As we roll through Thanksgiving and into the holiday season, investors can look ahead with some trepidation about turmoil in the Middle East, slowing growth in China and rising interest rates here at home. But there are plenty of reasons to be thankful, as well. For one, U.S. stocks have remained in an extended bull market for many years. The S&P 500 has a five-year annualized return of 14.2%, a tremendous run that has helped millions of Americans recover from the losses of the financial crisis. And while stocks have taken a relative breather this year, they remain in an… Read More

As we roll through Thanksgiving and into the holiday season, investors can look ahead with some trepidation about turmoil in the Middle East, slowing growth in China and rising interest rates here at home. But there are plenty of reasons to be thankful, as well. For one, U.S. stocks have remained in an extended bull market for many years. The S&P 500 has a five-year annualized return of 14.2%, a tremendous run that has helped millions of Americans recover from the losses of the financial crisis. And while stocks have taken a relative breather this year, they remain in an uptrend that could well continue given the U.S. economy’s resilience. #-ad_banner-#Earlier this week, the Commerce Department revised upward its estimate for third quarter U.S. GDP growth to a 2.1% annual pace — not gangbusters, but quite healthy given the strong dollar, which hurts U.S. exports, and the ongoing woes in the energy sector. Two more positive reports came Wednesday morning: new jobless claims fell more than expected, and durable goods orders rose more than expected. So despite the headwinds, the U.S. economy keeps chugging along. We’re enjoying a long period of moderate growth. That’s less thrilling than a short period… Read More

On December 20, 1922, a surveyor — J.G. Tierney — made his way along the Colorado River by barge. Tierney, who worked for the U.S. government, was surveying a remote spot in the Mojave Desert called Boulder Canyon. Boulder Canyon sits in the middle of some of the most unforgiving land in America. During the summer, temperatures frequently top out near 120 degrees. Fewer than five inches of rain fall each year. Rattlesnakes and scorpions hide under rocks. And the sharp cliffs are near-impossible to scale. And yet, this canyon in the heart of the desert holds one of the… Read More

On December 20, 1922, a surveyor — J.G. Tierney — made his way along the Colorado River by barge. Tierney, who worked for the U.S. government, was surveying a remote spot in the Mojave Desert called Boulder Canyon. Boulder Canyon sits in the middle of some of the most unforgiving land in America. During the summer, temperatures frequently top out near 120 degrees. Fewer than five inches of rain fall each year. Rattlesnakes and scorpions hide under rocks. And the sharp cliffs are near-impossible to scale. And yet, this canyon in the heart of the desert holds one of the greatest investments in U.S. history… one that has generated billions of dollars in wealth and is practically guaranteed to keep doing so for decades. But it wasn’t without its costs. In total, 112 men — beginning with J.G. Tierney, who on that December day drowned after falling off the barge that carried him and his equipment — died to create this investment. I’m talking about the Hoover Dam. Before I get too far… no, I am not recommending that you invest in the Hoover Dam. Even if you wanted to, it’s fully owned by the U.S. government. There’s not a… Read More

Volatility is ticking up in the U.S. stock market — no surprise, after the tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week, the political debate that followed, continued mixed signals on the economic front and the upcoming climate change talks in Paris Big moves in the market can cause anxiety, but they can also represent an opportunity for savvy investors. In this case they could be a chance to add shares of stocks most likely to overperform in 2016. Several signs point to a shift in market leadership from growth stocks — the darlings of recent years — to value stocks,… Read More

Volatility is ticking up in the U.S. stock market — no surprise, after the tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week, the political debate that followed, continued mixed signals on the economic front and the upcoming climate change talks in Paris Big moves in the market can cause anxiety, but they can also represent an opportunity for savvy investors. In this case they could be a chance to add shares of stocks most likely to overperform in 2016. Several signs point to a shift in market leadership from growth stocks — the darlings of recent years — to value stocks, making now a great time to buy. Most important, recent strong job growth figures indicate that the Federal Reserve is very likely to raise short-term interest rates in December, the first of what could be a multi-step process of rate hikes as the Fed moves modestly away from the emergency zero-interest-rate policy of the post-financial crisis period to a more traditional low-rate stance. The November jobs report showed the U.S. unemployment rate at only 5%. Below that level, economists tend to predict that inflation will rise. That’s because higher employment levels correlate with rising consumer spending, which can push prices… Read More

Large infrastructure projects can mean a boom for the economy and users of the new structures once they’re done but construction can seem to go on forever. Shares of companies that will benefit from the new structures are bid up only to come back down when mega-projects get delayed and run over budget.  One such project has gone nearly two years over schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget. Once a hot subject among investors, this project has faded into the background after more than eight years of construction. But a new progress report shows light at the… Read More

