Manhattan is the most exclusive real estate market in the world. The tiny, 34-square-mile island is home to Wall Street, the global headquarters of the United Nations and some of the most powerful and influential companies in the world. That exclusivity has driven big gains for one of Manhattan’s most prized properties. Since going public in the spring of 2010, Madison Square Garden (NYSE: MSG) is up a market-crushing 198%. #-ad_banner-#But if you missed out on that impressive run, don’t worry. The most exclusive real estate market in the world is setting the stage for another big winner. Read More

Manhattan is the most exclusive real estate market in the world. The tiny, 34-square-mile island is home to Wall Street, the global headquarters of the United Nations and some of the most powerful and influential companies in the world. That exclusivity has driven big gains for one of Manhattan’s most prized properties. Since going public in the spring of 2010, Madison Square Garden (NYSE: MSG) is up a market-crushing 198%. #-ad_banner-#But if you missed out on that impressive run, don’t worry. The most exclusive real estate market in the world is setting the stage for another big winner. Clocking in at $1.3 billion, this company’s recent IPO was the second-largest ever for a U.S. REIT (real-estate investment trust). It controls more than 8 million square feet of some of the most desirable commercial real estate in the world. And it also pays investors to own shares with a solid dividend yield that is higher than the benchmark 10-year Treasury. Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE: ESRT) went public in early October. The REIT owns 12 office properties and six retail properties. The trust’s prized asset is the iconic Empire State Building, which is the second-tallest building in New York… Read More

Everybody loves a lottery ticket. People will weekly put down their hard-earned money for a 1-in-175 million chance of being rich.#-ad_banner-# And that is the kind of fervor that has driven shares of Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) up more than 450% over the past year. Sure, the automaker is increasing production and profits are increasing, but there is nothing that can explain the surge in the stock price like good old-fashioned irrational exuberance. For investors who got in at the ground floor in 2010, congratulations. For those that have recently bought into the shares and are hoping on another quadrupling,… Read More

Everybody loves a lottery ticket. People will weekly put down their hard-earned money for a 1-in-175 million chance of being rich.#-ad_banner-# And that is the kind of fervor that has driven shares of Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) up more than 450% over the past year. Sure, the automaker is increasing production and profits are increasing, but there is nothing that can explain the surge in the stock price like good old-fashioned irrational exuberance. For investors who got in at the ground floor in 2010, congratulations. For those that have recently bought into the shares and are hoping on another quadrupling, you may want to read on. You thought the car fire was bad Shares of the $19.6 billion company tumbled 10% in the two days after an Oct. 1 video showed a Model S on fire in California. CEO Elon Musk eventually identified the cause of the fire as a loose piece of metal from a passing truck that punctured the car’s battery. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it will not investigate the incident, but shares of TSLA still have not recovered to their pre-video high. Worse than the car fire, however,… Read More

Throw away your wallet. Toss out all those heavy, antiquated coins. Burn your checkbook. Cut up your credit cards. But make sure you keep your mobile phone. It’s how you soon may pay for almost everything you buy using a method some call the “mobile wallet” and others term “mobile money” but is most commonly known as mobile payment solutions. Mobile payment transactions are exploding. According to a report by Gartner Research, these types of payments totaled roughly $171.5 billion in 2012, a 62% rise from $105.9 billion in 2011. In 2012, roughly 212 million people worldwide made mobile payments,… Read More

Throw away your wallet. Toss out all those heavy, antiquated coins. Burn your checkbook. Cut up your credit cards. But make sure you keep your mobile phone. It’s how you soon may pay for almost everything you buy using a method some call the “mobile wallet” and others term “mobile money” but is most commonly known as mobile payment solutions. Mobile payment transactions are exploding. According to a report by Gartner Research, these types of payments totaled roughly $171.5 billion in 2012, a 62% rise from $105.9 billion in 2011. In 2012, roughly 212 million people worldwide made mobile payments, up 32% from nearly 160 million users in 2011. More importantly, Gartner expects mobile transactions will grow at an average pace of 42% a year. By 2016, the firm forecasts the mobile transaction market will be worth $617 billion with 448 million global users. This amazing growth outlook means tremendous opportunity for mobile payment service providers. Traders tapping into the trend now could also make stellar returns. Of the publicly traded mobile payment solutions companies, the one I like best is NXP Semiconductors (Nasdaq: NXPI) based on its solid chart and increasing revenue and profits.#-ad_banner-# The hardware… Read More

The notion of a wide moat around your castle has been around for centuries. The early moats were designed to repel rivals and prevent them from invading and conquering. Today’s moats also keep rivals at bay. Companies that have built a solid moat around their business, limiting the threat of competition and price wars to some degree, tend to garner higher valuations from investors. How do we know that? Because the Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF (NYSE: MOAT) exchange-traded fund (ETF), which debuted in April 2012, is handily outperforming its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The question for… Read More

