Growing up I swore to myself that I never wanted to be a rancher or farmer. Moving irrigation pipe, caring for cattle, bucking bales of hay — needless to say the work was strenuous.  But the older I get, the more I find myself yearning for the back-breaking work and solitude that comes with the gig. Luckily, I still have a close connection to it. Being raised in a tiny village in the northwest, ranching and farming is — next to mining — probably the largest employer. And my father keeps a pulse on the agriculture business, as it directly… Read More

Growing up I swore to myself that I never wanted to be a rancher or farmer. Moving irrigation pipe, caring for cattle, bucking bales of hay — needless to say the work was strenuous.  But the older I get, the more I find myself yearning for the back-breaking work and solitude that comes with the gig. Luckily, I still have a close connection to it. Being raised in a tiny village in the northwest, ranching and farming is — next to mining — probably the largest employer. And my father keeps a pulse on the agriculture business, as it directly affects his business. #-ad_banner-#So I do my best to pick his brain about happenings in the agricultural business. And during a recent conversation I found myself particularly interested in what was going on in the corn and wheat sectors. What he told me was exactly what I wanted to hear… A Brief History Of The Corn And Wheat Markets Due to a large supply glut in the corn and wheat markets, prices have tanked roughly 50% since their 2012 highs. But I think conditions are ripe for a rebound in both corn and wheat prices — especially for corn. Read More

The weather phenomenon El Nino is bringing the much need moisture to the west, where places like California are suffering from a four-year drought. And the early signs of snow pleased many snow enthusiasts, while allowing many ski resorts to open early.   Colder temperatures also bring the possibility of thicker profits for many companies that rely heavily on seasonal trends. Companies like Douglas Dynamics (NYSE: PLOW) which supplies snow and ice removal equipment and Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT) which sells all-terrain vehicles, notably its snowmobile lineup, lean heavily on the hope for a good winter to boost… Read More

The weather phenomenon El Nino is bringing the much need moisture to the west, where places like California are suffering from a four-year drought. And the early signs of snow pleased many snow enthusiasts, while allowing many ski resorts to open early.   Colder temperatures also bring the possibility of thicker profits for many companies that rely heavily on seasonal trends. Companies like Douglas Dynamics (NYSE: PLOW) which supplies snow and ice removal equipment and Arctic Cat (Nasdaq: ACAT) which sells all-terrain vehicles, notably its snowmobile lineup, lean heavily on the hope for a good winter to boost sales. #-ad_banner-#But there are two companies that stand above the rest when it comes to finding the best stocks to take advantage of winter. Winter Basics Before you can take advantage of all that winter offers you must first be prepared. Having the proper outerwear can be the difference between a great time and a miserable time when either out on the mountain or walking the ski village in Vail, Colorado. And if you’re looking for some great gear then look no further than the Portland, Oregon based Columbia Sportswear (Nasdaq: COLM). The outdoor apparel and equipment company operates… Read More

Let me start off today’s issue with a warning…  I’m not trying to sound alarmist. It does absolutely zero good if you walk away from today’s essay with a “the sky is falling” mentality. I certainly don’t think that, and neither should you.  That being said, I’ve been spending a lot of time around the office thinking about a topic that has dominated headlines recently — one that StreetAuthority’s Andy Obermueller has been spot-on with his analysis since Day 1.  #-ad_banner-#I’m talking about pandemics.  Now, again, I want to be perfectly clear that we’re not saying some sort of global… Read More

Let me start off today’s issue with a warning…  I’m not trying to sound alarmist. It does absolutely zero good if you walk away from today’s essay with a “the sky is falling” mentality. I certainly don’t think that, and neither should you.  That being said, I’ve been spending a lot of time around the office thinking about a topic that has dominated headlines recently — one that StreetAuthority’s Andy Obermueller has been spot-on with his analysis since Day 1.  #-ad_banner-#I’m talking about pandemics.  Now, again, I want to be perfectly clear that we’re not saying some sort of global pandemic is imminent. But if you’ve paid any attention to the news regarding the Ebola outbreaks in Africa — and its move to the United States — you know that the next potential outbreak of some kind is always around the corner.  Since first being discovered in 1976, the most recent outbreak of Ebola has been the most deadly. At last count the World Health Organization concluded it has infected 24,797 people in West Africa and killed an astonishing 8,764. This deadly strain of Ebola has a 60 percent fatality rate. To put that in perspective, the 1918 flu pandemic… Read More

Will they or won’t they raise interest rates? It’s the question at the forefront of investors’ minds going into the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The board has considered hiking the federal funds rate for the past year, but hasn’t yet made a move. Many believe that the upcoming December meeting could be the one where we finally see a bump… I’m not here to predict whether or not the Fed will raise rates in December. I don’t know what their plan is… I’m not sure they do either. I do, however, want to give… Read More

