This market is almost as fickle as the weather: If you don’t like the way it’s going, just wait a day. At least, this is how it has been as the month of June started. Stocks, already jolted by rising trade tensions, traded sharply lower on Monday on new antitrust fears — only to jump on Tuesday on the promise of lower rates. Not that the month of May was a walk in the park. Trade concerns and worries about slowing worldwide growth sent the Dow Industrials on the longest losing streak — six weeks — since 2011; the S&P… Read More

This market is almost as fickle as the weather: If you don’t like the way it’s going, just wait a day. At least, this is how it has been as the month of June started. Stocks, already jolted by rising trade tensions, traded sharply lower on Monday on new antitrust fears — only to jump on Tuesday on the promise of lower rates. Not that the month of May was a walk in the park. Trade concerns and worries about slowing worldwide growth sent the Dow Industrials on the longest losing streak — six weeks — since 2011; the S&P 500 declined 6.6% — the worst May performance in seven years. #-ad_banner-#If you watch the news, you know the reason: the market’s optimism about trade-war resolution has been shattered, with the possibility of new, accelerating tariffs on Mexico now coming into play — and that’s on top of already-imposed 25% tariffs on roughly $250 billion of Chinese imports (as of last Friday).  This market reaction is rational: if existing trade relationships get truly disturbed, both corporate profits and consumer incomes (and spending, too) will be impacted. This can easily translate into the end of the record-setting economic growth in the… Read More

Investors face multiple dilemmas every day. Do I sell a stock that has declined? Do I book my gain after a rally? Is the market flashing an “All Clear” or “Stay Clear” sign? How do I make sure to stay invested despite the volatility?  None of these questions has a clear-cut answer. That’s because the market represents many influencers, from global to local to company-specific, and investors, each of whom has her own set of goals and constraints, must measure these factors daily, a near-impossible task.  What we do know from more than a century of data is that the… Read More

Investors face multiple dilemmas every day. Do I sell a stock that has declined? Do I book my gain after a rally? Is the market flashing an “All Clear” or “Stay Clear” sign? How do I make sure to stay invested despite the volatility?  None of these questions has a clear-cut answer. That’s because the market represents many influencers, from global to local to company-specific, and investors, each of whom has her own set of goals and constraints, must measure these factors daily, a near-impossible task.  What we do know from more than a century of data is that the market as a whole tends to move higher over the long term. Staying invested, through thick and thin, is, therefore, a good long-term strategy. But what about the short-term? One possible answer is to focus on stocks that are firmly on their own path, have a compelling story to tell and are leveraged to long-term, not short-term, trends.  Digimarc (Nasdaq: DMRC), one of our holdings over at Game-Changing Stocks, is a prime example. —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… Read More

If you stop to think about it, it’s fairly clear that many of us take our internet access for granted: We shop online… play online… listen to music online… and even date online. And these days, our refrigerators and toasters, not to mention smart TVs and entire staffs of virtual assistants (like Amazon’s Alexa), are connected to the internet as well. —Recommended Link— The Real Reason Most Americans Can’t Retire by 65 If you’re following traditional retirement advice that made sense 50 years ago… You may be missing out on the most effective retirement strategy… Read More

If you stop to think about it, it’s fairly clear that many of us take our internet access for granted: We shop online… play online… listen to music online… and even date online. And these days, our refrigerators and toasters, not to mention smart TVs and entire staffs of virtual assistants (like Amazon’s Alexa), are connected to the internet as well. —Recommended Link— The Real Reason Most Americans Can’t Retire by 65 If you’re following traditional retirement advice that made sense 50 years ago… You may be missing out on the most effective retirement strategy today. Here’s all you need to know to retire as early as this year. No wonder the need — as well as urgency — to secure our personal data and protect our privacy has grown more and more important in recent years. But the business of internet security extends beyond the need to protect our data. As an example of what I’m talking about, let’s go back in time to October 21, 2016. #-ad_banner-#On what seemed like just another fine October Friday, many of us suddenly realized that our favorite websites weren’t working. Whether you were… Read More

