One of the major questions on investors’ minds — besides when the Federal Reserve will stop kicking the can down the road and who the next occupant of the White House will be — is whether oil has reached a bottom.  While we can’t be sure yet, it’s possible oil bottomed earlier this year and is now in a trading range with a lower boundary near $40 a barrel. But whether oil has bottomed is really more of an important question for futures traders who buy and sell the commodity. For stock market investors, a better question to ask is… Read More

One of the major questions on investors’ minds — besides when the Federal Reserve will stop kicking the can down the road and who the next occupant of the White House will be — is whether oil has reached a bottom.  While we can’t be sure yet, it’s possible oil bottomed earlier this year and is now in a trading range with a lower boundary near $40 a barrel. But whether oil has bottomed is really more of an important question for futures traders who buy and sell the commodity. For stock market investors, a better question to ask is whether an energy stock’s current price reflects oil’s decline or whether a company has adapted to lower oil prices. —Sponsored Link— This Stock Keeps Making Shareholders Triple-Digit Profits Every time this stock heats up — triple-digit gains soon follow. The first time AGHI started running, investors could have grabbed 243% returns. The second time? It shot up 390%. This time is could hit 1,775%. See why here. One name that gets a resounding “yes” to both of these questions is Tesoro (NYSE: TSO). The stock fell more than 40% from its… Read More

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) jumped more than 12% last week after telecom carriers reported stronger than expected preorders for the iPhone 7. Apple has said that it will break with tradition by not reporting first weekend sales of the iPhone, so carrier comments have been crucial in gauging demand for the new phones. One telecom carrier reported preorders up 375%, compared to those of last year’s 6s series. Another carrier set a single day sales record across its network. Inventory of the larger Plus model iPhone 7 in all colors was sold out through pre-orders before Friday’s release.  #-ad_banner-#By… Read More

Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) jumped more than 12% last week after telecom carriers reported stronger than expected preorders for the iPhone 7. Apple has said that it will break with tradition by not reporting first weekend sales of the iPhone, so carrier comments have been crucial in gauging demand for the new phones. One telecom carrier reported preorders up 375%, compared to those of last year’s 6s series. Another carrier set a single day sales record across its network. Inventory of the larger Plus model iPhone 7 in all colors was sold out through pre-orders before Friday’s release.  #-ad_banner-#By most accounts, the release of the new phones should be a boon to wireless providers trying to get people back in their stores to renew contracts. But one carrier was noticeably more doubtful on its own preorder news, according to comments from an executive at a recent investor conference.  Weak iPhone sales may not be the company’s only problem, as costs to maintain its network escalate and its large fixed-line network continues to weigh on results.   The weakness in preorders may just be a turning point that takes this telecom leader lower, even if the market hasn’t… Read More

The $28 billion merger between Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) may mark a turning point for master limited partnerships (MLPs). Over the past two years, asset prices in the sector have crumbled as oil prices plunged, but stabilization in energy prices and recent consolidation are breathing new life into the group. Most partnerships are at least marginally protected from falling energy prices through sales agreements based on the volume of products transported or stored. However, that doesn’t mean they’re entirely immune.  MLPs pay out almost all of their cash flow as distributions and must continuously issue partnership… Read More

The $28 billion merger between Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) may mark a turning point for master limited partnerships (MLPs). Over the past two years, asset prices in the sector have crumbled as oil prices plunged, but stabilization in energy prices and recent consolidation are breathing new life into the group. Most partnerships are at least marginally protected from falling energy prices through sales agreements based on the volume of products transported or stored. However, that doesn’t mean they’re entirely immune.  MLPs pay out almost all of their cash flow as distributions and must continuously issue partnership units (stock) or debt to grow. Weakness in energy prices led to lower cash flows and increasing debt loads, scaring lenders for debt issues while investor sentiment fell faster than share prices. #-ad_banner-# Now energy prices are stabilizing and companies are positioning for the future. I’ve found a way to play this trend that can reduce the risk associated with individual names while providing a cash yield twice as large as other dividend plays. Buyers Coming Out As Energy Turns A Corner The deal between Spectra and Enbridge is the fourth… Read More

Social media came seemingly out of nowhere and took over our lives. And it’s not just the ubiquitous — some would even say obnoxious — need to check your Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) feed or post on Facebook (Nasdaq: FB). The way we get our news and communicate with friends and family has changed forever.  #-ad_banner-#Indeed, the public has adopted social media amazingly fast. It’s hard to believe that just a decade or so ago, it was in its early stages. In fact, the first tweet was sent just 10 years ago on March 21, 2006, almost 130 years to the… Read More

