Finding high dividend yields has become difficult. Income investors are often forced into accepting low returns or taking on excessive risk in sketchy stocks and junk grade bonds. It seems every high-yielding investment has a corresponding unacceptable risk level in today’s low rate environment. Fortunately, there is a solution for income investors. #-ad_banner-#Earning 6%-plus yields in an investment considered to be safer than common stock is possible. Here’s how: If you have not already guessed it, I am referencing preferred stock. Many investors are not aware of the benefits of preferred stock or even what it is. This article will… Read More

Finding high dividend yields has become difficult. Income investors are often forced into accepting low returns or taking on excessive risk in sketchy stocks and junk grade bonds. It seems every high-yielding investment has a corresponding unacceptable risk level in today’s low rate environment. Fortunately, there is a solution for income investors. #-ad_banner-#Earning 6%-plus yields in an investment considered to be safer than common stock is possible. Here’s how: If you have not already guessed it, I am referencing preferred stock. Many investors are not aware of the benefits of preferred stock or even what it is. This article will explain preferred stock and reveal five stocks are creating 6% and more excellent dividend yields. The two classes of stock are common and preferred. Both categories carry an ownership interest in the company, but that is where the similarities end. The primary difference is that common stockholders usually have voting rights for the company’s decisions while preferred stockholders may or may not have the right to vote. An excellent way to think about the preferred stock is that it is similar to a bond. Preferred stockholders have a stronger right to the company’s assets, earnings, and dividends than common stockholders. Read More

Many Americans are optimistic about achieving a comfortable retirement. They fund their 401(k) or IRA in hopes of accumulating a nest egg that has the potential of providing enough income for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, too many Americans invest too conservatively to accomplish their goals. This is especially true for investors under the age of 40 — who face the prospects of a future much different than their parents and grandparents due primarily to Social Security’s bleak future. #-ad_banner-#This was confirmed in a study conducted by Wells Fargo that found 59% of Americans focus more on avoiding losses… Read More

Many Americans are optimistic about achieving a comfortable retirement. They fund their 401(k) or IRA in hopes of accumulating a nest egg that has the potential of providing enough income for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, too many Americans invest too conservatively to accomplish their goals. This is especially true for investors under the age of 40 — who face the prospects of a future much different than their parents and grandparents due primarily to Social Security’s bleak future. #-ad_banner-#This was confirmed in a study conducted by Wells Fargo that found 59% of Americans focus more on avoiding losses than trying to maximize gains. And it’s not just young workers who invest too conservatively, either. The study showed that investors in every demographic group prefer minimizing losses to growing their balances. Now, this strategy is fine for older workers nearing retirement age, but it’s contraindicated for those with longer time horizons. Now, for the average investor, pursuing returns in a passive low-cost index fund is an acceptable way to invest for the long term. But that doesn’t mean that 100% of an investor’s funds should be invested this way. Investors should put a portion of their savings into more… Read More

I’m a T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) convert. After many years with AT&T and a short bout with Sprint, I finally took the plunge and never looked back. My reception in most metro areas is the same or better than it was with AT&T, and my unlimited plan (which even comes with a personal hot spot), costs me just a $75 flat fee each month — like it has for years. —Sponsored Link— My No. 1 Rule: Don’t Buy Options! Most options traders place high-risk trades, hoping for a big payout. But they lose… a LOT! That’s… Read More

I’m a T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) convert. After many years with AT&T and a short bout with Sprint, I finally took the plunge and never looked back. My reception in most metro areas is the same or better than it was with AT&T, and my unlimited plan (which even comes with a personal hot spot), costs me just a $75 flat fee each month — like it has for years. —Sponsored Link— My No. 1 Rule: Don’t Buy Options! Most options traders place high-risk trades, hoping for a big payout. But they lose… a LOT! That’s why Jim Fink flips options trading on its head, allowing him to make money more than 85% of the time. For a brief window, he’s offering his personal strategy guide to readers which could unlock $67,548 in extra income for you in the next 12 months. Get the full details here. I can’t tell you how many of my friends on other networks complain about their high cell phone bills and spotty service. Most can’t believe I pay so little for service and get certain perks included, like the aforementioned hot spot, as well as free… Read More

A Southwest flight was forced to make an emergency landing on April 17 when an engine suffered a mid-flight failure. Shrapnel from the engine failure penetrated the plane, causing the death of one passenger and seven others to be insured. Another Southwest flight was diverted and forced to land on May 2 due to a cracked window. #-ad_banner-#Surprisingly, shares fell just 2% after the first incident and were down only 1.5% on the day of the cracked window. That resilience in the face of what could have been a devastating day is little consolation for shareholders though against a 21%… Read More

