Exactly 100 years after Henry Ford launched Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Elon Musk launched Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA). Despite the massive head start, Ford is now seen as the laggard. By a wide variety of measures, Tesla is held in far higher esteem by investors. Depending on your view, Tesla’s lack of an extensive operating history is either the company’s greatest virtue — enabling engineers to start with a blank slate, so to speak — or its greatest risk, as the company has miles to go before it becomes a high-volume automaker, capable of making money in any economic climate. Read More

Exactly 100 years after Henry Ford launched Ford Motor (NYSE: F), Elon Musk launched Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA). Despite the massive head start, Ford is now seen as the laggard. By a wide variety of measures, Tesla is held in far higher esteem by investors. Depending on your view, Tesla’s lack of an extensive operating history is either the company’s greatest virtue — enabling engineers to start with a blank slate, so to speak — or its greatest risk, as the company has miles to go before it becomes a high-volume automaker, capable of making money in any economic climate. In effect, shares of Ford are valued in the context of where the company has been and where it now stands. Shares of Tesla are valued on where the company is headed. Before we look down the road, let’s see how these two stocks compare based on projected 2013 results. #-ad_banner-#This is truly a breakout year for Tesla, as sales are likely to rise from $400 million in 2012 to more than $2 billion this year. And that figure could approach $4 billion by 2015. Of course, investors are paying up for that scorching growth. Shares trade for more… Read More

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) has been one of the best ways to cash in on the growing demand for electric cars. After climbing steadily for three years, shares have shot higher this year, surging 390% in just the past nine months.#-ad_banner-# But despite that very bullish move, shareholders got a… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of this article isn’t to argue for or against Obamacare. It isn’t perfect, and it will likely undergo a difficult evolution before being fully implemented. However, in contrast to the political posturing going on in Washington, a group of investors have been booking substantial profits over the past year due to… Read More

The fearmongers are having a field day with the notion of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) being implemented. These fears have become so strong that Obamacare’s opponents have effectively shut down the U.S. government since the majority of the law took effect Oct. 1. The purpose of this article isn’t to argue for or against Obamacare. It isn’t perfect, and it will likely undergo a difficult evolution before being fully implemented. However, in contrast to the political posturing going on in Washington, a group of investors have been booking substantial profits over the past year due to the implementation of the new law. While some of these profitable avenues are obvious, others remain under the radar of all but the most sophisticated investors. Obvious names such as hospital operators like Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) and HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA) have seen their shares advance by nearly 50% over the past 52 weeks. In addition, the Health Care Sector Select SPDR (NYSE: XLV) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is nearly 30% higher during the past 10 months.#-ad_banner-# One of the main reasons for the outperformance of health care and hospital stocks is the fact that revenues will increase for… Read More

When I was a kid, it was a privilege to be allowed to mow the lawn. I recall the enjoyment of using the walk-behind lawn mower to tackle our half-acre of grass in 100-degree heat.#-ad_banner-# Nowadays, mowing the lawn is a chore, often outsourced to landscaping companies… Read More

I received an interesting email recently from John R., who writes to say that he desires “something that I can profit from within six months instead of two years. I am looking for not only a unique company, but one that is off the ground floor and is zooming upward… Read More

Even if you don’t own a SodaStream (Nasdaq: SODA), chances are you’ve heard the name. These magical machines turn their users into “beverage engineers.” Users can create nearly every imaginable soft drink (and various other beverages), right from their kitchen. Knowing that, why would anyone ever buy… Read More

The summer of 2008 was a brutal period for investors focused on micro-cap stocks (typically defined as companies with a market value below $200 million). Many of these stocks plunged sharply in a matter of months, even more profoundly than their large-cap peers. Yet the performance of this high-risk asset… Read More

It’s not often you’ll come across a stock that has risen roughly 200% in the past year and is still valued at less than six times projected 2014 profits. Equally impressive: Those profits are expected to come on the heels of 450% revenue growth. Sounds too good to be true?… Read More

The road trip is one of the most popular American pastimes. Since the invention of the automobile, we have developed an entire culture around cars. Traveling across the country inspired generations of Americans and popularized colloquialisms like “get your kicks on Route 66.”#-ad_banner-# When I was growing… Read More