Social media came seemingly out of nowhere and took over our lives. And it’s not just the ubiquitous — some would even say obnoxious — need to check your Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) feed or post on Facebook (Nasdaq: FB). The way we get our news and communicate with friends and family has changed forever.  #-ad_banner-#Indeed, the public has adopted social media amazingly fast. It’s hard to believe that just a decade or so ago, it was in its early stages. In fact, the first tweet was sent just 10 years ago on March 21, 2006, almost 130 years to the day after Alexander Graham Bell famously made the first telephone call in his Boston lab.  Twitter officially launched its service on July 15, 2006. It now has 313 million monthly active users (82% of whom are using mobile devices), supports more than 40 languages, and counts 1 billion monthly unique visits to websites with embedded tweets. It’s hard to name a celebrity, politician, athlete, business or media outlet that doesn’t use Twitter to varying degrees. Twitter: A Primer For those of you not among those 300+ million active users, here’s a primer: A tweet is a message written in… Read More

It’s no secret that I don’t think much of the housing and real estate sectors in terms of stock market investments right now. Last week, I panned homebuilder Lennar (NYE: LEN), calling it one of the first stocks you should sell in a market correction. My recommendation to short LEN turned out to be a decent plan. Before the market opened on Tuesday, the company delivered an earnings beat… that was quickly shrugged off as shares closed 3.5% lower on the day. #-ad_banner-# The weakness was blamed on slowing orders for the homebuilder, as well as a report showing lower-than-expected… Read More

It’s no secret that I don’t think much of the housing and real estate sectors in terms of stock market investments right now. Last week, I panned homebuilder Lennar (NYE: LEN), calling it one of the first stocks you should sell in a market correction. My recommendation to short LEN turned out to be a decent plan. Before the market opened on Tuesday, the company delivered an earnings beat… that was quickly shrugged off as shares closed 3.5% lower on the day. #-ad_banner-# The weakness was blamed on slowing orders for the homebuilder, as well as a report showing lower-than-expected August housing starts that was also released on Tuesday. Related sectors such as home furnishings look rather weak, too, with the Dow Jones U.S. Home Furnishings index breaking down below support and its 50-day moving average.  The break was led by office furnishings stocks, but right on their heels is La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB), maker of the iconic reclining chair of the same name. This stock is one bad day away from a fresh breakdown of its own. La-Z-Boy had a very strong run from February to August, culminating in a breakout of a short-term range on Aug. 23, with shares… Read More

As investors, we face a great deal of uncertainty. We don’t know who the next President will be or which party will control the House or Senate. We don’t know when, or even if, the Federal Reserve will raise rates. We don’t know how far other central banks around the world will take negative interest rates.  Personally, I don’t expect much to change in the next few months. Interest rates will remain low and elections will continue to be held. Any changes to the current political and economic environment are likely to be small. This means, as investors, we can… Read More

As investors, we face a great deal of uncertainty. We don’t know who the next President will be or which party will control the House or Senate. We don’t know when, or even if, the Federal Reserve will raise rates. We don’t know how far other central banks around the world will take negative interest rates.  Personally, I don’t expect much to change in the next few months. Interest rates will remain low and elections will continue to be held. Any changes to the current political and economic environment are likely to be small. This means, as investors, we can remain focused on finding high-quality stocks with higher-than-average income, like the recent recommendation I made to my Maximum Income premium readers, Ford Motor (NYSE: F). —Recommended Link— The Next Epidemic (It Isn’t Zika Or Ebola)… While Zika and Ebola steal headlines, a much more dangerous epidemic has been developing in our hospitals. The CDC barely mentions it. But a NASA scientist, a Harvard MD, and a Johns Hopkins surgeon have shown that it’s claiming more lives than strokes, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes — combined… Full story here.  Ford is a company that needs no introduction. That, in a nutshell, is… Read More

Humans are creatures of habit. And since financial markets are, basically, a gigantic stew of the basest and most extreme of human nature, they too are creatures of habit. Things look bad? Get in there and sell, sell, sell! Things look good? Get in there and buy, buy, buy! Basic patterns often result in predictable results, and after a year or so into the energy bear market I’ve identified an interesting inflection point in the price of oil. It’s in the relationship between the prices of the two main oil benchmarks: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude. I’ve noticed… Read More

Humans are creatures of habit. And since financial markets are, basically, a gigantic stew of the basest and most extreme of human nature, they too are creatures of habit. Things look bad? Get in there and sell, sell, sell! Things look good? Get in there and buy, buy, buy! Basic patterns often result in predictable results, and after a year or so into the energy bear market I’ve identified an interesting inflection point in the price of oil. It’s in the relationship between the prices of the two main oil benchmarks: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude. I’ve noticed that whenever the prices of the two benchmarks reach parity, there’s typically a decent rally in oil prices. These charts show that.       When both Brent and WTI reached $44 a barrel, oil bounced better than 10%. It looks like we’re approaching the same inflection point. Here’s how to profit. The best way I’ve found to play oil directly is through using the iPath S&P GSCI Crude Total Return Index Exchange Traded Note (NYSE: OIL). OIL trades closest with WTI. Currently, OIL trades at around $5.39. This security pays no dividend or distribution so… Read More