Large infrastructure projects can mean a boom for the economy and users of the new structures once they’re done but construction can seem to go on forever. Shares of companies that will benefit from the new structures are bid up only to come back down when mega-projects get delayed and run over budget.  One such project has gone nearly two years over schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget. Once a hot subject among investors, this project has faded into the background after more than eight years of construction. But a new progress report shows light at the end of the tunnel. The building consortium has given a completion date for early next year. And one company stands to gain on multiple fronts while the project’s completion could touch off a rebound for an unloved industry. An Expanded Panama Canal And A Boom For East Coast Shipping Despite news of leakage in the third lock, representatives of the building consortium insist that the Panama Canal expansion will be completed by April 2016. The project has run over-budget and way past its original October 2014 deadline, but now completion is in sight.  The new canal will support ships… Read More

You often hear about recession-resistant investments, especially in the years since 2008… when the financial world was burning to the ground. #-ad_banner-#But if you had to guess which industry performs the best in all bear markets — one that delivered 9.5% returns in 2008 (when the S&P 500 lost a third of its value) and more than tripled in value during the Great Depression (when other stocks lost more than two-thirds of their value) — what would your guess be? Unless you read the same studies and research as me, I’m guessing you wouldn’t answer trees. That’s right… and it… Read More

You often hear about recession-resistant investments, especially in the years since 2008… when the financial world was burning to the ground. #-ad_banner-#But if you had to guess which industry performs the best in all bear markets — one that delivered 9.5% returns in 2008 (when the S&P 500 lost a third of its value) and more than tripled in value during the Great Depression (when other stocks lost more than two-thirds of their value) — what would your guess be? Unless you read the same studies and research as me, I’m guessing you wouldn’t answer trees. That’s right… and it makes sense too. A tree doesn’t know anything about too-big-to-fail banks, tech bubbles or savings and loan scandals. They keep growing, constantly getting bigger… offering more resources to harvest. Timberland is not just a good bet for bear markets, however. Over the last 18 quarters — four and a half years — the NCREIF Timberland Index has only had one negative quarter of performance. And that one barely counts, since the index fell just 0.35%. So even though trees aren’t necessarily a sexy investment, it’s one you should pay attention to… or at the very least… Read More

The personal computer, the Internet and mobile devices all revolutionized our society. But over the past two or three years, it seems the pace of innovation has slowed — at least for consumers. Yes, we’ve seen the introduction of better, faster smartphones and variations on the theme such as smart watches. But what’s next? The answer, technologists say, is the “Internet of Things” — a new wave of real-world uses for smart technologies such as networking, sensors, GPS, data collection and management, and the like. The idea is to make more machines “smart.” The most commonly cited examples are Fitbits,… Read More

The personal computer, the Internet and mobile devices all revolutionized our society. But over the past two or three years, it seems the pace of innovation has slowed — at least for consumers. Yes, we’ve seen the introduction of better, faster smartphones and variations on the theme such as smart watches. But what’s next? The answer, technologists say, is the “Internet of Things” — a new wave of real-world uses for smart technologies such as networking, sensors, GPS, data collection and management, and the like. The idea is to make more machines “smart.” The most commonly cited examples are Fitbits, which monitor exercise stats and store them as data for later analysis. When you use your smartphone to turn up the thermostat remotely, you’re using the Internet of Things. Less popular so far, but on the market: smart tennis rackets, saucepans and silverware (spoons that tell you how much soup or ice cream you’ve eaten). While some of these products seem more fanciful than practical, experts agree that there’s huge room for growth in Internet of Things (or “IOT”) applications. For example, manufacturing costs may be reduced significantly by efficiency improvements brought by machines that are not only automated but… Read More

When he buys a stock, Warren Buffett places more emphasis on one factor above almost any other. Since 1986 he has mentioned this single trait more than 20 times in his annual shareholder letters. He calls it “essential for sustained success.” However, you won’t find it listed on a company’s balance sheet. Its value doesn’t rise and fall with the market. And even if a company reports great earnings, the worth of this one advantage still can’t be calculated. But that doesn’t keep it from being a company’s most valuable possession. Take the nasty bear market of 2008 and 2009. Read More

When he buys a stock, Warren Buffett places more emphasis on one factor above almost any other. Since 1986 he has mentioned this single trait more than 20 times in his annual shareholder letters. He calls it “essential for sustained success.” However, you won’t find it listed on a company’s balance sheet. Its value doesn’t rise and fall with the market. And even if a company reports great earnings, the worth of this one advantage still can’t be calculated. But that doesn’t keep it from being a company’s most valuable possession. Take the nasty bear market of 2008 and 2009. From its peak to trough, the S&P lost more than 55%. No investment completely avoided the downfall. Well, almost no investment. Of the 500 stocks in the S&P, only nine made money during that period. Of those nine stocks, six of them (two-thirds) had this advantage. But this advantage also helps these stocks beat the market in uptrends, too. After all, Buffett has made billions thanks to companies with this trait. So what single advantage can capture the attention of Warren Buffett… help a stock beat the market in an uptrend… and help it fall less in a downtrend? That… Read More

