A little over a month ago in StreetAuthority Daily, I talked about how the U.S. has been stuck in a spendthrift, “Frugal Nation” mentality. As I said then: “Right now, the economic outlook is muddled at best, as it has been for much of the past five years since the financial crisis. Depressed wages and a large amount of people collecting unemployment means there just isn’t enough money around for most consumers to spend lavishly.” I maintain that this consumer “money hoarding” behavior isn’t going away anytime soon. And… Read More

A little over a month ago in StreetAuthority Daily, I talked about how the U.S. has been stuck in a spendthrift, “Frugal Nation” mentality. As I said then: “Right now, the economic outlook is muddled at best, as it has been for much of the past five years since the financial crisis. Depressed wages and a large amount of people collecting unemployment means there just isn’t enough money around for most consumers to spend lavishly.” I maintain that this consumer “money hoarding” behavior isn’t going away anytime soon. And recent news from the Federal Reserve confirms this — noting that banks have put away close to $2.8 trillion in reserves and households are sitting on $2.15 trillion in savings — a 50% increase over the past five years. The Fed report goes on to explain that because people are sitting on cash, rather than spending it, the “velocity of money” in the economy has slowed, which in turn has led to relatively low inflation and a slow-growth economy. As two leading economists from the St. Louis Fed explained:… Read More

This is a stock you wouldn’t have wanted to own when the tech bubble burst in early 2000. In that era, it plummeted more than 95% from a February 2000 peak near $73 to a July 2002 all-time low near $3.40. For many years, the shares struggled to right themselves technically, repeatedly hitting resistance just above $10 and backing off. In fact, it wasn’t until late 2009 that this resistance was decisively penetrated. Now, however, shares of the specialized chipmaker Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS) have recently broken a major multi-year downtrend line and look very attractive technically. Backed by robust revenue… Read More

This is a stock you wouldn’t have wanted to own when the tech bubble burst in early 2000. In that era, it plummeted more than 95% from a February 2000 peak near $73 to a July 2002 all-time low near $3.40. For many years, the shares struggled to right themselves technically, repeatedly hitting resistance just above $10 and backing off. In fact, it wasn’t until late 2009 that this resistance was decisively penetrated. Now, however, shares of the specialized chipmaker Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS) have recently broken a major multi-year downtrend line and look very attractive technically. Backed by robust revenue and earnings growth estimates, based on strong product demand, Skyworks looks set to move ahead, making now a potentially profitable time to trade the stock. #-ad_banner-#News that Skyworks will be supplying RF (radio frequency) chips for Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) upcoming iPhone 6 is a strong growth catalyst. Analysts expect at least 100 million iPhones will be sold during the third and fourth quarters of 2014, meaning Skyworks will likely be selling millions of its of RF chips — just to Apple. As a result, Skyworks management anticipates upcoming fourth-quarter revenue will increase 42% year-over-year. In addition to supplying chips to… Read More

It’s that time of year again; Football is back. The great American past time is treated much like a national holiday and celebrated in its own unique way with raucous cheering, spicy wings, and copious amounts of beer. One company comes to mind that offers a one-stop-shop for any fans needs — Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD). An option trade in this stock could have your portfolio celebrating right alongside you this season. #-ad_banner-#Buffalo Wild Wings is a casual dining company with a focus on sports entertainment. In addition to its namesake menu item, wings, it offers a selection of… Read More

It’s that time of year again; Football is back. The great American past time is treated much like a national holiday and celebrated in its own unique way with raucous cheering, spicy wings, and copious amounts of beer. One company comes to mind that offers a one-stop-shop for any fans needs — Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD). An option trade in this stock could have your portfolio celebrating right alongside you this season. #-ad_banner-#Buffalo Wild Wings is a casual dining company with a focus on sports entertainment. In addition to its namesake menu item, wings, it offers a selection of burgers, sandwiches, and salads as well. The company recently made a majority investment in the Dallas-based restaurant Rusty Taco. Buffalo Wild Wings hopes to foster the small chain’s growth and expand across the country.  Unlike most casual dining restaurants, Buffalo Wild Wings has a selection of alcoholic drinks that includes craft beers. It’s taking advantage of a growing trend in the United States that has shifted toward microbreweries and specialty beers over mainstream brands. Today, there are over 3,000 breweries in the country compared to just 1,020 in 2009 — almost triple the number in just five years. Fundamentally, the… Read More