Investors often have a preference for “inexpensive” stocks.  No, this time I’m not talking about valuations. Rather, it’s the sheer price level that sometimes keeps investors away from an otherwise perfectly strong business and good investment opportunity.  Most investors prefer dealing in “round lots” of a stock — that is, share amounts that are measured in hundreds. This simplifies the order-filling and accounting processes. But it’s also a psychological thing… many investors see a triple-digit price for a stock and immediately assume it’s “expensive,” i.e. overvalued.  #-ad_banner-#Typically, a company does not set its initial public offering (IPO) price in hundreds… Read More

Investors often have a preference for “inexpensive” stocks.  No, this time I’m not talking about valuations. Rather, it’s the sheer price level that sometimes keeps investors away from an otherwise perfectly strong business and good investment opportunity.  Most investors prefer dealing in “round lots” of a stock — that is, share amounts that are measured in hundreds. This simplifies the order-filling and accounting processes. But it’s also a psychological thing… many investors see a triple-digit price for a stock and immediately assume it’s “expensive,” i.e. overvalued.  #-ad_banner-#Typically, a company does not set its initial public offering (IPO) price in hundreds of dollars — that would negatively impact the new shares’ overall liquidity and investors’ appetite. So whenever you see a stock trading in the triple digits per share it’s usually an indication of strength and how much investors like it.  Of course, not everything is so clear-cut (it would be too simplistic to measure a stock’s success by the dollar price of its shares). That’s because most companies, when their share prices rise to a certain level, execute a stock split to keep the nominal price from getting out of whack compared with similar companies, and to keep shares liquid… Read More

Up one day, down the next. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting dizzy. Investors just can’t make up their minds about whether the huge rally of the past 11 years still has room to run, or if it’s the time to head to the sidelines. A convincing argument can be made for either decision. Here are three thoughts I have about what’s going on in the market right now — and what you can do about it…  1) Massive Buybacks Are Bolstering The Market (For Now…)  On the plus side is the strong economy, strong (albeit slowing)… Read More

Up one day, down the next. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting dizzy. Investors just can’t make up their minds about whether the huge rally of the past 11 years still has room to run, or if it’s the time to head to the sidelines. A convincing argument can be made for either decision. Here are three thoughts I have about what’s going on in the market right now — and what you can do about it…  1) Massive Buybacks Are Bolstering The Market (For Now…)  On the plus side is the strong economy, strong (albeit slowing) corporate profit growth, and the unabating wave of companies buying back their own shares. As reported by The Wall Street Journal a few days ago, more than 80% of firms in the S&P 500 have reported results for the first quarter. Of that number, those firms have repurchased $180 billion worth of their own shares during that time. This pace, according to the article, is lining up to become the second-highest amount on record (with data on corporate buybacks going back more than 20 years, to 1998). When was the record buyback quarter? According to the… Read More

Stocks are in a more volatile mood than what we’ve been used to in recent years, yet they are still trading close to all-time highs. As a result, one of the questions many investors find themselves asking is whether there are reasons to buy anything at these levels at all.  I addressed some of the problems with the “buy low, sell high” attitude in this article — namely that it can prevent you from taking action and buying a solid stock that just so happens to have been on a nice run.  The same attitude holds when thinking about “value.”… Read More

Stocks are in a more volatile mood than what we’ve been used to in recent years, yet they are still trading close to all-time highs. As a result, one of the questions many investors find themselves asking is whether there are reasons to buy anything at these levels at all.  I addressed some of the problems with the “buy low, sell high” attitude in this article — namely that it can prevent you from taking action and buying a solid stock that just so happens to have been on a nice run.  The same attitude holds when thinking about “value.” —Recommended Link— Online Retail Isn’t As Big A Deal As Most People Think… Even if you count every single online retailer in the country, it comes to just 10%. Which means brick-and-mortar stores still take in 90 cents of every shopping dollar. Mall and shopping center space has expanded for seven consecutive years. Why does this matter? Well, when you know something that most people don’t, you have an opportunity to cash in big time. Jump on this now, because as soon as people wise up, this chance will disappear.. With this in mind, I went in search of potentially… Read More

According to Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans now own a cellphone of some kind. When the latest survey was taken, in February of last year, the share of Americans that owned smartphones stood at 77% — more than double the 35% in the first survey of smartphone ownership in 2011. But even if you have never felt the need to own a smartphone, you must know about one form of entertainment that has proliferated together with smartphones: mobile games. Ranging from puzzle games to sport-based games to casino to social, mobile games can (and do) provide hours of entertainment… Read More

