It is an oversimplification to summarize George Soros’ investment philosophy based on the theory of reflexivity into a single sentence, but it is useful to think of the theory as telling us that a trend will continue until it reverses. Reflexivity also points out the direction of the trend can be influenced by underlying economic factors and the perception of traders and policymakers about the trend. That makes analyzing trends more complicated because we need to… Read More

It is an oversimplification to summarize George Soros’ investment philosophy based on the theory of reflexivity into a single sentence, but it is useful to think of the theory as telling us that a trend will continue until it reverses. Reflexivity also points out the direction of the trend can be influenced by underlying economic factors and the perception of traders and policymakers about the trend. That makes analyzing trends more complicated because we need to consider what policymakers might do and how traders will react in addition to prices.#-ad_banner-# The entire global economy might be thought of as a group of trends under the theory of reflexivity. What happens in the U.S. affects Japan, for example, just as policies in Japan have an impact on the U.S. These effects can be seen in exchange rates, a market in which Soros has demonstrated mastery. His most famous trade — a bet against the Bank of England — made him $1 billion in one day. Read More

The first rule of business is customer diversification. You should never have just one major customer, just in case that relationship sours. But what happens if you have only one key customer — and that customer steals… Read More

What do Warren Buffett and Sir John Templeton have in common? They both made billions by following one simple maxim: Find stocks or industries that are absolutely loathed. These are the only areas you… Read More

A big part of my job as managing editor of StreetAuthority involves talking with our premium newsletter experts to get a sense of what they like in the market, where they think it’s headed and how they plan to help their followers profit. That means I get paid to hear from some of the top investing minds in the country on a regular basis. What could be better? I want to share some of that… Read More

A big part of my job as managing editor of StreetAuthority involves talking with our premium newsletter experts to get a sense of what they like in the market, where they think it’s headed and how they plan to help their followers profit. That means I get paid to hear from some of the top investing minds in the country on a regular basis. What could be better? I want to share some of that wisdom. I’m featuring insights and top picks from each of our experts over the next couple of weeks as a way of saying thanks for being a StreetAuthority.com reader.             Amy Calistri   Today’s pick comes courtesy of Amy Calistri. Out of 45 closed trades in the four-year history of Amy Calistri’s… Read More

Here at StreetAuthority, we love companies that have a wide moat around their operations and possess powerful long-term growth characteristics. Investing in these companies is often quite simple. You buy shares — and put them on the shelf. Year after year, they appreciate in value. Over the course of many decades, they deliver substantial investment returns. We call these “Forever… Read More

Here at StreetAuthority, we love companies that have a wide moat around their operations and possess powerful long-term growth characteristics. Investing in these companies is often quite simple. You buy shares — and put them on the shelf. Year after year, they appreciate in value. Over the course of many decades, they deliver substantial investment returns. We call these “Forever Stocks.” Yet the ride isn’t always quite so smooth for some “Forever Stocks.” Even companies like GE (NYSE: GE) or IBM (NYSE: IBM) hit a rough patch, temporarily falling deeply out of favor with investors. And when that happens, savvy investors know to pounce, buying shares at marked-down prices. Such an opportunity exists now with a company headquartered 5,000 miles south of the New York Stock Exchange. Brazil’s CPFL Energia (NYSE: CPL) is a very good company having a very bad year. Shares are far from their recent… Read More

With a return of 43.9% over the past year, Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) is currently the top-performing mutual fund on the market. The company began operations as a private equity firm in 1998 with $400 million under management. Between 1999 and 2006, the firm averaged a return of 39%. And today, operating as a mutual fund, the group manages more than $54 billion. The… Read More

