In 1977, a man named Mike Markkula had already made his millions from stock options while working as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. He was introduced to two renegade engineers by the name of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, who were working on a new personal computer, the Apple II.  After talking with Jobs, Markkula decided to fund the company, thus becoming its first “angel investor” and employee number three. Three years later, Apple went public and Markkula’s stake was worth $203 million.  —Recommended Link— Play The Presidential Market Plunge For Triple-Digit Returns ​Economic turmoil historically… Read More

In 1977, a man named Mike Markkula had already made his millions from stock options while working as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. He was introduced to two renegade engineers by the name of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, who were working on a new personal computer, the Apple II.  After talking with Jobs, Markkula decided to fund the company, thus becoming its first “angel investor” and employee number three. Three years later, Apple went public and Markkula’s stake was worth $203 million.  —Recommended Link— Play The Presidential Market Plunge For Triple-Digit Returns ​Economic turmoil historically follows nearly every newly elected president. In fact, Bush fueled a 78% Nasdaq collapse in 2002. So regardless of who wins on November 8… you MUST take steps to protect your portfolio today. Click here to discover three POTUS-proof industries to play for up to 200.6% profits. That’s a serious chunk of change. Consequently, Markkula retired from Apple in 1996. Had he retained his full stake in Apple, it would be worth more than $177 billion today. Success stories like this are more common than you might think. That’s what can happen when you’re able to get in on the early stages of a promising… Read More

1933 was an important year for U.S. investors. That was the year the 18th amendment was repealed. This regulatory breakthrough accomplished two things. For one, it once again made it legal to drink a cold beer after work. #-ad_banner-#Then, it unleashed one of the best investment opportunities of the century, setting the stage for a billion dollar wealth transfer and giving birth to future global leaders such as Budweiser and Jack Daniels. If you weren’t around back then to capitalize, don’t worry. Today, that same cycle is repeating itself. Cannabis is being legalized all across North America. In the United… Read More

1933 was an important year for U.S. investors. That was the year the 18th amendment was repealed. This regulatory breakthrough accomplished two things. For one, it once again made it legal to drink a cold beer after work. #-ad_banner-#Then, it unleashed one of the best investment opportunities of the century, setting the stage for a billion dollar wealth transfer and giving birth to future global leaders such as Budweiser and Jack Daniels. If you weren’t around back then to capitalize, don’t worry. Today, that same cycle is repeating itself. Cannabis is being legalized all across North America. In the United States, 25 states have adopted medical marijuana programs. Three states have legalized recreational consumption. The list of cannabis-friendly states continues to grow. Nine states are set to vote on cannabis initiatives on Election Day (November 8). In Canada, medical marijuana is already legal on the federal level. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are making it a top priority to also legalize recreational cannabis. It is possible an initiative could be voted on in Canada within the next 12 months. In Mexico, it’s already legal for citizens to carry up to an ounce of cannabis. In April, Mexican… Read More

Back on October 26, I told you about one of the most exciting revolutions for investing to happen in years. The new opportunity has to do with an asset class that has delivered out-sized returns for wealthy, elite investors while remaining off-limits to everyone else.  I’m talking about pre-IPO investing. As you probably know, before well-known giants like Facebook or Twitter were public companies, they were burgeoning startups. As such, they weren’t traded on the public exchanges most of us are familiar with.  —Recommended Link— Only One Thing Stands Between You And $457K If you invested $10,000 into one… Read More

Back on October 26, I told you about one of the most exciting revolutions for investing to happen in years. The new opportunity has to do with an asset class that has delivered out-sized returns for wealthy, elite investors while remaining off-limits to everyone else.  I’m talking about pre-IPO investing. As you probably know, before well-known giants like Facebook or Twitter were public companies, they were burgeoning startups. As such, they weren’t traded on the public exchanges most of us are familiar with.  —Recommended Link— Only One Thing Stands Between You And $457K If you invested $10,000 into one unexpected group of stocks in 1972, you’d have $457,791 in your pocket in 2015. But if you put $10k into their counterparts instead, you’d have just $30,153. The only difference between these 2 choices is… Get the full story. But as it turns out, certain select wealthy, elite investors were able to get in on these companies before the rest of us. And in many cases, they were able to make millions. Until now. #-ad_banner-#You see, thanks to the passage of new regulations, regular investors are able to get in on the same kinds of pre-IPO deals that these “accredited”… Read More

All major U.S. indices finished in negative territory last week, giving back the previous week’s modest gains. They were led lower by the small-cap Russell 2000, which lost 2.5%. However, the four “majors” — the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 — are all still up 4% or more for the year. #-ad_banner-# The key level to watch is underlying support at 2,121 in the S&P 500, which has already been tested and held twice, on Sept. 12 and Oct. 13. A sustained decline below this level would represent a breakdown below the current three-month trading range. Read More

All major U.S. indices finished in negative territory last week, giving back the previous week’s modest gains. They were led lower by the small-cap Russell 2000, which lost 2.5%. However, the four “majors” — the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 — are all still up 4% or more for the year. #-ad_banner-# The key level to watch is underlying support at 2,121 in the S&P 500, which has already been tested and held twice, on Sept. 12 and Oct. 13. A sustained decline below this level would represent a breakdown below the current three-month trading range. It may also clear the way for a deeper sell-off in the weeks ahead. Last week’s strongest sectors were the defensive utilities (1%) and consumer staples (0.8%) groups, while real estate (-3.4%) and health care (-2.8%) were the weakest performers. Real estate was adversely affected by last week’s aggressive rise in long-term interest rates, which I will discuss in more detail later in the report. Market Fails To Rally From Oversold Conditions One way to determine the health of the market’s advance is by watching to see how it reacts to certain indicators and conditions. One of these conditions is… Read More

