It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter of 2017 is nearly in the books. And so far the market has continued its torrid pace. In fact, ever since the November election, the investing landscape has gone through a dramatic change of expectations with respect to economic growth, market valuations and inflation. And those expectations seem to be coming to fruition… #-ad_banner-#On March 10, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released employment data. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in February, and the unemployment rate remained about the same at 4.7%. The consumer price index, which measures inflation, came… Read More

It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter of 2017 is nearly in the books. And so far the market has continued its torrid pace. In fact, ever since the November election, the investing landscape has gone through a dramatic change of expectations with respect to economic growth, market valuations and inflation. And those expectations seem to be coming to fruition… #-ad_banner-#On March 10, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released employment data. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in February, and the unemployment rate remained about the same at 4.7%. The consumer price index, which measures inflation, came in at 2.74% last month, compared with 1.02% in February 2016. And residential housing starts jumped 6.2% in February over the same time last year. All these economic factors gave the Federal Reserve the green light to tighten the money supply by bumping interest rates up 25 basis points on March 15. Right now everything seems to be firing on all cylinders. Consumer confidence is at the highest level it’s been in 17 years. Unemployment is low, inflation is on target, housing is continuing to recover and the stock market is reaching new highs. As I’ve said many times before,… Read More

These days, any time a big-name company (most often a “hot tech stock”) files its initial registration to become a publicly traded company, I field inquiries from friends, family and readers on what my thoughts are regarding said company — even though I already know that the majority of these folks have already made up their minds and will likely ignore my advice… That’s because what I tell them isn’t what they want to hear. So they’ll disregard and seek opinions that match their own. This is called confirmation bias. This scenario played out when popular social-media company Snapchat (NYSE:… Read More

These days, any time a big-name company (most often a “hot tech stock”) files its initial registration to become a publicly traded company, I field inquiries from friends, family and readers on what my thoughts are regarding said company — even though I already know that the majority of these folks have already made up their minds and will likely ignore my advice… That’s because what I tell them isn’t what they want to hear. So they’ll disregard and seek opinions that match their own. This is called confirmation bias. This scenario played out when popular social-media company Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) went public March 2. For the uninitiated, Snapchat is basically a platform that allows you to use the camera on your phone to send pictures or short videos (aka “snaps”) to your friends or the public at large, along with a host of animations and effects that allow the user to enhance their image or story. Then, once a friend views the snap, it will disappear. (For more information, ask a kid.) The video-messaging app raised $3.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), making it the biggest social-media IPO since Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) went public in early 2014. Read More

To most investors, what we do here at Maximum Profit doesn’t make sense… That’s because our investing strategy goes against nearly everything you’ve been told about becoming a successful investor: diversify your portfolio and buy low, sell high. That strategy simply doesn’t work for the vast majority of investors. How do I know? Market research from Dalbar — a company that’s been looking into investors’ buy and sell decisions since 1994 — found that investors have averaged a paltry 2.1% annualized return over the last 20 years… greatly lagging the broader market’s 8.2% return over that same time period. So… Read More

To most investors, what we do here at Maximum Profit doesn’t make sense… That’s because our investing strategy goes against nearly everything you’ve been told about becoming a successful investor: diversify your portfolio and buy low, sell high. That strategy simply doesn’t work for the vast majority of investors. How do I know? Market research from Dalbar — a company that’s been looking into investors’ buy and sell decisions since 1994 — found that investors have averaged a paltry 2.1% annualized return over the last 20 years… greatly lagging the broader market’s 8.2% return over that same time period. So it’s clear that beating the same old investing drum hasn’t worked for investors. So what does work? Buy high and sell higher… That’s the basic premise of momentum investing. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we want to be buying stocks that are near their 52-week highs, and selling them when the upward momentum runs out of steam. As I told my subscribers in an past issue: Often, new highs create uncertainty among investors. They tend to think that when a stock or the overall market reaches new highs, it’s time to take money off the table. Similarly, most investors would scoff… Read More

For the last few years, there’s been lots of talk about how this bull market is getting long in the tooth and is ripe for a major correction. After all, this run began in 2009 — eight long years ago. But the truth is stock-market booms don’t die of old age. And the bull market in the 1990s is proof of this. #-ad_banner-#Stocks went up — without a losing year — for nearly the entire decade of the 1990s. As the bull market got older, it didn’t waver or falter. Instead, it ramped up… the S&P 500 returned 33%, 28%… Read More

For the last few years, there’s been lots of talk about how this bull market is getting long in the tooth and is ripe for a major correction. After all, this run began in 2009 — eight long years ago. But the truth is stock-market booms don’t die of old age. And the bull market in the 1990s is proof of this. #-ad_banner-#Stocks went up — without a losing year — for nearly the entire decade of the 1990s. As the bull market got older, it didn’t waver or falter. Instead, it ramped up… the S&P 500 returned 33%, 28% and 21% in 1997, 1998 and 1999, respectively. The Nasdaq went up 40% in 1998 and then 86% in 1999. If you got out of the market in 1997, or even earlier, on the simple premise that the boom was getting long in the tooth… you missed out on the best profits. I’m sure there are people thinking this bull market is getting old and that it is therefore a good time to start avoiding stocks. Of course, they could be correct. But the simple fact is that there’s always a reason to avoid the stock market. Pick your favorite:… Read More

Nobody likes to be wrong. And it’s that sentiment that causes many investors to lose their shirt — taking a loss is proving exactly that… that you’re wrong. It’s been proven that investors tend to sell their winners too early, satisfying their desire to be right, and hold on to their losers too long, hoping that they will not have to take a loss and be wrong. The simple fact is that we as investors will be wrong from time to time. But it’s whether you admit your mistake and move on that will determine whether you’re an average investor… Read More