A Southwest flight was forced to make an emergency landing on April 17 when an engine suffered a mid-flight failure. Shrapnel from the engine failure penetrated the plane, causing the death of one passenger and seven others to be insured. Another Southwest flight was diverted and forced to land on May 2 due to a cracked window. #-ad_banner-#Surprisingly, shares fell just 2% after the first incident and were down only 1.5% on the day of the cracked window. That resilience in the face of what could have been a devastating day is little consolation for shareholders though against a 21% plunge from a multi-year peak reached in January. In fact, the entire industry seems to have hit some major turbulence as of late with the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE: JETS) off 8.8% since January. Airline Stocks Are Falling From The Sky As bad as two equipment problems in less than a month may seem, airline stocks are falling for a different reason. The biggest burden on airlines has been the jump in jet fuel prices. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports North American fuel prices have jumped 47% in the year through April,… Read More

You may have missed this headline amid the constant stream of news over the last few weeks, but I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow when I saw this… Former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, a Republican, has joined the advisory board of a major cannabis company. —Sponsored Link— Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert This three-time recommendation from the Motley Fool looks a lot like Berkshire in 1992. Click here to join. At one point, the speaker said he was “unalterably opposed” to weed. Now, after seeing how the… Read More

You may have missed this headline amid the constant stream of news over the last few weeks, but I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrow when I saw this… Former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, a Republican, has joined the advisory board of a major cannabis company. —Sponsored Link— Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert This three-time recommendation from the Motley Fool looks a lot like Berkshire in 1992. Click here to join. At one point, the speaker said he was “unalterably opposed” to weed. Now, after seeing how the happy little plant helped a friend suffering from back pain, he says his views have evolved. He now thinks cannabis is a potential solution for treating soldiers affected by post-traumatic stress disorder as well as the nation’s opioid epidemic. #-ad_banner-#The company, New York-based Acreage Holdings, has a national footprint, a long history (for the cannabis space) and is vertically integrated — it grows the plant, processes it and markets it in states that allow its sale for medicinal or adult (that is, “recreational”) use. The Changing Tide This is what folks in the business call a “big get.” His… Read More

One of my many favorite Buffettisms is, “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars. I look around for 1-foot bars I can step over.” The Oracle did not get rich by accident. In keeping with that maxim, one criteria I’ve always used for stock selection is comparing the underlying company’s five-year average earnings per share growth rate to the five-year average annual growth rate of U.S. GDP. #-ad_banner-#I know. GDP growth has been anemic for almost a decade. But consider this: Over the last five years, the United States has enjoyed moderate economic expansion after the collapse of 2008… Read More

One of my many favorite Buffettisms is, “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars. I look around for 1-foot bars I can step over.” The Oracle did not get rich by accident. In keeping with that maxim, one criteria I’ve always used for stock selection is comparing the underlying company’s five-year average earnings per share growth rate to the five-year average annual growth rate of U.S. GDP. #-ad_banner-#I know. GDP growth has been anemic for almost a decade. But consider this: Over the last five years, the United States has enjoyed moderate economic expansion after the collapse of 2008 and the subsequent recession. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 2.36% over the last five years. Not great. But better than the plunge the economy experienced in 2008. The three stocks I’ve selected have grown EPS at nearly 6% annually over the last five years. U.S. economic growth would need to nearly triple to beat that rate. That would be like trying to turn an aircraft carrier in a bathtub. Even going back to 1960, U.S. GDP has grown in an average band of around 5%. The earnings growth… Read More

As a group, dividend hunters tend to have a long-term investment perspective. There’s not much sense investing in a stock just to capture one quarterly payment and then part ways. When we find a strong business generating ample cash and sharing it generously with stockholders, we tend to stick around for a while. —Sponsored Link— The ‘Picks And Shovels’ Of Marijuana The real money during the Gold Rush was in the picks and shovels. With California legalizing recreational use and Canada coming online this year, pot stocks are up over 400% in months. But which… Read More

