In last week’s report, I identified 2,121 as a key level to watch in the benchmark S&P 500, saying a breakdown below that level would clear the way for a deeper decline as we headed into Election Day. That is precisely what happened last week, as the major indices logged another weekly decline, led down by the Nasdaq 100 (-3%) and Russell 2000 (-2%).   Last week’s weakness was broad-based, with every sector of the S&P 500 finishing lower. The poorest performers were technology (-2.7%) and energy (-2.3%). We are at a major decision point where investors must draw some longer-term… Read More

In last week’s report, I identified 2,121 as a key level to watch in the benchmark S&P 500, saying a breakdown below that level would clear the way for a deeper decline as we headed into Election Day. That is precisely what happened last week, as the major indices logged another weekly decline, led down by the Nasdaq 100 (-3%) and Russell 2000 (-2%).   Last week’s weakness was broad-based, with every sector of the S&P 500 finishing lower. The poorest performers were technology (-2.7%) and energy (-2.3%). We are at a major decision point where investors must draw some longer-term conclusions as to where we are headed as a country. As is often the case, this political and economic decision point can also be seen in asset prices.  Stocks spiked on Monday, following news that the FBI said Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges after a review of new emails. This action clearly indicates the market would be much more comfortable with a Clinton presidency. Fear Can Be a Good Thing Since mid-July, I have been warning that the extremely low market volatility — as evidenced by a reading in the Volatility S&P 500 (VIX) near 12 — would… Read More

I love finding stealth rallies in the financial markets. These under-the-radar moves higher are ignored by the financial media and therefore by most investors.  Stealth rallies occur for any number of reasons. Primarily, these types of upward moves happen in commodities or stocks that have been beaten down for so long that the public simply loses interest in them.  #-ad_banner-#A stealth rally starts by attracting the attention of only the most diehard followers. These early investors quietly pocket huge gains while the rest of the investment community is chasing the latest hot stocks or futures.  Right now, a stealth rally… Read More

I love finding stealth rallies in the financial markets. These under-the-radar moves higher are ignored by the financial media and therefore by most investors.  Stealth rallies occur for any number of reasons. Primarily, these types of upward moves happen in commodities or stocks that have been beaten down for so long that the public simply loses interest in them.  #-ad_banner-#A stealth rally starts by attracting the attention of only the most diehard followers. These early investors quietly pocket huge gains while the rest of the investment community is chasing the latest hot stocks or futures.  Right now, a stealth rally is taking place in a commodity that has not been in the headlines for a while. Once a darling of the financial media, this commodity has been beaten down so severely it is rarely mentioned in the daily financial press. After being hailed as the savior of the United States’ energy future, this commodity quickly became over-produced. It may have succeeded in revitalizing U.S. energy, but its price continued to plunge lower as the years passed.  In case you haven’t guessed it, I am referencing natural gas. The widespread use of fracking created an oversupply of the commodity, resulting in… Read More

AT&T (NYSE: T) has proven the adage ‘Content is King’ with its $85 billion bid for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). The $226 billion media distributor has access to over 100 million subscribers across wireless, internet, and video but needs an endless array of programming to fill that pipeline.  #-ad_banner-#Time Warner is the world’s third-largest media conglomerate, owning a library of movie rights along with content-creating behemoths like HBO and CNN. But content doesn’t just mean original video programming. It’s any information created regularly that brings potential customers back to the distribution channel. That wider definition makes social media networks the… Read More

AT&T (NYSE: T) has proven the adage ‘Content is King’ with its $85 billion bid for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). The $226 billion media distributor has access to over 100 million subscribers across wireless, internet, and video but needs an endless array of programming to fill that pipeline.  #-ad_banner-#Time Warner is the world’s third-largest media conglomerate, owning a library of movie rights along with content-creating behemoths like HBO and CNN. But content doesn’t just mean original video programming. It’s any information created regularly that brings potential customers back to the distribution channel. That wider definition makes social media networks the most sought-after content creators available. Social media content is user generated so it costs nothing to produce. It’s also interactive and personal, two ideas traditional video content struggles with on its one-way feed.  We’ve already seen the value of this social content in Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) planned $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD). Not only does the business networking platform promise an endless supply of content, but also its own distribution channel through which Microsoft can integrate its suite of office tools.  Now buyers have their sights set on other social media platforms and I’ve found one that could… Read More