Restaurants and quick-service dining stocks were some of the hottest in the market over the last several years with high-flyers like Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) surging and headliner IPOs from companies like Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK).  #-ad_banner-#Non-existent inflation kept wage growth low and a recovering economy had people ready to enjoy a meal out with the family. But now the industry is facing dual threats from tough price competition against grocery stores and rising labor costs. As shares tumble across the industry, a few leaders are becoming attractive on a valuation basis and could be relatively safe from the… Read More

Restaurants and quick-service dining stocks were some of the hottest in the market over the last several years with high-flyers like Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) surging and headliner IPOs from companies like Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK).  #-ad_banner-#Non-existent inflation kept wage growth low and a recovering economy had people ready to enjoy a meal out with the family. But now the industry is facing dual threats from tough price competition against grocery stores and rising labor costs. As shares tumble across the industry, a few leaders are becoming attractive on a valuation basis and could be relatively safe from the restaurant recession. Strong fundamentals and a long-term trend in eating habits may just mean they jump higher when the environment improves. Invest At The Bottom Of The Restaurant Recession Sales at U.S. restaurants grew at the slowest pace since 2009 in the second quarter and that’s not the only headwind facing the industry. Growing wage inflation combined with slower growth in overall inflation is pressuring restaurants, which see much of their operating expenses in labor.  Restaurants have increased prices to cover the higher costs but that’s leading to a big gap in the cost to eat out versus grocery… Read More

According to the Labor Department, there were 5.8 million job openings a few months ago, matching the all-time high set in July 2015. That’s an encouraging sign. Whenever a company puts out a “Help Wanted” ad, it sends a signal that business is good.  #-ad_banner-#Of course, job creation also puts more disposable income in the hands of consumers, which account for two-thirds of the nation’s GDP. So I like the fact that HR departments are busy conducting interviews to fill positions.  But let’s face it, salaries can also be a big financial drain on a business. The average entry-level accountant… Read More

According to the Labor Department, there were 5.8 million job openings a few months ago, matching the all-time high set in July 2015. That’s an encouraging sign. Whenever a company puts out a “Help Wanted” ad, it sends a signal that business is good.  #-ad_banner-#Of course, job creation also puts more disposable income in the hands of consumers, which account for two-thirds of the nation’s GDP. So I like the fact that HR departments are busy conducting interviews to fill positions.  But let’s face it, salaries can also be a big financial drain on a business. The average entry-level accountant earns $48,000 a year. A new recruit for the marketing department will run $45,000. And a new computer hardware engineer will make $66,000.  These are median national figures, with salaries escalating in certain regions and for those with more experience on their resume. And let’s not forget about healthcare, pensions, payroll taxes and bonuses.  Some large companies have tens of thousands of workers on the payrolls, the equivalent of a small city. So you can see how labor is typically one of the biggest expenses chipping away at profit margins. Don’t get me wrong, any organization is only as good… Read More

Third-quarter earnings season has ushered in an important turning point for the S&P 500. With more than 25% of the index reporting, earnings are on pace to increase 0.1% from the same period last year. That 0.1% increase doesn’t exactly jump off the page. But with S&P 500 earnings declining for five consecutive quarters, a return to earnings growth is a positive signal for U.S. stocks. This reversal back to earnings growth is being led by some of America’s most popular brands. #-ad_banner-#For example, JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE: JPM) per-share earnings of $1.58 beat expectations by 13%. Similarly, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s… Read More

Third-quarter earnings season has ushered in an important turning point for the S&P 500. With more than 25% of the index reporting, earnings are on pace to increase 0.1% from the same period last year. That 0.1% increase doesn’t exactly jump off the page. But with S&P 500 earnings declining for five consecutive quarters, a return to earnings growth is a positive signal for U.S. stocks. This reversal back to earnings growth is being led by some of America’s most popular brands. #-ad_banner-#For example, JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE: JPM) per-share earnings of $1.58 beat expectations by 13%. Similarly, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (NYSE: WBA) earnings of $1.07 beat expectations by 8%. While these reports are both excellent in their own right, one company crushed them both. In fact, I am calling it the best earnings report of the season, beating expectations by 100%. In the short run, that should help shares outperform the S&P 500 for the rest of the year. In the long run, this exceptional quarter signals that this market leader still has plenty of growth ahead. A Massive Positive Earnings Surprise Should Trigger Post-Earnings Drift Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) should be a familiar name. It virtually created the streaming… Read More

All successful stock market investors have one thing in common. Sure, they may have very different ideas and styles, but this one thing remains true across the board. No matter who you ask, from Warren Buffett to your local investment advisor, they will all agree on this single point.    #-ad_banner-#The point is there is a difference between price and value in the stock market. While the ordinary investor chases price, the winning long-term stock investor understands the importance of value. Understanding value enables you to purchase stocks that are underpriced in the market. These diamonds in the rough are often… Read More

All successful stock market investors have one thing in common. Sure, they may have very different ideas and styles, but this one thing remains true across the board. No matter who you ask, from Warren Buffett to your local investment advisor, they will all agree on this single point.    #-ad_banner-#The point is there is a difference between price and value in the stock market. While the ordinary investor chases price, the winning long-term stock investor understands the importance of value. Understanding value enables you to purchase stocks that are underpriced in the market. These diamonds in the rough are often stocks that will create wealth over the long term. One way to think about the difference between value and price is that value is real worth, while the price is nothing more than how much market participants are willing to pay. In other words, the price is often reflective of the herd mentality. And these numbers are typically far apart.   Investors are often willing to pay far more than stock is worth due to hype and upside price momentum. At the same time, stock prices can also be lower than the actual value of the stock. This is often… Read More