As a group, dividend hunters tend to have a long-term investment perspective. There’s not much sense investing in a stock just to capture one quarterly payment and then part ways. When we find a strong business generating ample cash and sharing it generously with stockholders, we tend to stick around for a while. —Sponsored Link— The ‘Picks And Shovels’ Of Marijuana The real money during the Gold Rush was in the picks and shovels. With California legalizing recreational use and Canada coming online this year, pot stocks are up over 400% in months. But which are best long term? Where is the real money and how can we profit? Read the full story. Case in point, I’ve held CME Group (NYSE: CME) in my High-Yield Investing portfolio for almost four years now. When I first took a position in the summer of 2014, the stock offered a regular quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share that added up to a modest yield of 2.6%. Many income investors skipped over it without a second glance. #-ad_banner-#But I saw a dividend that had already doubled over the previous four years and was poised to… Read More

Back in November of last year, I told readers about the release of our flagship investment report: Top Stocks For 2018. This is probably the most important piece of research we put out all year. One of the reasons is that we’re brutally honest with our readers in this report. It tells investors what they NEED to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. I think our readers appreciate this kind of frankness — it’s what keeps them coming back year after year. They know that the principles undergirding this report stand the test of time. Because the truth… Read More

Back in November of last year, I told readers about the release of our flagship investment report: Top Stocks For 2018. This is probably the most important piece of research we put out all year. One of the reasons is that we’re brutally honest with our readers in this report. It tells investors what they NEED to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear. I think our readers appreciate this kind of frankness — it’s what keeps them coming back year after year. They know that the principles undergirding this report stand the test of time. Because the truth is, successful investing doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Think about it… #-ad_banner-#What do companies like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Campbell’s Soup (NYSE: CPB) and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) all have in common? You might think not much. But think for a moment about some of the absolute chaos that has happened in the 20th century, not to mention this nascent 21st. There was World War I, World War II, Vietnam, etc. You had the Great Depression, the Oil embargo, the tech bubble, the global financial crisis… There were pandemics, assassinations, terror attacks… the list goes on.  Yet somehow, every… Read More

Growing up in a state settled by conservative Quakers (Pennsylvania) with two parents who didn’t drink much at all, my childhood exposure to beer and liquor was limited. As a perceptive teenager, I began to take notice of how my friends and their families drank. With the exception of a few very heavy drinkers in my large circle of acquaintances, most had one or two casual drinks once a week or less. —Sponsored Link— SF 2801 Just Unlocked A Windfall For Thousands Of Investors You could collect up to $11,334/mo. from this…… Read More

Growing up in a state settled by conservative Quakers (Pennsylvania) with two parents who didn’t drink much at all, my childhood exposure to beer and liquor was limited. As a perceptive teenager, I began to take notice of how my friends and their families drank. With the exception of a few very heavy drinkers in my large circle of acquaintances, most had one or two casual drinks once a week or less. —Sponsored Link— SF 2801 Just Unlocked A Windfall For Thousands Of Investors You could collect up to $11,334/mo. from this… Click here or miss out. As the years passed, populations grew, wealth increased and social habits shifted… greatly. Now, nearly all my friends enjoy at least one libation, beer or glass of wine a day — if not more — and most keep a stocked bar in their homes. I’ve noticed that alcohol is playing a larger role in our daily lives — and the stigma surrounding its use has also declined. #-ad_banner-#Anecdotal as that may seem, my findings are supported by several studies. One 2017 investigation published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, showed that… Read More

Readers of my premium advisory, Top Stock Advisor, woke up to some good news on Monday morning. —Sponsored Link— Get Ready For The ‘Big Three’ Crypto Events Recently, the co-founder of one of the hottest cryptocurrencies on the market sat down for an exclusive interview with our team and revealed three events of historic importance for the monetary system as we know it. These three events could send crypto prices soaring beyond anything we’ve seen already. And once these three events take place, all doubts about cryptocurrency are likely to vanish…… Read More

Readers of my premium advisory, Top Stock Advisor, woke up to some good news on Monday morning. —Sponsored Link— Get Ready For The ‘Big Three’ Crypto Events Recently, the co-founder of one of the hottest cryptocurrencies on the market sat down for an exclusive interview with our team and revealed three events of historic importance for the monetary system as we know it. These three events could send crypto prices soaring beyond anything we’ve seen already. And once these three events take place, all doubts about cryptocurrency are likely to vanish… Read this special report for all the details. Early that day, Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) announced it would buy oil refiner Andeavor (NYSE: ANDV) in a $23 billion deal, or roughly $152 per share, a premium of about 24% over Friday’s closing price. Shares immediately rocketed 16% on the news. For my readers, the deal is even sweeter. #-ad_banner-#As soon as I heard this news, I sent out an alert to sell ANDV as soon as possible. Those who heeded my advice are walking away with an 83% gain in a year and half. For comparison, that’s more than three… Read More