Imagine being arrested for a crime that you haven’t even committed yet. Noted science-fiction author Philip K. Dick wrote about this possibility many years ago. His premise was that predictive analytics and massive computer power would allow law enforcement to predict, and stop, crime before the actual occurrence based on strong probabilities of it occurring.  While Philip K. Dick’s vision of a dystopian future remains a distant possibility, parts of similar technology are actively used in the corporate environment.  #-ad_banner-#Artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and big data are no longer in the realm of science fiction. These high-tech skills, services, and… Read More

Imagine being arrested for a crime that you haven’t even committed yet. Noted science-fiction author Philip K. Dick wrote about this possibility many years ago. His premise was that predictive analytics and massive computer power would allow law enforcement to predict, and stop, crime before the actual occurrence based on strong probabilities of it occurring.  While Philip K. Dick’s vision of a dystopian future remains a distant possibility, parts of similar technology are actively used in the corporate environment.  #-ad_banner-#Artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and big data are no longer in the realm of science fiction. These high-tech skills, services, and products are now a must-have to compete in today’s quantitatively driven corporate environment.  However, these firms remain in their infancy, offering years of upside potential for savvy investors who can choose the right companies in the space now. The leading company in this sector is already up over 18% this year and has just posted strong third quarter results. Even better, its share price has set it up to be an ideal buy candidate. Let’s take a closer look. Nice Ltd (Nasdaq: NICE) is an Israeli-based, $4.2 billion-market cap big data/artificial intelligence company. The shares trade in the United States… Read More

If you want to start an instant argument, find adherents of technical analysis and adherents of fundamental analysis, and then ask them which investing approach is better. The technical analysts will tell you that a close read of a company’s financial statements won’t help you know if a stock represents a timely investment. The fundamental analysts will counter that simply looking at a series of trading charts only tells you where a stock has been, not where it is going. With all due respect, they are both wrong. —Recommended Link— Nail Down A 10%+ Income Stream For Life If… Read More

If you want to start an instant argument, find adherents of technical analysis and adherents of fundamental analysis, and then ask them which investing approach is better. The technical analysts will tell you that a close read of a company’s financial statements won’t help you know if a stock represents a timely investment. The fundamental analysts will counter that simply looking at a series of trading charts only tells you where a stock has been, not where it is going. With all due respect, they are both wrong. —Recommended Link— Nail Down A 10%+ Income Stream For Life If pulling down a yield of 10% a year sounds good — before capital gains — you need to see this. You’ll find stocks paying 15.1%… high-yielding REITs, trusts, partnerships and ETFs. (These cash cows are also posting capital gains as high as +368% for us. I explain that part here.) The real secret to successful investing is the marriage of both approaches. In fact, I’ve singled out a pair of factors — one from each camp — that can be used in tandem to deliver robust gains. It’s an approach that has led me to bag triple-digit gains, often in… Read More

Well, it’s finally over. Tuesday’s election was one for the ages. Few people saw this coming, but Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. Whether Trump was your guy or not, you may be feeling uncertain about how the incoming administration will affect the market and your portfolio. But you may remember something I recently told StreetAuthority readers: “I’ve seen some otherwise-smart people whose opinions I respect say things like ‘If Trump gets elected, the market will crash’ or ‘If Hillary wins, the economy will tank.’ Such talk is nonsense. The reality is that the market… Read More

Well, it’s finally over. Tuesday’s election was one for the ages. Few people saw this coming, but Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. Whether Trump was your guy or not, you may be feeling uncertain about how the incoming administration will affect the market and your portfolio. But you may remember something I recently told StreetAuthority readers: “I’ve seen some otherwise-smart people whose opinions I respect say things like ‘If Trump gets elected, the market will crash’ or ‘If Hillary wins, the economy will tank.’ Such talk is nonsense. The reality is that the market may get volatile around Election Day, yes, but the chances of it crashing are low.” You may also remember that I cited a recent survey by the Wall Street Journal which found that economists project a 60% chance of a recession within the next four years regardless of who is elected.  That still stands today. Frankly, this should concern you more than whether or not your candidate won on Tuesday. Nevertheless, this election does have implications for both the economy and your portfolio.  Our experts recognized this, too, which is why they weighed in on the election and the ensuing… Read More

In one of the strangest weeks for the markets that I can remember, the major indices collapsed during the overnight session on election night, with the S&P 500 plummeting 5% at one point, before staging a huge bullish reversal on Nov. 9. From there, the market just kept going, and… Read More

American singles bored with the bar scene are increasingly going online to find love. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults that have used online dating increased to 15% in the summer of 2015 from 13% in 2013. That seemingly small 2 percentage point increase represents a full 5 million new customers. As expected, the gains were skewed toward younger people — usage among 18-24 year olds tripled. #-ad_banner-#But as it turns out, older Americans are getting in on the action too. The number of 55-64 year olds that have used online dating… Read More

