Andy Obermueller wasn’t this excited about an investment since Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) plunked down $350 million in cash for one of his picks. The company Apple bought was AuthenTec, a developer of fingerprint sensor technology. Ten months earlier, Andy reasoned that fingerprint security was just the sort of feature that Tier 1 customers are going to demand in their phones and other mobile devices to keep their credit card accounts and other sensitive information safe.#-ad_banner-# That was in September 2011, when the Chief Strategist for Game-Changing Stocks went on to… Read More

Andy Obermueller wasn’t this excited about an investment since Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) plunked down $350 million in cash for one of his picks. The company Apple bought was AuthenTec, a developer of fingerprint sensor technology. Ten months earlier, Andy reasoned that fingerprint security was just the sort of feature that Tier 1 customers are going to demand in their phones and other mobile devices to keep their credit card accounts and other sensitive information safe.#-ad_banner-# That was in September 2011, when the Chief Strategist for Game-Changing Stocks went on to call AuthenTec “an immediate portfolio add for aggressive tech investors looking for strong upside on the cheap.” Less than a year later, AuthenTec shares closed 227.6% higher than Andy’s initial recommendation. Fast-forward 15 months. The iPhone 5s has a fingerprint scanner. And Andy has another game-changing idea. A big one. “What I am talking about is a piece of information that literally makes my jaw drop. That makes my heart race. I’m talking about information that scares you. The sort of thing you read and think, ‘I sure hope someone who knows something is working on this.” That’s what Andy… Read More

Shorting the yen and going long Japanese stocks have basically been no-brainer investments for the past couple of years. That’s especially true when you consider there’s an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that accomplishes both: the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE: DXJ).  DXJ has gained 48% over the past two years and 25% this year, but it’s been flat or slightly negative for the past six months. One reason DXJ has slowed is that talk of a U.S. government shutdown sent investors to the yen as a safe haven, pushing it… Read More

Shorting the yen and going long Japanese stocks have basically been no-brainer investments for the past couple of years. That’s especially true when you consider there’s an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that accomplishes both: the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE: DXJ).  DXJ has gained 48% over the past two years and 25% this year, but it’s been flat or slightly negative for the past six months. One reason DXJ has slowed is that talk of a U.S. government shutdown sent investors to the yen as a safe haven, pushing it higher.  I suspect now that all is quiet on that front that the yen will continue its downward trend.#-ad_banner-# Still, there’s speculation that this trade may be dead. It all boils down to whether Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sticks to his loose monetary policy, aka Abenomics, which has been in place since he took office in December 2012. Abe vowed to kick-start Japan’s stagnant economy by deploying a bond-buying program of 7.5 trillion yen ($75 billion) a month, much like the U.S. is doing. The strategy was designed to reflate the world’s third-largest economy by devaluing the… Read More

With the Federal Reserve standing pat for at least another five weeks with its potential tapering of its bond-buying quantitative easing program, investors remain a bit anxious. The uncertain impact of the post-QE trading environment has caused U.S. stocks a bit of indigestion. Since the start of… Read More

When I was a kid, I always wanted my own Coke machine. How cool would that be? Want a Coke? Done — and I get my money back.#-ad_banner-# When I attended college, the guys around the fraternity house talked about how cool it would… Read More

In the past few years, diversification may have seemed like a bad idea, especially when it comes to global investing. In just the past two years, the S&P 500 has risen a solid 40% while the… Read More

The emerging markets that we’ve come to know so well, the BRIC countries, are finally coming to an end — at least, as emerging markets.  China and Brazil are moving away from having industrial economies and are becoming ever more consumption-driven. India continues to suffer from a depreciating rupee and a poor economy, and Russia remains an unpredictable political quagmire.#-ad_banner-# A paradigm shift in global industrial manufacturing is beginning to take place, and areas like Indonesia, West Africa and Latin America could emerge as the next… Read More

The emerging markets that we’ve come to know so well, the BRIC countries, are finally coming to an end — at least, as emerging markets.  China and Brazil are moving away from having industrial economies and are becoming ever more consumption-driven. India continues to suffer from a depreciating rupee and a poor economy, and Russia remains an unpredictable political quagmire.#-ad_banner-# A paradigm shift in global industrial manufacturing is beginning to take place, and areas like Indonesia, West Africa and Latin America could emerge as the next bull markets for investors. As the U.S. economy rebounds, it will undoubtedly remain consumer-driven, which is good news for one country in particular.  The U.S. accounts for 78% of this country’s exports, with the five largest U.S. import categories last year being electrical machinery ($56.8 billion), automobiles and parts ($53.5 billion), machinery ($42.3 billion), mineral fuel and crude oil ($39.9 billion), and optical and medical instruments ($10.4 billion).  Unlike the slowing growth in China, this country’s GDP… Read More

I talk with a variety of investors on a daily basis. I truly enjoy the interactions as I often learn something new. In addition, the conversations provide a real-time feel for the day’s investor sentiment. One recent conversation with a seasoned… Read More

As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until… Read More

As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until these markets settle down and form a bottom, it’s wiser to nibble than go whole hog.#-ad_banner-# Yet when it comes to emerging-market bonds, there is a different set of factors to consider. They are interrelated and can help determine which bonds are safe — and which are potentially toxic. Those three factors: trade balances, foreign currency reserves and currency changes. Let’s take a closer look. Surplus Or Deficit? A nation’s trade balance… Read More

As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until… Read More

As the Federal Reserve gets set to end its massive multi-year stimulus program, emerging markets are shuddering. That’s because the possibility of imminent Fed “tapering” is leading many investors to yank their money out of emerging-market stocks and bonds and placing them in higher-yielding U.S. bonds. I recently wrote about the burgeoning appeal of emerging-market stocks, which are currently in turmoil but starting to look like deep value plays for long-term investors. Still, until these markets settle down and form a bottom, it’s wiser to nibble than go whole hog.#-ad_banner-# Yet when it comes to emerging-market bonds, there is a different set of factors to consider. They are interrelated and can help determine which bonds are safe — and which are potentially toxic. Those three factors: trade balances, foreign currency reserves and currency changes. Let’s take a closer look. Surplus Or Deficit? A nation’s trade balance… Read More

Europe, which has been long believed to be simply too volatile for prudent long-term investors, appears to have turned the corner.  The world experienced years of one crisis after another sweeping the eurozone. These financial missteps destabilized the equity markets, creating a dangerous place for investors. Last year, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made the unprecedented promise that he will “do whatever it takes” to save the common… Read More

Europe, which has been long believed to be simply too volatile for prudent long-term investors, appears to have turned the corner.  The world experienced years of one crisis after another sweeping the eurozone. These financial missteps destabilized the equity markets, creating a dangerous place for investors. Last year, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi made the unprecedented promise that he will “do whatever it takes” to save the common currency. This single statement has led to greater stability to the European Union’s (EU) economy and growth in the stock market.#-ad_banner-# Certainly, not all regions are thriving, but things are improving enough to create a compelling case for diversification into the European stock markets.  The primary reason for this improvement is the full-force support of the EU Central Bank for the unified euro currency. Fears of… Read More