. Companies in these sectors were looking at dramatically higher staffing costs but now may be able to beat expectations as the economy heats up and costs stay low. I’m going after two best-of-breed companies that stand to benefit big time. Business Strikes Back Against Wage Regulations A federal court judge in Texas issued an injunction mid-November blocking the Department of Labor from enforcing new regulations that would increase the minimum salary for supervisory workers that qualify for overtime pay. #-ad_banner-#Under the old standard set in 2004, employees classified in a supervisory role are not entitled to overtime pay as long as their salary is at least $23,660 annually. The new rule would have more than doubled the minimum salary to $47,892 and would have meant companies would have to pay overtime for more than four million workers. The court found the Department of Labor (DOL) exceeded its authority in… Read More

On the last trading day of November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at a new record of 19,136, having just broken through a historic barrier of 19,000 a few days earlier. Before you break out the party hats, though, it seems that most investors and analysts are holding off the big celebration until Dow 20,000. And a mere 5% upside move would take it there. The post-election market action seems to provide reasons for such optimism. Stocks rallied, bonds sold off, and gold weakened. But what’s been especially remarkable about this market action isn’t that equities and bonds went… Read More

On the last trading day of November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at a new record of 19,136, having just broken through a historic barrier of 19,000 a few days earlier. Before you break out the party hats, though, it seems that most investors and analysts are holding off the big celebration until Dow 20,000. And a mere 5% upside move would take it there. The post-election market action seems to provide reasons for such optimism. Stocks rallied, bonds sold off, and gold weakened. But what’s been especially remarkable about this market action isn’t that equities and bonds went their separate ways. What stood out over the past month is the difference, or spread, between “risky” assets (aka stocks) and “safer” ones (like bonds). —Recommended Link— Prediction: These 10 Stocks Could Be 2017’s BIGGEST Investing Success Stories StreetAuthority’s experts have pinpointed over two dozen game-changing tech stocks in the last few years — but this year’s “Virtual Reality Revolution” is set to break all our past records… But first you have to know how to play it… The chart below depicts the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, long-term Treasuries and gold, through a variety of exchange-traded funds… Read More

One of the coolest things about Wall Street is the ability to follow in the footsteps of ultra-successful investors. Unlike the secretive world of other investments, the stock market has regulations requiring large investors to disclose their holdings to the public on a quarterly basis via the SEC Form 13F. This disclosure applies to all institutional money managers with over $100 million in qualified assets. #-ad_banner-#Following the 13F filings of these money managers can provide smaller investors both direct and indirect guidance as to how to invest. Direct guidance can be gleaned by following what holdings are new, added, or… Read More

One of the coolest things about Wall Street is the ability to follow in the footsteps of ultra-successful investors. Unlike the secretive world of other investments, the stock market has regulations requiring large investors to disclose their holdings to the public on a quarterly basis via the SEC Form 13F. This disclosure applies to all institutional money managers with over $100 million in qualified assets. #-ad_banner-#Following the 13F filings of these money managers can provide smaller investors both direct and indirect guidance as to how to invest. Direct guidance can be gleaned by following what holdings are new, added, or lessened during the quarter. Indirectly, investors can observe the movement of money into and out of sectors and industries to obtain inside knowledge of burgeoning market trends. One of my all-time favorite mega-investors to follow is Carl Icahn. At 80 years old, Mr. Icahn has built his reputation, and over $16 billion in personal wealth, as an activist shareholder and buyout specialist. Icahn has most recently been in the news as being a candidate for Treasury Secretary under Donald Trump. However, it is unlikely he will accept any official government position beyond informal advisor. He explained to FOX Business Network,… Read More

Is the Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) story still intact or is time to turn the page? As with several other technology stocks, shares of the social media giant have been under heavy selling pressure ever since Donald Trump’s surprise victory. Both retail and institutional investors have abandoned high-growth stocks like Facebook in favor of banks, industrials, and biotechs. Where Facebook Stands In the case of Facebook, it’s debatable how much of the stock’s recent decline has to do with investors shifting out of tech and into other areas. The shares have fallen as much as 15% since reaching a… Read More

