Pssst. Want a good stock tip? Check with the insiders. NOT the insiders whose “tips” can get you thrown into jail, mind you…  #-ad_banner-#When most people think of insider trading, they think of an example like Martha Stewart, who famously became embroiled in an insider trading scandal involving the former ImClone Therapeutics. Stewarts’ mistake? Acting on the proverbial tip from a broker, Stewart dumped her shares of the biotech company a day before the public learned that the FDA had not approved ImClone’s experimental cancer drug.  (For his part, ImClone founder and CEO Samuel Waksal was arrested in 2002 on… Read More

Pssst. Want a good stock tip? Check with the insiders. NOT the insiders whose “tips” can get you thrown into jail, mind you…  #-ad_banner-#When most people think of insider trading, they think of an example like Martha Stewart, who famously became embroiled in an insider trading scandal involving the former ImClone Therapeutics. Stewarts’ mistake? Acting on the proverbial tip from a broker, Stewart dumped her shares of the biotech company a day before the public learned that the FDA had not approved ImClone’s experimental cancer drug.  (For his part, ImClone founder and CEO Samuel Waksal was arrested in 2002 on insider trading charges after instructing friends and family to dump ImClone shares before the FDA decision was made public. In the end, Stewart didn’t face insider trading charges but did serve five months in prison on related findings.) No, I’m referring instead to company insiders – officers, directors and holders of large blocks of stock who are required to report stock transactions involving their company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which in turn makes those transactions public. You see, especially when it comes to insider buying, there’s evidence to suggest it can pay off for investors who… Read More

I’ve been fielding a lot of phone calls lately from friends and family members. And they are scared… #-ad_banner-#Some have asked whether they should sell their house now, before a recession hits. Others are wondering if they should postpone their house purchase. And, of course, they are all worried about their retirement accounts. The fear is not limited to my circle of acquaintances. A lot of folks are downright spooked. Whether it’s the trade war, the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates, President Trump’s tweets, or headlines about the dreaded yield curve, there’s a lot of tension and uncertainty… Read More

I’ve been fielding a lot of phone calls lately from friends and family members. And they are scared… #-ad_banner-#Some have asked whether they should sell their house now, before a recession hits. Others are wondering if they should postpone their house purchase. And, of course, they are all worried about their retirement accounts. The fear is not limited to my circle of acquaintances. A lot of folks are downright spooked. Whether it’s the trade war, the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates, President Trump’s tweets, or headlines about the dreaded yield curve, there’s a lot of tension and uncertainty surrounding the market and the economy. But I don’t share these feelings. I still see plenty of opportunity in the market. To be sure, I’m not saying that “this time is different” — the four most dangerous words in investing — as we are closer to the end than the beginning of the economic expansion. And the inversion of the yield curve has been one of the most historically reliable indicators of a recession. I’m just not sure we will witness the sort of recession that most people are fearing — a 2008-like financial crisis — and I believe that… Read More

Nobody said this would be easy… Today’s market environment brings a lot of uncertainty. The volatility we’ve seen recently brought on by the continuous trade war with China to a possible looming recession as indicated by the yield curve has investors on edge. Even the highly anticipated interest rate cut July 31 by the Federal Reserve was met with skepticism as the market sold off on the news. To top it off, the market — and many stocks — are sporting lofty valuations, which makes it difficult to find that “great company trading at a discount” we’re all looking for,… Read More

Nobody said this would be easy… Today’s market environment brings a lot of uncertainty. The volatility we’ve seen recently brought on by the continuous trade war with China to a possible looming recession as indicated by the yield curve has investors on edge. Even the highly anticipated interest rate cut July 31 by the Federal Reserve was met with skepticism as the market sold off on the news. To top it off, the market — and many stocks — are sporting lofty valuations, which makes it difficult to find that “great company trading at a discount” we’re all looking for, much less even a fair price. —Recommended Link— 3 Minutes to Collect 12 Times More Money Than Social Security Just make this simple little 3-minute call and you can get set up to start collecting your checks. All told, your checks can add up to $225,326 over the next 25 years. Imagine that! And these checks are supported by $1.75 billion in new money every year. But you must act right now… because the next wave of checks will be sent out in just a few days. ​​Click here for the… Read More

“Cash is king.” This common expression is often used when analyzing business or investment decisions. When buying real estate in a hot market, cash is king. If you come to the table with cash over more traditional financing methods, your offer will likely move to the top of the pecking order. The same principle can be applied to stock-picking. A company that produces a ton of cash or carries a good amount of cash in relation to debt is often seen as a “safer” investment compared with a company that’s debt-ridden. And when investors believe the market is getting too… Read More

