They’re the creme de la creme of the income universe.  Each one has increased its dividend every year for at least two decades… some sport track records with more than 50 years of consecutive dividend increases. All told, these stocks are some of the most reliable dividend payers on the planet.  #-ad_banner-#I’m talking about the S&P 500 “Dividend Aristocrats” and their kissing cousins, the S&P “High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats.”  To become a member of these elite groups, a company must pay a regular… Read More

They’re the creme de la creme of the income universe.  Each one has increased its dividend every year for at least two decades… some sport track records with more than 50 years of consecutive dividend increases. All told, these stocks are some of the most reliable dividend payers on the planet.  #-ad_banner-#I’m talking about the S&P 500 “Dividend Aristocrats” and their kissing cousins, the S&P “High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats.”  To become a member of these elite groups, a company must pay a regular dividend, but it must also enjoy a stellar track record of growing that dividend every year for at least 20 years. With such stringent membership criteria, only about 70 U.S. companies make the grade. As you’d expect, a wide variety of industries are represented. You’ll find an overweighting of consumer staples such as Procter and Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Kimberley Clark (NYSE: KMB), and a healthy chunk of electrical utilities, such as Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) and Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN). But there’s one group that makes the list that you would probably… Read More

Markets move in cycles of varying lengths. Some indicators, like the relative strength index (RSI), are based on that idea. RSI was designed by J. Welles Wilder for the commodity markets and some traders believe that commodities move in line with a 28-day cycle. In fact, some traders, including Wilder, believed that the phase of the moon had a large effect on commodity market prices. Default values for calculating RSI are set to 14 days, one-half of the cycle length or… Read More

Markets move in cycles of varying lengths. Some indicators, like the relative strength index (RSI), are based on that idea. RSI was designed by J. Welles Wilder for the commodity markets and some traders believe that commodities move in line with a 28-day cycle. In fact, some traders, including Wilder, believed that the phase of the moon had a large effect on commodity market prices. Default values for calculating RSI are set to 14 days, one-half of the cycle length or about one-half the length of a lunar month.#-ad_banner-# I’m not convinced a lunar calendar can help anyone time trades, but the idea of cycle analysis does make sense. In particular, there is a business cycle where the economy alternates between contraction and expansion. This cycle varies in length but averages about four years. Martin Pring recognized the importance of considering several cycles and developed an indicator he called Know Sure Thing (KST) to look at short-term, intermediate-term and long-term cycles.  “I’ve learned after all my years trading… Read More

The pullback this week in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) is an opportunity to use the power of options for a capital-preserving, stock substitution strategy. We’re seeing bullish divergence in Teva… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against… Read More

Yngve Slyngstad and Peter Ballon aren’t well-known names in the U.S. investment community, but their decisions are having a multi-billion dollar effect on a key asset class. These men head up organizations that manage Sovereign Wealth … Read More

The pullback this week in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) is an opportunity to use the power of options for a capital-preserving, stock substitution strategy. We’re seeing bullish divergence in Teva stock options‘ implied volatility with less fear on the latest price decline to new lows. This can mark a price bottom, as the emotional selling extreme may have been exhausted sellers. A failed test of the multi-year lows from 2009 and 2011 has formed a bullish base over the past… Read More

The pullback this week in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) is an opportunity to use the power of options for a capital-preserving, stock substitution strategy. We’re seeing bullish divergence in Teva stock options‘ implied volatility with less fear on the latest price decline to new lows. This can mark a price bottom, as the emotional selling extreme may have been exhausted sellers. A failed test of the multi-year lows from 2009 and 2011 has formed a bullish base over the past few weeks. The extreme low at $35 a share from two years ago is a point the stock can lean on for support.  A range has been established between $42 a share and $38 since May, which targets $46 on a breakout of the trading channel. That level is near the stock’s 52-week high and the technical breakdown point. As a rule, markets often return to breakouts to test trends. The $46 target is about 21% higher than current prices, but traders who use a stock substitution strategy could make more… Read More

Many top companies issue an overlooked type of payment back to their shareholders… They work like traditional dividends, but with one major difference — these “dividends” are completely tax-free. These under-the-radar “dividends” are a favorite of Warren Buffett… Read More

Did you know the United States is projected to be the world’s top oil producer within the next five to seven years? At least that’s what the International Energy Agency has projected. This means the United States is on pace to beat Russia and Saudi Arabia in daily crude output.#-ad_banner-#… Read More

For decades, analysts have heralded small-cap stocks as the real growers in the stock market. And they’re right to some extent; a study that tracked stock returns from 1926 to 2008… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against the grain and taking aim at companies they believe are overvalued or headed for a nose dive. But in spite of the psychological attraction of being a contrarian and bucking the masses, even the smartest… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against the grain and taking aim at companies they believe are overvalued or headed for a nose dive. But in spite of the psychological attraction of being a contrarian and bucking the masses, even the smartest money on the Street struggles with short investments. Take Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) for example. Short interest in the stock exploded higher from 20 million shares in mid-December to an eye-popping 37 million shares in the last week of 2012. This came after it was revealed that a number of billion-dollar hedge funds, led by Bill Ackman, had initiated a massive short position in the multi-level marketing company.  As you can see in the chart below, the surge in short interest coincided with the… Read More