The surprising announcement last month of Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) intention to acquire high-end grocer Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFM) conforms to the age-old notion that nobody can do it alone. Even Amazon — the original “if you build it, they will come” company… the company that never cared much about margins but was obsessed about volume (which turned out to be just the right solution for e-commerce) — couldn’t do it all without the help of others.  Quite often, this help has come in the form of an acquisition. Of course, the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, if it… Read More

The surprising announcement last month of Amazon’s (Nasdaq: AMZN) intention to acquire high-end grocer Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFM) conforms to the age-old notion that nobody can do it alone. Even Amazon — the original “if you build it, they will come” company… the company that never cared much about margins but was obsessed about volume (which turned out to be just the right solution for e-commerce) — couldn’t do it all without the help of others.  Quite often, this help has come in the form of an acquisition. Of course, the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, if it goes through, would be the company’s largest acquisition to date. But Amazon has also used smaller acquisitions to help build its grand vision.  Since going public in 1997, all its acquisitions have resulted in the creation of the Amazon we know now. For example, in 1998, the company made a somewhat puzzling purchase of IMDB, a leading website for facts and information about TV and movies; now it serves as both a content provider and a marketing tool. Its 1999 purchase of Alexa, then just a web navigation service, is now a subsidiary for web analytics and search engine optimization… Read More

Baby steps.  This is how most investors start, with a smallish sum of money and only a few positions.  Over time, these holdings appreciate, and investors put additional money to work. The portfolio grows, and with that, so does its complexity. Sooner or later, many investors begin to feel the need to get organized. And for that, they need to understand the basic rules of portfolio building.  Of course, as a finance professional, I think this should be filed under the category “the sooner, the better.” Investing is a serious affair, and it’s good to follow the basics from the… Read More

Baby steps.  This is how most investors start, with a smallish sum of money and only a few positions.  Over time, these holdings appreciate, and investors put additional money to work. The portfolio grows, and with that, so does its complexity. Sooner or later, many investors begin to feel the need to get organized. And for that, they need to understand the basic rules of portfolio building.  Of course, as a finance professional, I think this should be filed under the category “the sooner, the better.” Investing is a serious affair, and it’s good to follow the basics from the beginning. But it’s never too late to start.  The first decision any investor should make is all about asset allocation. The exact portfolio allocation for stocks, bonds and cash should largely depend on an investor’s own time horizon and risk tolerance. General guidelines can be applied , however, nobody knows your situation better than you do, and the process of determining where you want your money to go is much more personal than any newsletter allows.  —Recommended Link— Make This Move For A Millionaire Retirement If you want a millionaire retirement, you need to check this move out. It… Read More

Around this time last year, shares of a little-known small-cap company — Fleetmatics (NYSE: FLTX) — jumped 40% in one day. Over the prior weekend, the company agreed to be bought by Verizon (NYSE: VZ) for $60 per share in cash — a massive premium to the previous day’s closing price. A 100-share stake that was worth $4,296 on one day was now worth $5,959. Only a month earlier, Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) bought HeartWare (Nasdaq: HTWR), a maker of surgical implants for the heart, for $1.1 billion, a 93% premium to the previous day’s closing price. #-ad_banner-#These deals signify… Read More

Around this time last year, shares of a little-known small-cap company — Fleetmatics (NYSE: FLTX) — jumped 40% in one day. Over the prior weekend, the company agreed to be bought by Verizon (NYSE: VZ) for $60 per share in cash — a massive premium to the previous day’s closing price. A 100-share stake that was worth $4,296 on one day was now worth $5,959. Only a month earlier, Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) bought HeartWare (Nasdaq: HTWR), a maker of surgical implants for the heart, for $1.1 billion, a 93% premium to the previous day’s closing price. #-ad_banner-#These deals signify a fact of life that corporate executives — and successful game-changing stock investors — know too well: it’s easier to buy something than to build it from scratch. In the case of Fleetmatics, for instance, Verizon was looking to instantly enhance its IoT (Internet of Things) portfolio. Instead of having to develop its own surgical implants that mimic the heart’s blood-pumping function, all Medtronic will have to do is sign the dotted line (and fork over the cash).  Companies that possess disruptive or proprietary technologies, or those that have made inroads into a new,… Read More

Eat your peas! Wash your hands! Do your homework! Sounds familiar, right? None of us got to adulthood without following a set of simple rules. Of course, mom was right… Whether you’re a kid or an adult approaching retirement, all of these rules are important.  Especially the homework rule.  Doing your homework, knowing your investments and researching the new ones is a very important and necessary part of being a successful investor.  Worry not, though. If you’re a subscriber to my Daily Paycheck premium income newsletter service, I do the homework for you. Even if you sometimes don’t feel like… Read More

Eat your peas! Wash your hands! Do your homework! Sounds familiar, right? None of us got to adulthood without following a set of simple rules. Of course, mom was right… Whether you’re a kid or an adult approaching retirement, all of these rules are important.  Especially the homework rule.  Doing your homework, knowing your investments and researching the new ones is a very important and necessary part of being a successful investor.  Worry not, though. If you’re a subscriber to my Daily Paycheck premium income newsletter service, I do the homework for you. Even if you sometimes don’t feel like it… Besides researching stocks and funds, my own homework includes a healthy dose of staying on top of all the latest news and studying what others think about the market. Plus, when I can, I also look at what other experienced investors are doing, taking the opportunity to learn from the knowledge and practical experience of others.  But this doesn’t just mean we should blindly take positions in companies other experienced investors like, regardless of how rich and famous those investors happen to be.  —Sponsored Link— New ‘Perfect Retirement Business’ Could Make You $100s Per Week… Read More