Will they or won’t they raise interest rates? It’s the question at the forefront of investors’ minds going into the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The board has considered hiking the federal funds rate for the past year, but hasn’t yet made a move. Many believe that the upcoming December meeting could be the one where we finally see a bump… I’m not here to predict whether or not the Fed will raise rates in December. I don’t know what their plan is… I’m not sure they do either. I do, however, want to give you an idea of what may happen if the rates do rise.  It’s important to know what sectors could benefit from a possible rate hike — and which ones will suffer — if you want your portfolio to end the year in the black, and not in the red. Thanks to the folks at Bloomberg, I can run different economic scenarios and see the effects on a variety of financial instruments. So I looked at how a 25 basis point increase would impact the S&P 500. I was astonished to find that one of the best performing sectors is currently… Read More

#-ad_banner-#Today I want to tell you about an investing strategy that defies logic. It shouldn’t work based on everything we’ve learned about the stock market. Yet it does. In fact, for over half a century, investors and traders have used this strategy to produce unparalleled results. And no, for those of you who may be wondering, this strategy doesn’t involve options, derivatives or any other obscure financial product. What’s more, what I’m about to show you can be used as part of any general investing strategy — regardless of whether you’re focusing on income, growth, blue chips, small… Read More

#-ad_banner-#Today I want to tell you about an investing strategy that defies logic. It shouldn’t work based on everything we’ve learned about the stock market. Yet it does. In fact, for over half a century, investors and traders have used this strategy to produce unparalleled results. And no, for those of you who may be wondering, this strategy doesn’t involve options, derivatives or any other obscure financial product. What’s more, what I’m about to show you can be used as part of any general investing strategy — regardless of whether you’re focusing on income, growth, blue chips, small caps or commodities. Specifically, I’m talking about relative-strength investing. Longtime readers might already be familiar with relative-strength investing. We’ve talked about it before in previous StreetAuthority Daily issues. But for those who need a refresher, allow me to provide a brief recap. Relative-strength investing is simply a type of momentum investing. It involves buying the best-performing stocks (relative to the market) and holding them until their momentum changes course. To most investors, especially those considered value investors, this strategy probably sounds ridiculous. After all, most people have heard the phrase “buy low, sell high.” Since relative-strength investors buy stocks that… Read More

“I think this company is going to make a killing…” My brother, an acute businessman and owner of a construction firm, recently told me he was thinking of putting a few grand into a small, relatively unknown company. It trades over-the-counter and sells workout powders, like whey protein. #-ad_banner-#His comment wasn’t a comment at all, though. It was a veiled question: should I proceed with the investment? He was looking for validation. I was familiar with the company and its products. My brother and I even knew one of the founders. Read More

“I think this company is going to make a killing…” My brother, an acute businessman and owner of a construction firm, recently told me he was thinking of putting a few grand into a small, relatively unknown company. It trades over-the-counter and sells workout powders, like whey protein. #-ad_banner-#His comment wasn’t a comment at all, though. It was a veiled question: should I proceed with the investment? He was looking for validation. I was familiar with the company and its products. My brother and I even knew one of the founders. But it didn’t take me long to prove that this was a bad investment. I asked my brother, “Would you go into business with this guy on a housing project?” “Absolutely not,” he said, almost immediately. “The guy was sued by the Food and Drug Administration in his previous endeavor, and he isn’t someone that I would want to partner with… ever.” It’s a funny thing. My brother understands real estate, construction — business, in general. But throw him a ticker symbol, and his judgment is clouded. Instantly,… Read More

Let’s make a wager. You have five days to drive across the country. If you make it in less than five days, you will win $20,000. If you don’t, then you owe me $10,000. There are some caveats to this deal: First, you have no map, compass, GPS unit or directions — nothing that will assist you on your journey. Second, there are no road signs; only mile markers. #-ad_banner-#Are you still willing to blindly drive across the country risking $10,000 at the chance you’ll make $20,000? In this scenario, it’s… Read More

Let’s make a wager. You have five days to drive across the country. If you make it in less than five days, you will win $20,000. If you don’t, then you owe me $10,000. There are some caveats to this deal: First, you have no map, compass, GPS unit or directions — nothing that will assist you on your journey. Second, there are no road signs; only mile markers. #-ad_banner-#Are you still willing to blindly drive across the country risking $10,000 at the chance you’ll make $20,000? In this scenario, it’s easy to tell that taking this bet is a bad idea, but this sort of blind gambling is indicative of how many average investors navigate the markets. Most investors buy a stock and hope that it goes up. When it doesn’t and the stock plummets 20%, 30% even 50%, they continue to hold on… clinging to that hope that it will soon rebound. Well I’m here to tell you: hope isn’t a strategy. If there’s one thing you need to learn when it comes to investing, it’s how to invest with… Read More