“One dollar for a cup of coffee — they are out of their minds!” my frugal, land-speculating grandfather said when we stopped at the local corner gas station on the way to visit one of his properties.#-ad_banner-# Having lived through the Great Depression, he was convinced that coffee shouldn’t cost more than a quarter a cup. A book could be filled with his assorted old-timer economic beliefs — such as the $5 union-rate haircut — but I’ll never forget his reaction to the $1 cup of coffee. I… Read More

“One dollar for a cup of coffee — they are out of their minds!” my frugal, land-speculating grandfather said when we stopped at the local corner gas station on the way to visit one of his properties.#-ad_banner-# Having lived through the Great Depression, he was convinced that coffee shouldn’t cost more than a quarter a cup. A book could be filled with his assorted old-timer economic beliefs — such as the $5 union-rate haircut — but I’ll never forget his reaction to the $1 cup of coffee. I wish he would have lived to see the rise of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) and its $6 cups of coffee. He would have certainly had a few choice words for people like myself who patronize the wildly popular high-end coffee emporium.  Not only did Starbucks change the way coffee is viewed, but the company has made its investors wealthy. Shares have tripled in value to around $75 over the past three years. This success has spawned a variety of copycat operations. Some of these are established companies that have… Read More

With the end of quantitative easing (QE) closer to becoming a reality, interest rates slowly climbing up, bonds bleeding value and the market swinging in all directions, investors are looking everywhere for new places to put their money.#-ad_banner-# Let me say up front that stocks are the best way to build wealth over time, but… Read More

With the end of quantitative easing (QE) closer to becoming a reality, interest rates slowly climbing up, bonds bleeding value and the market swinging in all directions, investors are looking everywhere for new places to put their money.#-ad_banner-# Let me say up front that stocks are the best way to build wealth over time, but diversification is important, and “alternative” strategies are certainly worth considering. Unfortunately, for those hunting that kind of escape route, most alternative assets — hedge funds, private equity, real estate and anything else you can invest in beyond stocks, bonds and cash — have generally been reserved for the “elite class” of accredited investors with a… Read More

I’ll never forget the dot-com boom. It was an unbelievable time to be involved in the financial markets. Tiny companies with only a dream and a sketchy business plan were able to raise millions if their name included the dot-com suffix.  Things became so crazy that a close friend confided to me that he felt embarrassed to be making so much money in such a quick and easy fashion by getting in on Internet IPOs. Once a hyped Internet company’s stock debuted,… Read More

I’ll never forget the dot-com boom. It was an unbelievable time to be involved in the financial markets. Tiny companies with only a dream and a sketchy business plan were able to raise millions if their name included the dot-com suffix.  Things became so crazy that a close friend confided to me that he felt embarrassed to be making so much money in such a quick and easy fashion by getting in on Internet IPOs. Once a hyped Internet company’s stock debuted, shares would often move 2 to 5 points higher. If you were investing during this time, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The Internet has truly revolutionized the way we live. Not only has it enriched investors untold amounts, but it has empowered everyone in ways never thought possible.  If you missed out on the lucrative Internet revolution, a second revolution has started to emerge. This revolution will dwarf the first one in… Read More

The U.S. Treasury will run out of money sometime in mid-October, and Congress won’t return from its August vacation until Sept. 9. In addition to the debt ceiling, lawmakers still… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative:… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative: capital spending, also known as capital investment or capital expenditures (or capex, for short).#-ad_banner-# Although capital spending has moved up from the crisis-era lows, it still remains far below typical levels. Analysts at Goldman Sachs who have studied the spending patterns see “the U.S. reaching a near 50-year low in private non-residential fixed investment when measured against GDP.” These analysts believe it would take… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative:… Read More

When the U.S. economy was on the cusp of falling into an abyss in late 2008, companies across the nation collectively decided to cut all unnecessary spending. An uncertain road ahead meant it was time to preserve cash. Of course, these companies eventually loosened up, and as we’ve seen in the past four years, have been buying back massive amounts of their own stock while doling out ever-higher dividends. But there is one area that companies remain quite conservative: capital spending, also known as capital investment or capital expenditures (or capex, for short).#-ad_banner-# Although capital spending has moved up from the crisis-era lows, it still remains far below typical levels. Analysts at Goldman Sachs who have studied the spending patterns see “the U.S. reaching a near 50-year low in private non-residential fixed investment when measured against GDP.” These analysts believe it would take… Read More

I love investing in companies that have strong emotional connections with their customers. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) is a great example. Starbucks has extremely loyal customers because of the warm atmosphere of its cafes, the reliable quality and convenience of its goods, and its… Read More

It’s happened to all of us. We’re running down an airport corridor, sweating like a stevedore and hoping like hell we make the flight. We fly down the concourse and arrive at the gate just as the ground crew is beginning to close the door. Huffing and puffing, we make… Read More

The semiconductor industry has been around since the 1960s and has grown to be a nearly $300 billion global business. Basically, semiconductors control the flow of electricity by forming the basis of integrated circuits, transistors, solid-state electronics and solar cells, among many other functions. In other words, semiconductors form the base of our modern electronics-driven society.  Over the years, investors have made trillions of dollars investing in this sector. Most everyone is familiar with major semiconductor companies like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) and… Read More

The semiconductor industry has been around since the 1960s and has grown to be a nearly $300 billion global business. Basically, semiconductors control the flow of electricity by forming the basis of integrated circuits, transistors, solid-state electronics and solar cells, among many other functions. In other words, semiconductors form the base of our modern electronics-driven society.  Over the years, investors have made trillions of dollars investing in this sector. Most everyone is familiar with major semiconductor companies like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).  However, there are dozens of smaller companies that don’t have the market share of the top names, but are masters of their particular niches. My stock scanning recently discovered one of these under-the-radar semiconductor companies is setting up to be a great investment. The company is Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS). This Massachusetts-based semiconductor company was founded in 1962. It provides products for the GPS, broadband, cellular infrastructure, smartphone and tablet markets, among other applications. The company… Read More

The semiconductor industry has been around since the 1960s and has grown to be a nearly $300 billion global business. Basically, semiconductors control the flow of electricity by forming the basis of integrated circuits, transistors, solid-state electronics and solar cells, among many other functions. In other words, semiconductors form the base of our modern electronics-driven society.  Over the years, investors have made trillions of dollars investing in this sector. Most everyone is familiar with major semiconductor companies like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) and… Read More

The semiconductor industry has been around since the 1960s and has grown to be a nearly $300 billion global business. Basically, semiconductors control the flow of electricity by forming the basis of integrated circuits, transistors, solid-state electronics and solar cells, among many other functions. In other words, semiconductors form the base of our modern electronics-driven society.  Over the years, investors have made trillions of dollars investing in this sector. Most everyone is familiar with major semiconductor companies like Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).  However, there are dozens of smaller companies that don’t have the market share of the top names, but are masters of their particular niches. My stock scanning recently discovered one of these under-the-radar semiconductor companies is setting up to be a great investment. The company is Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS). This Massachusetts-based semiconductor company was founded in 1962. It provides products for the GPS, broadband, cellular infrastructure, smartphone and tablet markets, among other applications. The company… Read More