The notion of a wide moat around your castle has been around for centuries. The early moats were designed to repel rivals and prevent them from invading and conquering. Today’s moats also keep rivals at bay. Companies that have built a solid moat around their business, limiting the threat of competition and price wars to some degree, tend to garner higher valuations from investors. How do we know that? Because the Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF (NYSE: MOAT) exchange-traded fund (ETF), which debuted in April 2012, is handily outperforming its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The question for investors: Is it better to own this fund, or to try to find your own companies with solid moats? To answer this, let’s first look at how this ETF is constructed. Deep Concentration Unlike many ETFs that own a tiny slice of hundreds of companies, this ETF has a roughly 5% weighting in just 20 companies. In the portfolio, you’ll find household names such as Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) and Bank of New York (NYSE: BNY). It’s immediately clear why companies like Cisco or eBay get the nod as they possess the products… Read More

In many ways, using a tablet or smartphone at work beats a rigid desktop computer.#-ad_banner-#​ The portability of mobile devices makes it easier to perform tasks from anywhere — the lunchroom, a co-worker’s desk, at home, even in the car. Plus, it’s way more convenient to be able to access work and personal emails, files and apps on one device.  A recent study showed that almost 60% of employees bring some type of mobile device into the workplace. The act has become so commonplace that it now has its own acronym: BYOD (bring your own device). By the… Read More

In many ways, using a tablet or smartphone at work beats a rigid desktop computer.#-ad_banner-#​ The portability of mobile devices makes it easier to perform tasks from anywhere — the lunchroom, a co-worker’s desk, at home, even in the car. Plus, it’s way more convenient to be able to access work and personal emails, files and apps on one device.  A recent study showed that almost 60% of employees bring some type of mobile device into the workplace. The act has become so commonplace that it now has its own acronym: BYOD (bring your own device). By the end of this year, the number of mobile devices (mostly mobile phones) in the workplace is expected to reach 350 million globally. A whopping 57% of full-time employees are already using mobile devices for work-related tasks — half of which is unmonitored, unmanaged BYOD activity.  We love our toys, but mixing business with recreation presents huge headaches for the IT workers responsible for keeping company data secure and knowing who has which apps (and why and where). Workers who innocently hook up devices to company networks, download applications, access email and connect to private Wi-Fi networks can cause major disruptions. … Read More

Tracking the moves of insiders can often lead you to small, unknown companies that have a great deal of promise.  On the daily list of buys, you only rarely come across major insider buying involving large companies. But in the past few weeks and months, there’s been impressive clusters of buying among companies in the S&P 500. Three of them caught my eye. 1. Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC ) President and CEO James Bennett just plunked down more than $2 million to buy 100,000 shares. This wasn’t just the conversion of stock options that you often find on insider… Read More

Tracking the moves of insiders can often lead you to small, unknown companies that have a great deal of promise.  On the daily list of buys, you only rarely come across major insider buying involving large companies. But in the past few weeks and months, there’s been impressive clusters of buying among companies in the S&P 500. Three of them caught my eye. 1. Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC ) President and CEO James Bennett just plunked down more than $2 million to buy 100,000 shares. This wasn’t just the conversion of stock options that you often find on insider buying lists, but an actual purchase with real money. The move came after Bennett needed to rein in profit expectations amid a companywide restructuring. Make no mistake, software security vendor Symantec was in need of a shake-up. The company had seen robust growth in the past decade, as sales shot up from $2.6 billion in fiscal 2005 to $6.2 billion by 2009. However, sales in the current fiscal year are expected to be only 10% higher, equating to a compound growth rate of less than 2%. In the current quarter (which ends in December), sales are expected to fall 9% from a… Read More

Momentum remains on the side of technology giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) despite the large gains the it has made this year.#-ad_banner-#​ Following a big post-earnings rally in mid-October, GOOG consolidated and is forming a tight bullish wedge pattern. This offers traders another juicy long-side breakout trade.  Tight patterns often lead to quick moves. A break to new highs would keep the momentum on the side of the bulls, while any break below the consolidation pattern would be equally bearish and serve as an automatic stop-out area. Google reported third-quarter results after the… Read More

Momentum remains on the side of technology giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) despite the large gains the it has made this year.#-ad_banner-#​ Following a big post-earnings rally in mid-October, GOOG consolidated and is forming a tight bullish wedge pattern. This offers traders another juicy long-side breakout trade.  Tight patterns often lead to quick moves. A break to new highs would keep the momentum on the side of the bulls, while any break below the consolidation pattern would be equally bearish and serve as an automatic stop-out area. Google reported third-quarter results after the close Oct. 17, beating analysts’ estimates on all fronts. Earnings per share (EPS) were up 19% to $10.74 from the same quarter a year ago, beating estimates of $10.34. Revenue was up 12% to $14.9 billion, slightly better than the consensus estimate. As a result, GOOG exploded higher on massive volume on Oct. 18, and it hasn’t looked back. Google’s shareholders are no strangers to robust post-earnings moves, but the 13.8% rally was larger than usual, and it took the stock above $1,000 for the first time, setting a new all-time high. GOOG is up 43% this year, and while… Read More