As many of my long-time readers know, I generally like to have my portfolio holdings equally split among three types of dividend stocks: High-Yield Opportunities, Fast Dividend Growers, and Steady Income Generators. (I talked in more detail about these three types in a recent issue of Dividend Opportunities.) #-ad_banner-#​The critical discovery I’ve made over the past five years is that by using the right combination of dividend stocks, you can you create a retirement portfolio that maximizes income, maximizes growth and minimizes risk. This is exactly what my Daily Paycheck Retirement Strategy is all about. It’s… Read More

As many of my long-time readers know, I generally like to have my portfolio holdings equally split among three types of dividend stocks: High-Yield Opportunities, Fast Dividend Growers, and Steady Income Generators. (I talked in more detail about these three types in a recent issue of Dividend Opportunities.) #-ad_banner-#​The critical discovery I’ve made over the past five years is that by using the right combination of dividend stocks, you can you create a retirement portfolio that maximizes income, maximizes growth and minimizes risk. This is exactly what my Daily Paycheck Retirement Strategy is all about. It’s how I’ve been able to collect nearly $1,400 per month in dividends over the past year, and how my real-money portfolio has grown from $200,000 to over $310,000 in less than five years. As I said, the strategy uses three types of dividend stocks. But to maximize income, my Daily Paycheck Strategy dedicates nearly a third of its portfolio to high-yield dividend stocks. I doubt I need to tell you the primary benefit of this elite category. High-yielding securities are defined by their generous income payouts. This makes them particularly attractive for anyone looking for a… Read More

If you want an explanation on how the market has been able to keep running higher even against a tepid economic recovery and spiraling geopolitical crises, look no further than activist investors. #-ad_banner-#​These billionaire hedge fund managers buy stakes in companies that are mismanaged or underperforming and push for shareholder value. Before just a few years ago, the group was not relatively well known and limited funding meant limited power to provoke change. That is all changing and a wave of funding for activists like Carl Icahn and Daniel Loeb… Read More

If you want an explanation on how the market has been able to keep running higher even against a tepid economic recovery and spiraling geopolitical crises, look no further than activist investors. #-ad_banner-#​These billionaire hedge fund managers buy stakes in companies that are mismanaged or underperforming and push for shareholder value. Before just a few years ago, the group was not relatively well known and limited funding meant limited power to provoke change. That is all changing and a wave of funding for activists like Carl Icahn and Daniel Loeb is giving them the power to unlock billions in shareholder value. Case in point: After shares of Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) went nowhere for the three years to 2012, Loeb’s Third Point LLC acquired shares and pushed for three seats on the board. That May, Loeb uncovered that CEO Scott Thompson had misrepresented his resume with a computer science degree. Marrisa Mayer was championed as the new chief executive and the shares boomed 167% in the 15 months to the beginning of this year. Read More

As we head into the final quarter of the year, a clear narrative has emerged. We’re on track for the most robust job growth in a decade, while consumer spending slowed to a crawl in 2014. A key explanation for the disconnect: The quality of jobs being created aren’t very good, and they don’t pay enough money to support a thriving consumer economy. #-ad_banner-#But that narrative is too simple. Buried in the employment reports, you’ll find data that suggest we’re also creating well-paying jobs in the energy sector, professional services, technology and elsewhere. That translates to a strong likelihood that… Read More

As we head into the final quarter of the year, a clear narrative has emerged. We’re on track for the most robust job growth in a decade, while consumer spending slowed to a crawl in 2014. A key explanation for the disconnect: The quality of jobs being created aren’t very good, and they don’t pay enough money to support a thriving consumer economy. #-ad_banner-#But that narrative is too simple. Buried in the employment reports, you’ll find data that suggest we’re also creating well-paying jobs in the energy sector, professional services, technology and elsewhere. That translates to a strong likelihood that the national unemployment rate will to decrease to less than 6% faster — by one-to-two years — than most economists predicted in 2012. Here’s the good news that few are talking about: consumer spending, which only recently was seen as lifeless, is actually springing to life. According to the Commerce Department, retail spending rose 0.6% sequentially in August, and 5.0% from a year earlier. Auto sales and spending on personal care and healthcare led the way. When you’re talking about a part of the economy that accounts for more than $400 billion in monthly activity, this is a… Read More