American singles bored with the bar scene are increasingly going online to find love. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults that have used online dating increased to 15% in the summer of 2015 from 13% in 2013. That seemingly small 2 percentage point increase represents a full 5 million new customers. As expected, the gains were skewed toward younger people — usage among 18-24 year olds tripled. #-ad_banner-#But as it turns out, older Americans are getting in on the action too. The number of 55-64 year olds that have used online dating apps doubled to 12% from 6% in 2013. Both statistics paint a promising outlook for the industry. The surge in popularity has the online dating industry on pace to generate $2.4 billion in sales in 2016. Looking forward, I am expecting industry sales to grow around 5% annually for the next two years. That 5% growth projection might not jump off the page. However, if a big chunk of that growth is captured by one global leader, it becomes significant. The online dating industry has become much more competitive in the last two years, creating nearly impassable barriers to entry. Read More

Democrats, Republicans and independents woke up to some good news on Wednesday: The election is over. Of course, about half of country sees the outcome as bad news while the other half views it as good news. But most people are glad the campaign has ended.  From my perspective, at least the ads are done and now we can plan for the future without the uncertainty of an election looming over us. #-ad_banner-#Now that we know who will be in the White House next year, planning a strategy for the market might be fairly easy. The presidential cycle is a… Read More

Democrats, Republicans and independents woke up to some good news on Wednesday: The election is over. Of course, about half of country sees the outcome as bad news while the other half views it as good news. But most people are glad the campaign has ended.  From my perspective, at least the ads are done and now we can plan for the future without the uncertainty of an election looming over us. #-ad_banner-#Now that we know who will be in the White House next year, planning a strategy for the market might be fairly easy. The presidential cycle is a four-year pattern in the stock market that many analysts have identified.  There are variations of this pattern, with some analysts starting the cycle in January when the president assumes office while others believe it starts in November with the election. Despite these differences, there is a general consensus that the first two years of a president’s term are the most difficult for the market. Once in office, a new president must make a variety of tough decisions. There are almost always problems the previous president was unable to resolve. Then there are new problems that develop. The essence of the… Read More

There’s an iconic U.S. company in trouble right now. This major player on the international stage symbolizes the American dream to many around the world. However, if you own this stock, now is the time to sell your shares. #-ad_banner-#The company is so popular that its mascot has posed with every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, and it once claimed that its mascot’s image had a 98% awareness rate among children aged 3-11 worldwide.  Launched in 1923, the company owns the world’s largest media company and one of the globe’s top providers of family… Read More

There’s an iconic U.S. company in trouble right now. This major player on the international stage symbolizes the American dream to many around the world. However, if you own this stock, now is the time to sell your shares. #-ad_banner-#The company is so popular that its mascot has posed with every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, and it once claimed that its mascot’s image had a 98% awareness rate among children aged 3-11 worldwide.  Launched in 1923, the company owns the world’s largest media company and one of the globe’s top providers of family travel and leisure experiences.  If you have not guessed it, I am referencing Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney is a monster corporation with over $56 billion in revenue and a massive market cap of nearly $150 billion. Headquartered in Burbank, California, this global entertainment powerhouse has operations in over 40 nations and has become a symbol of the United States. As a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, nearly every financial institution or individual passive index investor has exposure to Disney stock.  This widespread ownership has paid off for investors in Disney over the… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need.  In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. #-ad_banner-#​ In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully. As an old trader once told me, “To know what… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need.  In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. #-ad_banner-#​ In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully. As an old trader once told me, “To know what everyone knows is to know nothing.” If everyone has the same tools, it’s difficult to use them to gain an advantage over everyone else. Think about that for a moment.  If you could really win in the markets by simply buying stocks with low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, then we would all be successful. The secret to beating the market — and your fellow investors — is to use little-known indicators, which act like secret weapons for trading. That’s why I developed my own indicator, which I call the Income Trader Volatility (ITV) indicator.  ITV is similar to the Volatility S&P… Read More

Bargain-basement and Warren Buffett are four words that are rarely, if ever, used together. Although Warren is best known for the value investment philosophy, the bargain stocks he chooses often remain relatively high-priced for the average investor. Despite being bargains, the high average stock prices for his picks makes it difficult for the average investor to build a properly diversified portfolio by following his picks.  #-ad_banner-#Remember, Mr. Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) is currently the most expensive stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $222,490.00 per share! Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns value companies like GEICO, NetJets, and… Read More

Bargain-basement and Warren Buffett are four words that are rarely, if ever, used together. Although Warren is best known for the value investment philosophy, the bargain stocks he chooses often remain relatively high-priced for the average investor. Despite being bargains, the high average stock prices for his picks makes it difficult for the average investor to build a properly diversified portfolio by following his picks.  #-ad_banner-#Remember, Mr. Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) is currently the most expensive stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $222,490.00 per share! Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns value companies like GEICO, NetJets, and Fruit of the Loom. It even holds a partial interest in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR).  Fortunately, one does not have to buy Berkshire Hathaway shares or even value stocks priced $20.00 or more per share to invest like Warren Buffett.  I have identified two stocks that fit with Warren Buffett’s value philosophy trading for less than $5.00 per share. These low-priced value stocks allow even novice investors to build a value-stock portfolio. Buffett’s Investment Philosophy Warren Buffett became one of the world’s wealthiest people by adhering to the simple philosophy of value investing. The… Read More