There is more to successful dividend investing than just buying high yielding stocks and waiting. Many investors mistakenly believe that wealth is easily created by holding onto high dividend-paying companies. Nothing could be further from the truth.  #-ad_banner-#Wealth is created in the stock market by a combination of dividend reinvestment and buying solid companies at a discounted price — in other words, dividend paying companies that have been unfairly beaten lower by irrational investor fears. Using this tactic combines the very real compounding power of dividend reinvestment on top of a high potential for stock price appreciation, creating an unbeatable… Read More

There is more to successful dividend investing than just buying high yielding stocks and waiting. Many investors mistakenly believe that wealth is easily created by holding onto high dividend-paying companies. Nothing could be further from the truth.  #-ad_banner-#Wealth is created in the stock market by a combination of dividend reinvestment and buying solid companies at a discounted price — in other words, dividend paying companies that have been unfairly beaten lower by irrational investor fears. Using this tactic combines the very real compounding power of dividend reinvestment on top of a high potential for stock price appreciation, creating an unbeatable wealth-building strategy.  I have discovered three dividend-paying stocks trading well off their highs that will make excellent candidates for this approach. The Power Of Dividend Reinvestment Dividends alone make up a huge part of the overall total returns of the stock market. In fact, the numbers astounded me. Morgan Stanley published a study revealing that, since 1930, 42% of all U.S. stock market returns were due to dividends! Talk about a powerful stock market force that cannot be ignored. Dividend reinvestment means plowing the cash earned from the dividends back into the stock. Simply stated, it means buying more… Read More

In June 2014, I made a very successful bearish bet that Olive Garden’s parent company (a restaurant conglomerate) would falter under the weight of its aging brands and mounting competition.  While the initial trade worked well, things are much different 27 months later.  My idea for returning to this trade (albeit on the other side) came to me when a commercial pilot friend of mine (and fantastic chef) asked me to join him at Olive Garden a few weeks back.  I thought, “OK, this guy flies a Boeing 777, dines around the world weekly and wants to eat at Olive… Read More

In June 2014, I made a very successful bearish bet that Olive Garden’s parent company (a restaurant conglomerate) would falter under the weight of its aging brands and mounting competition.  While the initial trade worked well, things are much different 27 months later.  My idea for returning to this trade (albeit on the other side) came to me when a commercial pilot friend of mine (and fantastic chef) asked me to join him at Olive Garden a few weeks back.  I thought, “OK, this guy flies a Boeing 777, dines around the world weekly and wants to eat at Olive Garden?” I’m no restaurant snob, but the last time I frequented Olive Garden was the early ’90s when I was in school and could only afford the never-ending pasta bowl. But I humored him. —Sponsored Link— 32 Central Banks Scrambling To Prepare For December Announcement A new global law in effect this December could deliver an unexpected shock to the markets. No less than 32 major central banks are scrambling to prepare for the inevitable fallout. They’re shifting their money into one single asset that could explode in value, even as everything else plummets. $3… Read More

Sixteen years ago I was thinner and had more hair. I also had a front-row seat to watch what was billed at the time as “the merger of the century”: AOL and Time Warner. What began as a perfect marriage of one of the best content and broadcast distribution complexes on the planet to the media distribution platform of tomorrow — a combo that would have an initial market cap of $350 billion (unheard of at the time) — ended in a whimpering split with both entities deeply discounted.  #-ad_banner-#After the divorce, AOL evolved from its original persona as an… Read More

