As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a… Read More

As investors were picking up the pieces after the dot-com implosion, they came across another troubled sector. A series of looming patent expirations on key drugs meant that major pharmaceutical companies were on the cusp of a decade-long sales drought. Investors responded by dumping shares, as the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index plunged from 400 in late 2001 to just 250 a year later. A decade later, Big Pharma’s “patent cliff” was still a key concern, and this index remained far from its previous highs. Yet in recent quarters, Big Pharma has come back with a vengeance, as shares have moved back to the levels seen all those years ago. Credit goes to several factors, most notably the absence of any new imminent blockbuster-drug patent expirations, and an industrywide focus on shareholder-friendly moves such as share… Read More

Warren Buffett‘s incredible success in the stock market has been built on two principles. The first is his long-term buy-and-hold mentality. Buffett likes to invest in companies with strong fundamentals and staying power that operate in industries with high barriers to entrance. That enables Buffett to hold on to shares for the long haul without having to worry about new players disrupting the competitive… Read More

Warren Buffett‘s incredible success in the stock market has been built on two principles. The first is his long-term buy-and-hold mentality. Buffett likes to invest in companies with strong fundamentals and staying power that operate in industries with high barriers to entrance. That enables Buffett to hold on to shares for the long haul without having to worry about new players disrupting the competitive landscape.#-ad_banner-# Owning stocks for the long haul has produced some of Buffett’s biggest gains. Take The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO), for example. Buffett first began buying shares in 1973, recognizing the company’s long-term potential in the highly insulated media business. Forty years later, Buffett still owns those shares and is now sitting on a 6,800% gain, with his $11 million investment ballooning to $820 million in spite of shares falling… Read More

I have a friend named Tom who was fortunate enough to obtain a great-paying job out of college. He worked for a few years, saved some money with the employer’s retirement plan and slowly started climbing the corporate ladder. Tom lived in a one-bedroom… Read More

I want to show you a surprising statistic. It’s nothing tricky or complicated. In fact, it’s really simple and straightforward. My long-time readers know that I’m always on the lookout for “secrets of the pros.” I love to look at the wealth rich people have accumulated, and figure out how they did it. So a few months ago, I dug into Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest people on Earth. I wanted to see if anything jumped out… if there were any patterns.#-ad_banner-# Sure enough,… Read More

I want to show you a surprising statistic. It’s nothing tricky or complicated. In fact, it’s really simple and straightforward. My long-time readers know that I’m always on the lookout for “secrets of the pros.” I love to look at the wealth rich people have accumulated, and figure out how they did it. So a few months ago, I dug into Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest people on Earth. I wanted to see if anything jumped out… if there were any patterns.#-ad_banner-# Sure enough, there were. I found something that I think applies to every single one of us. It’s something that could help any investor — no matter their age or income level — earn a significant amount of money in the stock market. What I found was this: Approximately one-third of the people on Forbes’ top 400 list all made their money thanks to the same simple secret. Read More

I want to show you a surprising statistic. It’s nothing tricky or complicated. In fact, it’s really simple and straightforward. My long-time readers know that I’m always on the lookout for “secrets of the pros.” I love to look at the wealth rich people have accumulated, and figure out how they did it. So a few months ago, I dug into Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest people on Earth. I wanted to see if anything jumped out… if there were any patterns.#-ad_banner-# Sure enough,… Read More

I want to show you a surprising statistic. It’s nothing tricky or complicated. In fact, it’s really simple and straightforward. My long-time readers know that I’m always on the lookout for “secrets of the pros.” I love to look at the wealth rich people have accumulated, and figure out how they did it. So a few months ago, I dug into Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest people on Earth. I wanted to see if anything jumped out… if there were any patterns.#-ad_banner-# Sure enough, there were. I found something that I think applies to every single one of us. It’s something that could help any investor — no matter their age or income level — earn a significant amount of money in the stock market. What I found was this: Approximately one-third of the people on Forbes’ top 400 list all made their money thanks to the same simple secret. Read More

Las Vegas is one of the all-time great boom towns in U.S. history. Nothing more than a forgotten Dust Bowl in the 1940s, Vegas grew into one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world by the late ’50s and early ’60s. Tourists, vacationers, celebrities and gamblers from across the world flocked to Vegas, producing an economic boom that continues to produce huge gains for investors. But now, 50 years later, that same incredible growth story is repeating itself in another part of the world. In fact, this… Read More

