Ten years ago, people would have laughed at you for saying we would soon be walking around with mini-computers tethered to us. Now millions of people won’t step out the door without their beloved BlackBerry or iPhone. If you had put $10,000 into Research… Read More

It’s been 22 years since the Berlin Wall came down. Since then, economies behind the Iron Curtain have been slowly building a head of steam. Even though countries such as the Czech Republic, Romania and Croatia have not yet caught up to their Western neighbors in terms of… Read More

For the most part, the price of a stock does very little in telling investors whether it is a good value or not. Any astute investor will do his or her best to estimate their own fair value for a stock. However, in certain circumstances, an extremely high… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:… Read More

You can’t blame a number of retailers for waving the white flag. Already battered by tight-fisted consumers throughout the year, they had to contend with a traffic-sapping massive East coast snowstorm as the year came to an end. The predictable result: same-store sales for many retailers were pretty lousy in December. The unpredictable reaction: investors seemed caught off-guard by the results, handing some stocks their biggest pounding in quite some time in Thursday trading. Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) and Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) shed more than 10% on Thursday, while Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) and Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) fell by almost as much. Yet for investors willing to take a broader view than monthly sales trends, these sell-offs have created a compelling entry point for some of these stocks. As a quick recap of an article I wrote six months ago, many retailers have taken advantage of the downturn to tighten up their operations by reducing inventories, throttling back risky growth plans and cutting any fat from overhead. Some retail stocks are already benefiting from this trend, especially the ones that cater to upscale shoppers. But many teen-focused retailers have yet to mark… Read More

It never ceases to amaze me. Each January, my staff and I breath a collective sigh of relief with the start of each new year. It’s not because we’re glad the holidays are over, but rather because it means that the exhaustive research we put into our annual Top 10 issue for my Market Advisor newsletter is finally over. You see, my staff and I put in countless hours, starting months in advance to ensure that the annual Top 10 issue has only the absolute best picks that we think will pummel the market in the coming year. Read More

It never ceases to amaze me. Each January, my staff and I breath a collective sigh of relief with the start of each new year. It’s not because we’re glad the holidays are over, but rather because it means that the exhaustive research we put into our annual Top 10 issue for my Market Advisor newsletter is finally over. You see, my staff and I put in countless hours, starting months in advance to ensure that the annual Top 10 issue has only the absolute best picks that we think will pummel the market in the coming year. After all, we’ve got a lot to live up to. StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy started this tradition for Market Advisor back in December 2002. Incidentally, that inaugural list of recommendations went on to deliver an impressive return of 38.4% in the next 12 months. And every December since, my team and I have presented readers with a fresh batch of our best and brightest ideas for the year ahead.  Aside from the crash of 2008, these picks have outpaced the benchmark S&P 500 every single year — and by no small margin. Read More

It’s been a roller-coaster year for stocks, but one that will ultimately end well. Barring any unforeseen events, the S&P 500 will end the year with a gain of about 15.0%. This year brought with it a myriad of opportunities for profits and losses, from the commodities boom and M&A… Read More

This is the time of year when investors typically rebalance their portfolios and begin preparing for the year ahead. In preparation for the coming year, it helps to look back and think about the lessons learned from the previous year and how they can be applied for a profitable future. With that in mind, we asked some of StreetAuthority’s top experts what they learned in 2010 and how they hope to apply it in 2011. Here’s what they learned…  ———————————— Here’s what I learned this year: “It’s the economy, stupid.”… Read More

This is the time of year when investors typically rebalance their portfolios and begin preparing for the year ahead. In preparation for the coming year, it helps to look back and think about the lessons learned from the previous year and how they can be applied for a profitable future. With that in mind, we asked some of StreetAuthority’s top experts what they learned in 2010 and how they hope to apply it in 2011. Here’s what they learned…  ———————————— Here’s what I learned this year: “It’s the economy, stupid.” The market isn’t going to charge ahead no matter how good earnings look or how optimistic the Street may be when so many people remain out of work. Uncertainty over the tax code and health care hasn’t helped. But it’s one thing for the market to sputter or stall, it’s another thing entirely for such conditions to keep the best companies down. So while the S&P 500 didn’t blow up anyone’s skirt, there were plenty of big winners in 2010, despite the tough business climate. Cutting-edge technologies and products will always create value, and those companies’ shareholders will be… Read More

$2.8 billion. That’s the amount grossed by James Cameron’s “Avatar” since its release in late 2009. That makes “Avatar” the highest-grossing film of all time, earning nearly $1 billion more than the No. 2 film, “Titanic.” But “Avatar” isn’t alone in recent films making a big splash. In fact, three of the top six grossing films of all time have been released in the past 13 months. What’s causing these skyrocketing sales figures? Certainly inflating ticket prices have a lot to do with it, but a quick look… Read More

$2.8 billion. That’s the amount grossed by James Cameron’s “Avatar” since its release in late 2009. That makes “Avatar” the highest-grossing film of all time, earning nearly $1 billion more than the No. 2 film, “Titanic.” But “Avatar” isn’t alone in recent films making a big splash. In fact, three of the top six grossing films of all time have been released in the past 13 months. What’s causing these skyrocketing sales figures? Certainly inflating ticket prices have a lot to do with it, but a quick look into “Avatar’s” success shows an even bigger force at play… 3-D technology. Avatar made a splash by being made specifically for 3-D presentation. That led to 81% of its U.S. sales coming from the pricier tickets to 3-D viewings. Clearly, consumers are enamored with immersive 3-D visuals. In fact, 3-D movies share of domestic ticket sales climbed from 2% in 2008 to 11% in 2009. That’s a five-fold surge in one year. This year should see an even greater share go toward 3-D. This trend isn’t going away — nor is it limited to… Read More

[This is a continuation of “10 Bold Predictions for 2011: Part 1”] 6. Individual investors finally start to re-enter U.S. equities in a major way in 2011 as the need to build savings in the face of looming retirements becomes a major consumer concern, and rising savings levels… Read More

As you continually assess current events for any impact on your portfolio, you also need to spend time thinking about what events may be on the horizon. And although none of us has a crystal ball, it’s important to try to anticipate the direction of economics, sector activity, politics and any other issues that may affect the investment environment. The list below contains possible scenarios for the next 12 months that could impact your portfolio in a meaningful way. 1. New jobless claims fall below 400,000 in the first quarter, and meaningful job… Read More

As you continually assess current events for any impact on your portfolio, you also need to spend time thinking about what events may be on the horizon. And although none of us has a crystal ball, it’s important to try to anticipate the direction of economics, sector activity, politics and any other issues that may affect the investment environment. The list below contains possible scenarios for the next 12 months that could impact your portfolio in a meaningful way. 1. New jobless claims fall below 400,000 in the first quarter, and meaningful job creation begins in earnest in 2011 as companies realize that they’ve squeezed out all possible productivity enhancements and need to re-build depleted workforces. The unemployment rate is slow to fall, as previously discouraged workers start to look for work again. But investors focus on the monthly jobs creation number instead of the actual unemployment rate. 2. Noting the impressive synergies that Delta (NYSE: DAL) derived from its merger with Northwest (which were only belatedly appreciated by investors), investors continue to bid up shares of UAL… Read More