Nobody likes to be wrong. And it’s that sentiment that causes many investors to lose their shirt — taking a loss is proving exactly that… that you’re wrong. It’s been proven that investors tend to sell their winners too early, satisfying their desire to be right, and hold on to their losers too long, hoping that they will not have to take a loss and be wrong. The simple fact is that we as investors will be wrong from time to time. But it’s whether you admit your mistake and move on that will determine whether you’re an average investor (generating only 2% per year) or an extraordinary investor. Or as investing legend George Soros once said, “It’s not about being right or wrong, rather, it’s about how much money you make when you’re right and how much you don’t lose when you’re wrong.” #-ad_banner-#Investors have a hard time controlling their emotions, which often leads to small losses turning into large ones. When a holding is down 25%, most investors tell themselves either that A) they’re not going to take any action because they’re in it for the long haul, or B) they’ll sell once the price gets back to… Read More

“This could be one of our best shots at a triple-digit return in 2017.” This was what I said at the start of this month. And it remains true. Despite a recent hiccup in the stock price, I still believe a rebound in uranium prices will propel my pick in… Read More

After flirting with the major psychological milestone of 20,000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally eclipsed the mark on Wednesday, January 25. It seems as if nearly everything has been going up since the financial crisis of 2008-2009. With this bull market going on eight years, it’s hard to believe there’s any stock out there that hasn’t seen a surge. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats, right? But believe it or not, there’s one sector that’s fallen for six straight years — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the Great Depression. At some point, the pain and… Read More

After flirting with the major psychological milestone of 20,000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally eclipsed the mark on Wednesday, January 25. It seems as if nearly everything has been going up since the financial crisis of 2008-2009. With this bull market going on eight years, it’s hard to believe there’s any stock out there that hasn’t seen a surge. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats, right? But believe it or not, there’s one sector that’s fallen for six straight years — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the Great Depression. At some point, the pain and suffering have to end. There is no lower low. The bad luck runs out eventually… and when such a hated and beaten down sector finally turns the corner, huge returns typically follow. Consider coal. After five consecutive down years — and an 87% plunge — coal stocks finally turned the corner and rallied 98% in 2016, making it the best-performing industry of the year. Gold shares a similar story. From highs in 2011, prices dropped about 45% to the 2015 lows before rallying about 30% in the first half of last year. —Recommended Link— Want A… Read More

The concepts, designs, gadgets — everything that is being showcased — provide a glimpse of the future. Every January thousands of people from around the globe converge on Las Vegas to attend the biggest trade show in the world. Incredible innovations and mind-boggling products are presented at the International Consumer… Read More

It’s hard to believe, but we just wrapped up the first full week of trading since Christmas. And one of the major questions for 2017 has been when the Dow Jones Industrial Average will hit the major psychological milestone of 20,000. #-ad_banner-#The Dow has been flirting with the 20K mark since December, moving as close as 50 points on Wednesday, January 11. But what does hitting 20,000 really mean for investors? The short answer is “nothing.” It’s simply our fascination with large round numbers — Y2K, when your odometer clicks to 100,000 miles, making over $100,000 or $1 million in… Read More

It’s hard to believe, but we just wrapped up the first full week of trading since Christmas. And one of the major questions for 2017 has been when the Dow Jones Industrial Average will hit the major psychological milestone of 20,000. #-ad_banner-#The Dow has been flirting with the 20K mark since December, moving as close as 50 points on Wednesday, January 11. But what does hitting 20,000 really mean for investors? The short answer is “nothing.” It’s simply our fascination with large round numbers — Y2K, when your odometer clicks to 100,000 miles, making over $100,000 or $1 million in annual income, etc. On a more psychological front, Dow 20,000 means that those large 1,000 point moves aren’t what they used to be. You see, when the Dow finally doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 in 1987, that move represented a 100% advance. But a climb to 20,000 from 19,000 is a meager 5% rise.  It just so happens that the Dow nearing 20,000 comes at the beginning of a New Year, when analysts and investors try to predict what’s in store for the next 12 months. If you’re interested in this sort of “fortune-telling,” here are a few predictions:… Read More

Construct a game plan, and I promise you will become a better investor.  With proper planning and perseverance, Profitable Trading’s Jared Levy became a successful trader at a young age.  After reading today’s essay, I hope you, too, will understand the importance of strategizing in order to maximize gains. By the time Jared was 18, he was making $600,000 a year. He was also one of the youngest-ever members of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. But without goals and a roadmap with which to achieve them, Jared wouldn’t be where he is today.  Before I get into the details of how… Read More

Construct a game plan, and I promise you will become a better investor.  With proper planning and perseverance, Profitable Trading’s Jared Levy became a successful trader at a young age.  After reading today’s essay, I hope you, too, will understand the importance of strategizing in order to maximize gains. By the time Jared was 18, he was making $600,000 a year. He was also one of the youngest-ever members of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. But without goals and a roadmap with which to achieve them, Jared wouldn’t be where he is today.  Before I get into the details of how Jared made so much money in the markets, please note that his investing strategy involves options, and options involve leverage.  Don’t let those words scare you. Jared’s approach is perfectly suited for beginners. In fact, I’d venture to say that they’re ideal for someone looking to cut their teeth in the investing world.  I know that sounds like a bold claim. Most investors think of options as an advanced, risky strategy. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Whether you want to dabble in options or not, I urge you to continue reading. What I’m about to explain will… Read More