Sixteen years ago I was thinner and had more hair. I also had a front-row seat to watch what was billed at the time as “the merger of the century”: AOL and Time Warner. What began as a perfect marriage of one of the best content and broadcast distribution complexes on the planet to the media distribution platform of tomorrow — a combo that would have an initial market cap of $350 billion (unheard of at the time) — ended in a whimpering split with both entities deeply discounted.  #-ad_banner-#After the divorce, AOL evolved from its original persona as an internet service provider to an actual, online content destination featuring sites such as the Huffington Post and MapQuest. AOL was acquired by AT&T’s chief wireless rival Verizon (NYSE: VZ) in 2015. Time Warner carried on business as usual, creating a seemingly endless stream of media content and distributing it via its cable networks and movie studios. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Now, as a dominant force in wireless telecom, internet, and television distribution with its recent acquisition of DIRECTV, AT&T (NYSE: T) is determined to not only control every screen we watch but what… Read More

As the redemptions piled up, the analyst sat stunned. This is so much worse than anticipated, he thought to himself. Nobody expected this level of out-flows.What’s going on? #-ad_banner-#Now, he knew the fund was prepared. In fact, an e-mail from the previous day indicated the company expected upwards of $1.5… Read More

One of the world’s greatest investors and businessmen was born July 8, 1839, in upstate New York. Son of a traveling snake-oil salesman, he rose from his rustic origins to become the world’s wealthiest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly by the time he was only 33 years old. I’m talking about John D. Rockefeller — an American icon and arguably one of the most mysterious and controversial businessmen in our nation’s history.  Rockefeller got his start as an assistant bookkeeper for a produce merchant at the age of 16. Having a knack for numbers and a… Read More

One of the world’s greatest investors and businessmen was born July 8, 1839, in upstate New York. Son of a traveling snake-oil salesman, he rose from his rustic origins to become the world’s wealthiest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly by the time he was only 33 years old. I’m talking about John D. Rockefeller — an American icon and arguably one of the most mysterious and controversial businessmen in our nation’s history.  Rockefeller got his start as an assistant bookkeeper for a produce merchant at the age of 16. Having a knack for numbers and a shrewd sense of the commodities markets, Rockefeller quickly built a reputation for himself as an honest, reliable merchant. Two years after starting as a bookkeeper, he purchased a partnership in another merchant, Maurice Clark. —Recommended Link— EXPIRES TODAY: A $200 Voucher For This Life-Changing Opportunity Imagine getting in on the next Facebook for 33 cents… Or the next Google for 44 cents… Or the next Apple for 78 cents… That’s the sort of opportunity I’m talking about here… You need to see if this offer is for you before it expires at midnight tonight. But events quickly shifted when… Read More

As a student of the stock market, I pay close attention to trends.  Investing into an established trend is a time-proven way to find success. When two or more trends merge, it creates a high-potential stock market investment. #-ad_banner-#Trends come in two types: societal trends and price trends. Societal trends are those that sweep across the culture, making certain things attractive or even a must-have among consumers.  An excellent example of a major societal trend is the one toward healthy eating. Organic fast food and low-fat dining have become the hot new things among the masses. We see successful restaurant… Read More

As a student of the stock market, I pay close attention to trends.  Investing into an established trend is a time-proven way to find success. When two or more trends merge, it creates a high-potential stock market investment. #-ad_banner-#Trends come in two types: societal trends and price trends. Societal trends are those that sweep across the culture, making certain things attractive or even a must-have among consumers.  An excellent example of a major societal trend is the one toward healthy eating. Organic fast food and low-fat dining have become the hot new things among the masses. We see successful restaurant chains like Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) riding the organic, healthy fast food trend.  Another major trend is the growth of pet-ownership spending in the United States. According to the American Pet Products Association, total pet spending in 2010 hit $48.35 billion. This number has been growing steadily and is expected to hit $62.75 billion in 2016 with $27 billion being attributed to food products.  Combining these two seemingly unrelated trends pointed me toward the organic pet food market. As pet ownership trends higher, wholesome food-oriented consumers seek to provide their pets a similarly healthy diet.  The leading company in the wholesome… Read More