The September 19 initial public offering of Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) was every bit the extravaganza analysts predicted. And there’s a good chance that, in the long run, Alibaba shareholders will be well rewarded. Like many Chinese stocks, though, Alibaba is… Read More

If you’ve been watching the market action in recent days, you’ll notice a growing sense of unease. The S&P 500 has repeatedly scaled past 2,000, only to be rebuffed. Is it simply buyers’ fatigue or instead the result of growing concerns about the economies in China and Europe and military action in the Middle East? Frankly, the news outside our borders has been mostly negative, and we may be hearing about the rising set of challenges being faced by export-focused U.S. multinationals as earnings season gets underway in a few weeks. To be sure, the stocks that comprise the S&P… Read More

If you’ve been watching the market action in recent days, you’ll notice a growing sense of unease. The S&P 500 has repeatedly scaled past 2,000, only to be rebuffed. Is it simply buyers’ fatigue or instead the result of growing concerns about the economies in China and Europe and military action in the Middle East? Frankly, the news outside our borders has been mostly negative, and we may be hearing about the rising set of challenges being faced by export-focused U.S. multinationals as earnings season gets underway in a few weeks. To be sure, the stocks that comprise the S&P 500 aren’t in crisis mode — most of them trade near their all-time highs. Yet further down the food chain, small caps and micro caps are quickly breaking down. The Russell 2000 index has begun to drift steadily lower, and many of the underlying components in that index are now 30%, 40% or more from their 52-week highs.  In fact, more than 140 stocks hit 52-week lows on Monday, September 22, on each the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. That’s the largest number we’ve seen all year. The divergence between small cap stocks and their larger peers… Read More

Wonder why the U.S. economic recovery feels so tenuous? Blame the housing construction industry, which typically accounts for 4%-to-5% of GDP, but represents just 2% of the economy these days. Though home prices in many markets have moved up from their 2008-2010 lows, the pace of new home construction has remained extremely low. According to the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve, residential construction permits are at roughly half the levels seen from 1995 through 2007. The impact: Simply returning to the long-term average would likely add around 1.5 million jobs to the… Read More

Wonder why the U.S. economic recovery feels so tenuous? Blame the housing construction industry, which typically accounts for 4%-to-5% of GDP, but represents just 2% of the economy these days. Though home prices in many markets have moved up from their 2008-2010 lows, the pace of new home construction has remained extremely low. According to the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve, residential construction permits are at roughly half the levels seen from 1995 through 2007. The impact: Simply returning to the long-term average would likely add around 1.5 million jobs to the economy, shaving the unemployment rate by roughly a percentage point.   Note: not all permit applications lead to actual construction, and actual new home builds are lower. What makes the housing slump especially remarkable is that borrowing costs are quite low and bank lending standards have been gradually easing.  And if you are wondering about supply and demand, know that the U.S. population has grown by roughly 20 million since 2006. Potential first-time homebuyers are still traumatized by the last economic downturn — many of them remain at home with their parents or… Read More

All the world is abuzz over the Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) initial public offering last Friday. The company came to the market with the largest IPO in history — raising $25 billion from the sale of shares. #-ad_banner-#I haven’t seen this much fanfare since the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO and we all know what happened with shares of the social networking platform. The stock plummeted more than 50% from its first trading days until the company could prove its monetary worth. No doubt Wall Street will provide innumerable price targets for shares of Alibaba and the stock could surge as investors vie for a… Read More

All the world is abuzz over the Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) initial public offering last Friday. The company came to the market with the largest IPO in history — raising $25 billion from the sale of shares. #-ad_banner-#I haven’t seen this much fanfare since the Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) IPO and we all know what happened with shares of the social networking platform. The stock plummeted more than 50% from its first trading days until the company could prove its monetary worth. No doubt Wall Street will provide innumerable price targets for shares of Alibaba and the stock could surge as investors vie for a piece of the Chinese e-commerce marketplace. There are 302 million internet shoppers in China, nearly equal to the entire population of the United States, and the company’s F-1 SEC filing shows 279 million active buyers as of June. The company has grown mobile revenue by 923% and facilitated the sale of $296 billion in merchandise over the last year. Despite the huge growth awaiting the company, shares of Alibaba may not be where the real money will be made. Beyond the nearly $22 billion in IPO funds, Alibaba will have easy access to debt as a public… Read More