Buying a house is a terrible way to profit from the recovery in the housing market. Houses are illiquid assets. They carry high transaction costs. And they are loaded with expenses such as insurance, maintenance and taxes. When you think about it, a house looks a lot like an “anti-dividend”: Investors pay a lot of money to own them. There’s a better way to cash in on the recovery in housing. This leading homebuilder provides incredible leverage against the ongoing recovery in housing without the burdens of buying a house. And with shares recently dipping 28% while earnings… Read More

Buying a house is a terrible way to profit from the recovery in the housing market. Houses are illiquid assets. They carry high transaction costs. And they are loaded with expenses such as insurance, maintenance and taxes. When you think about it, a house looks a lot like an “anti-dividend”: Investors pay a lot of money to own them. There’s a better way to cash in on the recovery in housing. This leading homebuilder provides incredible leverage against the ongoing recovery in housing without the burdens of buying a house. And with shares recently dipping 28% while earnings estimates continue to surge, this is a rare chance to buy on a pullback. Take a look at the recent pullback in the chart below. With a market cap of $1.5 billion, KB Homes (NYSE: KBH) is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Shares had been rallying big on the recovery in housing before this spring’s spike in interest rates triggered a wave of profit-taking that sent KB falling 28% from its recent all-time high.#-ad_banner-# That’s creating an opportunity to buy one of the best housing stocks at a relative discount. And KB has plenty… Read More

I make about 90% of my purchases through the Internet. I have grown weary of pushy, obnoxious salespeople who don’t know the product, fighting traffic in parking lots, and the general schlepping that’s required when shopping the old-fashioned way.#-ad_banner-#​ Online shopping not only eliminates most of the headaches of dealing with the world of retail, but it enables wise price shopping and a mind-boggling array of choices, as well as virtually unlimited product information. Combine these benefits with an often sales-tax-free environment, and online shopping makes for a superior method on multiple levels.  However, a… Read More

I make about 90% of my purchases through the Internet. I have grown weary of pushy, obnoxious salespeople who don’t know the product, fighting traffic in parking lots, and the general schlepping that’s required when shopping the old-fashioned way.#-ad_banner-#​ Online shopping not only eliminates most of the headaches of dealing with the world of retail, but it enables wise price shopping and a mind-boggling array of choices, as well as virtually unlimited product information. Combine these benefits with an often sales-tax-free environment, and online shopping makes for a superior method on multiple levels.  However, a recent very pleasant experience at a big-box retailer has started to change my mind about the superiority of online shopping. I needed to purchase a break-resistant and waterproof case for my son’s tablet computer. He had already left it outside on several occasions and managed to cause a slight crack on the corner of the screen. I knew if I didn’t get him a case soon, the $400 device would soon be damaged beyond repair. I didn’t want to wait to an online order to be delivered, so I went to a local Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) to make the… Read More

Consumer credit is a double-edged sword. Used wisely, it enables smart money management and expense tracking. Misused, it can easily become a crushing financial burden that can only end in lifetime poverty and or bankruptcy.#-ad_banner-#​ While the levels of consumer debt have dropped after hitting a high of $1 trillion in July 2008, this number is still about $855 billion. The standard way consumers access this credit is through the ubiquitous plastic credit card. Although the technological infrastructure has changed greatly, the basic card concept has been in use since the 1950s. Today, there are 1.5 billion credit… Read More

Consumer credit is a double-edged sword. Used wisely, it enables smart money management and expense tracking. Misused, it can easily become a crushing financial burden that can only end in lifetime poverty and or bankruptcy.#-ad_banner-#​ While the levels of consumer debt have dropped after hitting a high of $1 trillion in July 2008, this number is still about $855 billion. The standard way consumers access this credit is through the ubiquitous plastic credit card. Although the technological infrastructure has changed greatly, the basic card concept has been in use since the 1950s. Today, there are 1.5 billion credit cards in the United States; the average credit card user has 3.5 cards. The most popular card is Visa (NYSE: V), with 36% of the market, followed by MasterCard (NYSE: MA), with 27% market penetration, and American Express (NYSE: AXP), with a 6.5% market share.   While consumers’ embrace of debt has declined slightly, it shows no signs of abating. However, the way we access our credit lines is about to undergo a revolutionary change. Let me explain. I stopped into my local Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) recently to pick up a drink and morning snack. The customer in line in… Read More