Las Vegas is one of the all-time great boom towns in U.S. history. Nothing more than a forgotten Dust Bowl in the 1940s, Vegas grew into one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world by the late ’50s and early ’60s. Tourists, vacationers, celebrities and gamblers from across the world flocked to Vegas, producing an economic boom that continues to produce huge gains for investors. But now, 50 years later, that same incredible growth story is repeating itself in another part of the world. In fact, this Far East gambling destination is growing so fast that its annual revenue last year was more than six times that of Vegas. I’m talking about Macau, the undisputed leader in the global entertainment and gambling industry.#-ad_banner-# Along with Hong Kong, Macau is one of two special administrative regions of China. Under the principle of “one country, two systems,” Macau enjoys a high degree of autonomy, governed by its own legal system, police force, monetary system and immigration policy. Read More

If “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley had been an investment fanatic, she might’ve liked the idea of the business development company, or BDC: Fashion a company out of parts of other companies, then set the creation loose by taking it public. Of course, society doesn’t shun BDCs as it did Victor Frankenstein’s monster, nor has Mel Brooks made a comedic movie about the investment (though that would be cool). In fact, BDCs can be gentle giants.#-ad_banner-# But before you invest in one, it’s best to understand a few key… Read More

If “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley had been an investment fanatic, she might’ve liked the idea of the business development company, or BDC: Fashion a company out of parts of other companies, then set the creation loose by taking it public. Of course, society doesn’t shun BDCs as it did Victor Frankenstein’s monster, nor has Mel Brooks made a comedic movie about the investment (though that would be cool). In fact, BDCs can be gentle giants.#-ad_banner-# But before you invest in one, it’s best to understand a few key terms, lest you wake one night to a financial monster staring back at you. What’s A BDC? First things first: What is a BDC? It’s basically a private equity or venture capital firm that goes public. It uses the proceeds of the public offering to invest (typically) in small or midsize private companies — but it can’t invest in just any company. The goal is to invest in new companies and provide… Read More

When I first started writing about investing in the 1990s, the whole notion of “e-commerce” was just getting going. Analysts then thought this emerging form of retail would continually take away market share from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. They might not have expected that e-commerce would still be growing at a fast clip nearly two decades later.#-ad_banner-# Last year, U.S. e-commerce sales rose 15.6% to $71 billion, triple the growth… Read More

When I first started writing about investing in the 1990s, the whole notion of “e-commerce” was just getting going. Analysts then thought this emerging form of retail would continually take away market share from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. They might not have expected that e-commerce would still be growing at a fast clip nearly two decades later.#-ad_banner-# Last year, U.S. e-commerce sales rose 15.6% to $71 billion, triple the growth rate of traditional retail sales. However, considering that e-commerce sales still account for less than 6% of all sales, there’s no reason to expect this niche to slow down anytime soon. In fact, revenues of the major players could double in size over the next five years and still reach just 10% penetration (assuming that traditional store-based sales also rise a modest amount). Of course, much of that growth will be picked up by Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), which had more than $60 billion in sales… Read More

When I first started writing about investing in the 1990s, the whole notion of “e-commerce” was just getting going. Analysts then thought this emerging form of retail would continually take away market share from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. They might not have expected that e-commerce would still be growing at a fast clip nearly two decades later.#-ad_banner-# Last year, U.S. e-commerce sales rose 15.6% to $71 billion, triple the growth… Read More

When I first started writing about investing in the 1990s, the whole notion of “e-commerce” was just getting going. Analysts then thought this emerging form of retail would continually take away market share from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. They might not have expected that e-commerce would still be growing at a fast clip nearly two decades later.#-ad_banner-# Last year, U.S. e-commerce sales rose 15.6% to $71 billion, triple the growth rate of traditional retail sales. However, considering that e-commerce sales still account for less than 6% of all sales, there’s no reason to expect this niche to slow down anytime soon. In fact, revenues of the major players could double in size over the next five years and still reach just 10% penetration (assuming that traditional store-based sales also rise a modest amount). Of course, much of that growth will be picked up by Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), which had more than $60 billion in sales… Read More