According to Pew Research Center, 95% of Americans now own a cellphone of some kind. When the latest survey was taken, in February of last year, the share of Americans that owned smartphones stood at 77% — more than double the 35% in the first survey of smartphone ownership in 2011. But even if you have never felt the need to own a smartphone, you must know about one form of entertainment that has proliferated together with smartphones: mobile games. Ranging from puzzle games to sport-based games to casino to social, mobile games can (and do) provide hours of entertainment to countless people.  This means a set of new opportunities for specialized businesses –and for investors. —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… Read More

The term “insider trading” often carries a negative connotation. And, of course, it is illegal to buy or sell shares of a company based on material, non-public information. But insiders — company directors, officers or employees — who buy or sell shares based on non-privileged information are in the clear, although the activity is highly regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For instance, the SEC prohibits insiders from entering and exiting positions quickly to capitalize on short-term price movements. The rules say that if an insider sells a stock, they cannot buy it back at a lower price… Read More

The term “insider trading” often carries a negative connotation. And, of course, it is illegal to buy or sell shares of a company based on material, non-public information. But insiders — company directors, officers or employees — who buy or sell shares based on non-privileged information are in the clear, although the activity is highly regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For instance, the SEC prohibits insiders from entering and exiting positions quickly to capitalize on short-term price movements. The rules say that if an insider sells a stock, they cannot buy it back at a lower price for the next six months. On the flipside, if an insider buys a stock, they can’t sell it a higher price for at least six months. Despite the heavy regulations, it’s important to pay attention to what insiders are doing. After all, they are on the front lines. Who else would better know the prospects of the company? They are privy to information regarding new products, competition, and the overall operating environment of the firm — the ultimate due diligence if you will. —Recommended Link— Collect Regular Government-Backed Marijuana Payouts Of $6,751 Or More There’s… Read More

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) was founded in a California garage in 1939. So was Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) 37 years later.  Both the Palo Alto garage, the birthplace of HPQ, and the modest Los Altos house of Apple fame are, now designated historical landmarks. One of my Fast-Track Millionaire holdings also had humble beginnings — it was founded in the current CEO’s kitchen. Now, I’m not saying it will be a historical landmark someday, but I am expecting big things from the company — which is why we’re holding on for even more gains after a 40% surge in three… Read More

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) was founded in a California garage in 1939. So was Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) 37 years later.  Both the Palo Alto garage, the birthplace of HPQ, and the modest Los Altos house of Apple fame are, now designated historical landmarks. One of my Fast-Track Millionaire holdings also had humble beginnings — it was founded in the current CEO’s kitchen. Now, I’m not saying it will be a historical landmark someday, but I am expecting big things from the company — which is why we’re holding on for even more gains after a 40% surge in three months. —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 details. Of course, not every… Read More

One of the defining characteristics of the current world is that economic change unfolds faster than ever.  For thousands of years, the average person survived, eking out a living from farming or some specialized service that helped farmers, like blacksmithing. I’m simplifying a great deal, but this lifestyle remained unchanged for many people until the Industrial Revolution created jobs in factories at a scale that was unimaginable just decades earlier and large cities became the norm.  #-ad_banner-#Large manufacturers drove the economy for more than 200 years until technology began replacing jobs in the second half of the 20th century. Over… Read More

One of the defining characteristics of the current world is that economic change unfolds faster than ever.  For thousands of years, the average person survived, eking out a living from farming or some specialized service that helped farmers, like blacksmithing. I’m simplifying a great deal, but this lifestyle remained unchanged for many people until the Industrial Revolution created jobs in factories at a scale that was unimaginable just decades earlier and large cities became the norm.  #-ad_banner-#Large manufacturers drove the economy for more than 200 years until technology began replacing jobs in the second half of the 20th century. Over the past 30 years, the internet has further accelerated the pace of change, and now change is nearly constant.  One of the more recent changes has been what some call the “gig economy,” which has allowed Uber (NYSE: UBER) and other on-demand service providers to flourish. Many of us have enjoyed the benefits of these companies, but the drawbacks of the gig economy might soon take center stage.  With Uber’s initial public offering (IPO) Friday morning, attention is turning to the company’s financial operations. Basically, Uber and other platforms take a portion of the revenue and pass on the rest… Read More