Is the Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) story still intact or is time to turn the page? As with several other technology stocks, shares of the social media giant have been under heavy selling pressure ever since Donald Trump’s surprise victory. Both retail and institutional investors have abandoned high-growth stocks like Facebook in favor of banks, industrials, and biotechs. Where Facebook Stands In the case of Facebook, it’s debatable how much of the stock’s recent decline has to do with investors shifting out of tech and into other areas. The shares have fallen as much as 15% since reaching a 52-week high of $133.50 on October 25 after management spooked investors in the third-quarter conference call by warning that ad revenue growth will slow in the quarters ahead. Add in the fact that Facebook hinted of high capital expenses in 2017, which may yield lower earnings per share, and investors quickly moved on to looking for the next great stock. #-ad_banner-#Those who have stuck with the company are now questioning their decision on the heels of recent missteps such as misreporting video ad metrics and a failure to deal with fake news. All of that said, it’s still too early… Read More

Have you ever booked a restaurant reservation online? If so, you most likely went through a website or program offered by OpenTable, a company that was founded in the middle of the dot-com craze in 1998 to make that chore easier. #-ad_banner-#Unlike many other internet companies of that time, OpenTable survived and prospered. It went public in 2009, but was snatched up by Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) in July 2014. Though it might seem like a strange pairing, the acquisition made sense: Both OpenTable and Priceline are consolidators (in their own specific ways, of course), and OpenTable has managed to… Read More

Have you ever booked a restaurant reservation online? If so, you most likely went through a website or program offered by OpenTable, a company that was founded in the middle of the dot-com craze in 1998 to make that chore easier. #-ad_banner-#Unlike many other internet companies of that time, OpenTable survived and prospered. It went public in 2009, but was snatched up by Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) in July 2014. Though it might seem like a strange pairing, the acquisition made sense: Both OpenTable and Priceline are consolidators (in their own specific ways, of course), and OpenTable has managed to find an industry where it could connect end consumers with hundreds and thousands of diverse markets (in its case, independent restaurants).  As it turns out, the restaurant industry offers even more chances for innovative companies to come in and put their own stamp on the way restaurants do business. And investors who get in early on the trend could end up doing very well. That’s why I recently added GrubHub (Nasdaq: GRUB) to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks.  —Sponsored Link— The Saudis’ NEXT Big Move Could Tank The Dollar The Saudis are… Read More

Every now and then they let me take out my turban and crystal ball to do my Professor Marvel impression in regards to the market. So, as the embers flicker out on an interesting (to say the least) 2016, what does 2017 have in store for us? The Economy: Still Chugging Along Fiscal/economic stimulus junkies are still on a placebo high from President-elect Donald Trump’s suggested infrastructure improvement proposal that might range somewhere between $500 billion to $1 trillion. However, as I discussed in a previous article, it’s going to be a while before we see the effects of… Read More

Every now and then they let me take out my turban and crystal ball to do my Professor Marvel impression in regards to the market. So, as the embers flicker out on an interesting (to say the least) 2016, what does 2017 have in store for us? The Economy: Still Chugging Along Fiscal/economic stimulus junkies are still on a placebo high from President-elect Donald Trump’s suggested infrastructure improvement proposal that might range somewhere between $500 billion to $1 trillion. However, as I discussed in a previous article, it’s going to be a while before we see the effects of the inevitable infrastructure build-out. Until then, I’m afraid I’m going to sound a bit like a broken record: the economy will most likely continue to chug along at the tepid 2% or so rate we’re used to hearing. Inflation will remain moderate at best. Sure, we’ll see some inflation in selective areas such as healthcare, but nothing major. Interest Rates: A Hike On The Horizon? Currently, the market is almost 100% sure that Dr. Yellen and Co. are going to hike rates in December. While that may or may not be the case, the bond market has already accepted… Read More