With a return of 43.9% over the past year, Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) is currently the top-performing mutual fund on the market. The company began operations as a private equity firm in 1998 with $400 million under management. Between 1999 and 2006, the firm averaged a return of 39%. And today, operating as a mutual fund, the group manages more than $54 billion. The fund‘s success merits a closer look, and while reviewing the company’s portfolio, I made a surprising discovery. Most mutual funds tend to maintain a more conservative portfolio of holdings that encompass a wide variety of market sectors. And most fund’s largest holding rarely makes up more than 25% of the portfolio. But Fortress is different. In fact, in the company’s current holdings, just one stock makes up 43% of the overall portfolio. Fortress owns more than 67 million shares of this company — a… Read More

The statistics are mind-blowing.  Close to 93% of Americans eat this cuisine every month. More than 3 billion units are sold yearly in the United States alone, an annual revenue stream of $32 billion. There are 70,000 U.S.-based restaurants that serve this dish,… Read More

It really shouldn’t matter a lick what price a stock is trading at. There is no fundamental difference between a stock with 1 million shares trading at $50 and a stock with 10 million shares trading at $5. Then again, there are people whose interest is piqued when they see a low price tag. It’s one of the reasons why many companies will split their stock. The lower price tag will sometimes entice more buying.#-ad_banner-# When you consider the rule… Read More

It really shouldn’t matter a lick what price a stock is trading at. There is no fundamental difference between a stock with 1 million shares trading at $50 and a stock with 10 million shares trading at $5. Then again, there are people whose interest is piqued when they see a low price tag. It’s one of the reasons why many companies will split their stock. The lower price tag will sometimes entice more buying.#-ad_banner-# When you consider the rule of large numbers, the phenomenon of lower-priced stocks rising faster than their higher-priced brethren does make a little sense. After all, for a stock trading at $5 to gain 50%, it has to only rise $2.50. But for a $100 stock, the same move takes $50. Investors aren’t always rational, and that $2.50 move seems a lot smaller than a $50 rise, even though they are the exact same in percentage terms. With this… Read More

Can an apparel company that built its success on catering to women participating in a “touchy-feely” activity repeat that success by marketing to men? Although this Canadian company has marketed its products to men since it was founded in 1998 — and earns a surprising 12% of its revenue from that segment — it is looking to attract men in the U.S. and overseas. However, the company had an embarrassing setback earlier this year when it was forced to recall some of its women’s… Read More

Can an apparel company that built its success on catering to women participating in a “touchy-feely” activity repeat that success by marketing to men? Although this Canadian company has marketed its products to men since it was founded in 1998 — and earns a surprising 12% of its revenue from that segment — it is looking to attract men in the U.S. and overseas. However, the company had an embarrassing setback earlier this year when it was forced to recall some of its women’s yoga pants because a manufacturing flaw had made them too revealing for some activities. The fiasco sent its stock price reeling to $65 in March from a high above $75 last year. If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU).#-ad_banner-# The company is now looking to replace CEO Christine Day, who has been at the helm for more than five years. Lululemon’s best days may still be ahead, considering that more people worldwide are becoming attuned to maintaining a… Read More

In the summer of 1990, the U.S. economy was quickly losing altitude. By the fourth quarter, the nation’s GDP had fallen by nearly 4%. Unemployment began to rise, and the economic weakness would eventually cost George H.W. Bush a chance for a second term. By Oct. 1 of that year, the Russell 2000 small-cap index had fallen to just 119. Yet just 16 months… Read More

In the summer of 1990, the U.S. economy was quickly losing altitude. By the fourth quarter, the nation’s GDP had fallen by nearly 4%. Unemployment began to rise, and the economic weakness would eventually cost George H.W. Bush a chance for a second term. By Oct. 1 of that year, the Russell 2000 small-cap index had fallen to just 119. Yet just 16 months later, it surged past the 200 mark, reaching 250 by September 1993. Investors shouldn’t have been surprised. Small-cap stocks always do well when the economy is in a funk, but investors sense that better days lie ahead. Well, it’s happening again. Although the U.S. economy has posted a halting and unimpressive recovery, investors have again embraced seemingly risky small caps. The 200% gain in the Russell 2000 since the markets bottomed out in March 2009 surpasses the S&P 500’s gain by a whopping 50 percentage points. Read More