Even though crude oil is languishing below $50 a barrel, the energy sector has been showing signs of life in the past month. Since rebounding off its late-September low, the sector has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 7 percentage points. Some oil services stocks have already broken out to the upside, but I spotted one that is just starting to make its move. While the long-term trend is still officially to the downside, every long-term reversal starts with a short-term one.  And that’s what we’re seeing now with oil and gas exploration and production company Murphy… Read More

Even though crude oil is languishing below $50 a barrel, the energy sector has been showing signs of life in the past month. Since rebounding off its late-September low, the sector has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 7 percentage points. Some oil services stocks have already broken out to the upside, but I spotted one that is just starting to make its move. While the long-term trend is still officially to the downside, every long-term reversal starts with a short-term one.  And that’s what we’re seeing now with oil and gas exploration and production company Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR). The easiest pattern to spot on the chart is an upside down or inverted head-and-shoulders. It is defined by a central trough (head) surrounded by roughly equal but shallower troughs (shoulders). A line connects the highs between these troughs to define the resistance line known as the neckline.  Because this is a reversal pattern, we expect to see many indicators setting higher lows as the pattern progresses. Indeed, we’re seeing that in momentum readings for Murphy Oil, including the Relative Strength Index (RSI). #-ad_banner-# But that alone is not enough to confirm a bottom. So… Read More

Earnings season is full of problems for investors. If a company doesn’t meet analysts’ expectations, you can expect its stock to fall. But there’s another concern… one most investors don’t pay attention to. What should you do if a company you’re watching does beat estimates? Should you take that as a sign to buy? Some traders might suggest you do just that. But for anyone looking for a long-term investment, an earnings “beat” could be the exact wrong time to get in. Take Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT), for instance.  Fitbit is one of the hottest stocks of the year. The… Read More

Earnings season is full of problems for investors. If a company doesn’t meet analysts’ expectations, you can expect its stock to fall. But there’s another concern… one most investors don’t pay attention to. What should you do if a company you’re watching does beat estimates? Should you take that as a sign to buy? Some traders might suggest you do just that. But for anyone looking for a long-term investment, an earnings “beat” could be the exact wrong time to get in. Take Fitbit Inc. (NYSE: FIT), for instance.  Fitbit is one of the hottest stocks of the year. The maker of active, wearable tech launched its IPO this summer at around $30 and almost immediately spiked to $50. Yesterday, after the closing bell, the company announced its third-quarter earnings. It raked in 19 cents per share in earnings compared to the Street’s average estimate of 10 cents per share.  Many investors saw those results and bought. Those investors might already be sitting on a loss. The stock fell 8.55% on November 3. You see, along with better-than-expected earnings, the company also announced that it was going to sell additional shares on the open market. In other words, shareholders that… Read More

One company has been around since the 1800s and is the ultimate “crash protection” stock. Another turned every $1,000 invested in 1972 into more than $2.6 million. Still another might just be one of Warren Buffett’s new favorite stocks (he owns $1.3 billion worth). #-ad_banner-#Welcome to the Top 10 Stocks For 2016. We’ve mentioned this report in previous articles on StreetAuthority. But today, I’d like to give you a taste of this year’s report by discussing one of the picks in particular and why it made this year’s list. But first, you should know that we’ve been issuing this report since… Read More

One company has been around since the 1800s and is the ultimate “crash protection” stock. Another turned every $1,000 invested in 1972 into more than $2.6 million. Still another might just be one of Warren Buffett’s new favorite stocks (he owns $1.3 billion worth). #-ad_banner-#Welcome to the Top 10 Stocks For 2016. We’ve mentioned this report in previous articles on StreetAuthority. But today, I’d like to give you a taste of this year’s report by discussing one of the picks in particular and why it made this year’s list. But first, you should know that we’ve been issuing this report since 2003. And during that time — through raging bull markets, the Great Recession and global uncertainly — the picks delivered by our report have been among the most profitable we’ve ever uncovered. With that kind of track record, coming up with winning picks every single year to keep the streak going can be a tall order. Luckily, we’re confident in this year’s picks because they share three distinct advantages over the average stock that make them uniquely positioned to weather storms on the horizon and beat the market in 2016. They essentially boil down to this: – Irreplaceable… Read More