“Cash is king.” This common expression is often used when analyzing business or investment decisions. When buying real estate in a hot market, cash is king. If you come to the table with cash over more traditional financing methods, your offer will likely move to the top of the pecking order. The same principle can be applied to stock-picking. A company that produces a ton of cash or carries a good amount of cash in relation to debt is often seen as a “safer” investment compared with a company that’s debt-ridden. And when investors believe the market is getting too hot or expensive, they will often stockpile cash to have on hand when the next pullback hits. This way, they can pick up shares of their favorite company at a better price. —Recommended Link— I’ve Never Been More Excited About An Opportunity Pot stocks are dominating the headlines. But I’m not biting. Because I’ve found a safer, smarter way to make money from the legal marijuana market. It’s a unique profit-sharing plan that’s allowing everyday Americans to earn up to $55,563 a year. And the payouts are 100% backed by a U.S. Federal Law. The… Read More

It’s a small sampling, but backyard barbecues can give you a pretty good idea of the sentiment surrounding the stock market and economy. At these sorts of functions, I’m frequently asked what stock people should buy, or what I think of the latest hot IPO, or cryptocurrencies. However, the attitudes (and questions) these days have been centered around the economy and more specifically if we are entering a recession, or when the next recession will hit. I, of course, have no idea when the next recession will start. But the sense is that folks are nervously waiting for the balloon… Read More

It’s a small sampling, but backyard barbecues can give you a pretty good idea of the sentiment surrounding the stock market and economy. At these sorts of functions, I’m frequently asked what stock people should buy, or what I think of the latest hot IPO, or cryptocurrencies. However, the attitudes (and questions) these days have been centered around the economy and more specifically if we are entering a recession, or when the next recession will hit. I, of course, have no idea when the next recession will start. But the sense is that folks are nervously waiting for the balloon to pop and the hot air to quickly evaporate from this decade-long bull market. Despite the recent volatility, the S&P 500 still near all-time highs, the economy is chugging along at a good clip (3.1% GDP growth in the first quarter) and unemployment is at historic lows. We did see homes sales decline 1.7% in June, marking the 16th straight year-on-year decline in homes sales, which only further exacerbates people’s uneasiness about the economy. We also had one of the most notorious (and reliable) indicators alert us that we could see a recession in the next year… Why The Yield… Read More

Investors are faced with a mountain of information, strategies and tactics to choose from. Value, growth, momentum, options, futures… which strategy is right for you? While every strategy has their pros and cons, one of the better-performing strategies has come from focusing on growth stocks. Growth stocks have certainly done well over the last decade, outpacing the popular value approach over that time period. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore value.  In fact, long-term studies still suggest that following a disciplined contrarian, value-driven strategy is the best path to success. Value investors argue that while the market may be… Read More

Investors are faced with a mountain of information, strategies and tactics to choose from. Value, growth, momentum, options, futures… which strategy is right for you? While every strategy has their pros and cons, one of the better-performing strategies has come from focusing on growth stocks. Growth stocks have certainly done well over the last decade, outpacing the popular value approach over that time period. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore value.  In fact, long-term studies still suggest that following a disciplined contrarian, value-driven strategy is the best path to success. Value investors argue that while the market may be efficient in the long term, emotions often dominate in the short run. These emotions can overtake rational analysis, pushing a stock’s price above its intrinsic value during periods of euphoria and below its true worth when reacting to bad news. Value screens, such as searching for stocks with a low price-earnings ratio, typically look for low prices relative to actual measures of company performance or assets. The price-earnings ratio, or multiple, is computed by dividing a stock’s price by its most recent 12 months’ earnings per share. The price-earnings ratio is followed closely because it embodies the market’s expectations of… Read More

If you’ve been reading ​my work for any length of time then you know that I talk a lot about emotions and how they can greatly impact whether you’re successful or not in investing… and really everyday life. But we’ll stick mostly to investing in this issue. Gaining a better understanding of the emotional behavior of investors — commonly referred to as behavioral economics — can not only help you avoid common pitfalls that plague average investors, but it can also help you better understand momentum investing. You see, when it comes to finance and money, humans don’t behave rationally (part of… Read More

