In the 1980s, there was a famous rap music anthem titled, “Don’t Believe the Hype.” Well, I borrowed that admonition frequently last year when the overblown hype over the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO reached a fever pitch. Nearly every retail investor I knew wanted to own Facebook stock, and it became a symbol of the groupthink mentality that’s so often infects Wall Street and… Read More

In the 1980s, there was a famous rap music anthem titled, “Don’t Believe the Hype.” Well, I borrowed that admonition frequently last year when the overblown hype over the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO reached a fever pitch. Nearly every retail investor I knew wanted to own Facebook stock, and it became a symbol of the groupthink mentality that’s so often infects Wall Street and Main Street.#-ad_banner-# The hype got so bad, that in May 2012, I actually had a friend ask me if they should borrow money on his home so that he could buy Facebook shares. Sadly, many people (thankfully not my friend) recklessly scrambled to buy Facebook shares immediately following the stock’s public debut, and many of those investors are still sitting on a losing position. I won’t go into the epic fails on the part of… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net… Read More

When CERN released the World Wide Web in 1991, few thought it would amount to much. In fact, noted Author and Astronomer Clifford Stoll proclaimed in a Newsweek article that it was just a passing fad and would never catch on.  That was just before tech… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a leading home-value index that tracks prices in 20 residential markets, showed that home values rose 4.3% in October 2012 from the previous year, ahead of estimates looking for 4% growth. That follows the trend that has been in play for the past 12 months, with home prices showing steady gains through most of the year. And sure to fuel the rebound in home prices is the recent settlement of a massive lawsuit against 10 major U.S. banks and mortgage companies brought by the federal government. Not only is… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply,… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply, shares are up almost 100% in just two years. Take a look at the market-beating rally below… But just because early investors have seen big gains doesn’t mean the growth story is over. With the bullish trend still well in play and management confident, Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO) can continue to grow its store count and still leave plenty of room for investors to profit.#-ad_banner-# This little-known industry-leading retailer… Read More

It looks like Carl Icahn was on to something. Last year, he tried to acquire the The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) for $22 a share, an offer that was subsequently rebuffed by management. In November, I cautioned that it was unwise to follow… Read More

It looks like Carl Icahn was on to something. Last year, he tried to acquire the The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) for $22 a share, an offer that was subsequently rebuffed by management. In November, I cautioned that it was unwise to follow Icahn into this crowded stock because once he loses interest (as he often does when pursuing his prey), shares tend to wilt.  And that’s precisely what happened with Greenbrier. Read More

It looks like Carl Icahn was on to something. Last year, he tried to acquire the The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) for $22 a share, an offer that was subsequently rebuffed by management. In November, I cautioned that it was unwise to follow Icahn into this crowded stock because once he loses interest (as he often does when pursuing his prey), shares tend to wilt.  And that’s precisely what happened with Greenbrier. Yet we can add a fresh twist to the much-ballyhooed “Icahn effect.” The legendary investor may be known for too many head fakes, but after he walks away, then real value may emerge. Indeed, it now looks as if Icahn was on the right track in his ardor for this stock, as just-released quarterly results show. As it turns out, Greenbrier and another transportation firm, Wabash National (NYSE: WNC). may be shaping up to be top gainers in 2013.#-ad_banner-# Replacing the fleets Greenbrier, a leading provider of railroad cars, and Wabash, a top provider of truck trailers that ply… Read More

If the winter blues have you thinking of heading off to a warm, sunny destination, you might find a hotel, flight or car rental deal through the online travel site, Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). Expedia is the largest online travel agency in the United States, based on bookings. It generates the… Read More

If the winter blues have you thinking of heading off to a warm, sunny destination, you might find a hotel, flight or car rental deal through the online travel site, Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). Expedia is the largest online travel agency in the United States, based on bookings. It generates the majority of its revenue from offering cut-throat deals on hotels, flights and car rentals.#-ad_banner-# The company doesn’t just appeal to cost-conscious U.S. travelers. Expedia is gaining international popularity, too. In the past five… Read More

If the winter blues have you thinking of heading off to a warm, sunny destination, you might find a hotel, flight or car rental deal through the online travel site, Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE). Expedia is the largest online travel agency in the United States, based on bookings. It generates the majority of its revenue from offering cut-throat deals on hotels, flights and car rentals.#-ad_banner-# The company doesn’t just appeal to cost-conscious U.S. travelers. Expedia is gaining international popularity, too. In the past five years, revenue from international markets has nearly doubled. Europe and Asia-Pacific are particularly hot growth spots. Travelers there, especially from emerging markets in Asia, are seeing a rise in their disposable income, allowing them to spend more on getaways. In addition to international expansion, strategic sell-offs, acquisitions and collaborations have led to Expedia’s growth. About a year ago, Expedia spun off the travel site TripAdvisor (Nasdaq: TRIP). More recently, the company’s corporate travel management branch, Egencia, acquired the Nordic-based travel management company, VIA Travel. The move helped expand Expedia’s European corporate travel… Read More