If you’ve been reading ​my work for any length of time then you know that I talk a lot about emotions and how they can greatly impact whether you’re successful or not in investing… and really everyday life. But we’ll stick mostly to investing in this issue. Gaining a better understanding of the emotional behavior of investors — commonly referred to as behavioral economics — can not only help you avoid common pitfalls that plague average investors, but it can also help you better understand momentum investing. You see, when it comes to finance and money, humans don’t behave rationally (part of the reason why we have momentum investing at all). When it comes to profits and losses, the fear of losing money greatly outweighs the joy in achieving additional gains. It’s this very premise that has created the mantra, “Let your winners run, and cut your losers short.” How many times have you sold a winning stock just to see it keep climbing in the days and weeks that followed? And on the flip side of that, think about how many times you’ve held on to a loser just to see it keep falling. That’s a lesson I learned the hard… Read More

We need to talk about China…  #-ad_banner-#And no, I’m not referring to the ongoing trade spat with the country. While that is important and it will be touched on, that is something you can read about anywhere. I want to talk about the country’s importance in the broader global economy, its impact on our portfolio over at Top Stock Advisor, and specifically our direct exposure through two holdings: Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (OTC: TCEHY).  Before we dive into our holdings, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger landscape of the country… Massive Size = Massive Opportunity… Read More

We need to talk about China…  #-ad_banner-#And no, I’m not referring to the ongoing trade spat with the country. While that is important and it will be touched on, that is something you can read about anywhere. I want to talk about the country’s importance in the broader global economy, its impact on our portfolio over at Top Stock Advisor, and specifically our direct exposure through two holdings: Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Tencent (OTC: TCEHY).  Before we dive into our holdings, let’s take a step back and look at the bigger landscape of the country… Massive Size = Massive Opportunity In terms of land mass, China and the United States are close in size. However, China boasts nearly 1.4 billion people, which dwarfs the roughly 325 million folks in America. Its economy, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), sits at $13.6 trillion, which is second only to the United States’ $20.6 trillion. China and the United States trade more goods — nearly $700 billion last year — than any other two countries in the world. But let’s go back to the country’s population… 1.4 billion citizens. That is a lot of people. And a key reason why nearly… Read More

There’s a handful of well-known names that have left their imprint on the investing world, whether it was with unprecedented streaks of market-beating returns or famous bets against major events (think financial crisis and “breaking” the Bank of England). At the top of that list is usually the “Oracle of Omaha,” aka Warren Buffett. But another notable money manager is Peter Lynch. He ran the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990. All he did was churn out an average return of over 29% per year, which was more the double what the S&P 500 did over the… Read More

There’s a handful of well-known names that have left their imprint on the investing world, whether it was with unprecedented streaks of market-beating returns or famous bets against major events (think financial crisis and “breaking” the Bank of England). At the top of that list is usually the “Oracle of Omaha,” aka Warren Buffett. But another notable money manager is Peter Lynch. He ran the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990. All he did was churn out an average return of over 29% per year, which was more the double what the S&P 500 did over the same period. He also wrote two notable books — “Beating the Street” and “One Up on Wall Street” — as well as a lesser-known book, “Learn to Earn.”  Lynch was also famous for his simple investing philosophy and a number of famous mantras and terms used in finance today such as “invest in what you know” and “ten bagger” — an investment worth ten times its original purchase price.  At his core, Lynch was a bottom-up, kick-the-tires type of stock picker. He wasn’t interested in hot stocks or industries. He was wary of companies that were growing earnings at an… Read More

Earlier this month, my colleague Brad Briggs gave a few details on how our system works over at Maximum Profit, my premium newsletter advisory service. If you read that article, then you know that our system seemingly flies in the face of what we are told “works” when it comes to investing.  To prove the doubters wrong, we gave a few examples of gains we’ve made in the past. Today, I want to tell you about a pick my subscribers and I are profiting from right now, thanks to the system.  In fact, we’re up about 64% in a… Read More

Earlier this month, my colleague Brad Briggs gave a few details on how our system works over at Maximum Profit, my premium newsletter advisory service. If you read that article, then you know that our system seemingly flies in the face of what we are told “works” when it comes to investing.  To prove the doubters wrong, we gave a few examples of gains we’ve made in the past. Today, I want to tell you about a pick my subscribers and I are profiting from right now, thanks to the system.  In fact, we’re up about 64% in a little over four months… We’re Up Big, But My System Still Says This Stock Is A ‘Buy’ If you’re looking to start an online business, then Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) can make it easy for you. The company’s cloud-based, multi-channel commerce platform allows small and medium-sized businesses to easily set up an online storefront with retail functionality. Shopify builds websites for businesses to attract customers, process orders, ship products, collect credit-card payments, and track and manage inventory. It also enables sales from other channels like physical storefronts, smartphones and tablets, as well as social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest. Read More