Retirees are being confronted with a huge dilemma. In the past, investors on the verge of retirement could simply shift into fixed-income assets and still generate plenty of income to support a comfortable lifestyle.#-ad_banner-# Take the 10-Year Treasury note for example, considered the safest asset in the world for being backed by the full credit of the U.S. government. Just 12 years ago, the yield on these… Read More

Retirees are being confronted with a huge dilemma. In the past, investors on the verge of retirement could simply shift into fixed-income assets and still generate plenty of income to support a comfortable lifestyle.#-ad_banner-# Take the 10-Year Treasury note for example, considered the safest asset in the world for being backed by the full credit of the U.S. government. Just 12 years ago, the yield on these bonds was about 6.7%. That meant an investor with $1 million in retirement savings could generate close to $70,000 of annual income from investing in the U.S. government bonds. And that’s not even factoring in capital gains as yields continued to fall and push bond prices higher. It was a powerful combination that set the foundation for many comfortable retirements. But fast forward to 2013 and things could not be more different. Now, high-risk fixed-income assets such as the… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against the grain and taking aim at companies they believe are overvalued or headed for a nose dive. But in spite of the psychological attraction of being a contrarian and bucking the masses, even the smartest… Read More

Shorting a stock is considered one of the sexiest and most complex moves on the Street.#-ad_banner-# Investors are dazzled by stories of hedge fund titans such as David Einhorn and John Paulson raking in billions, going against the grain and taking aim at companies they believe are overvalued or headed for a nose dive. But in spite of the psychological attraction of being a contrarian and bucking the masses, even the smartest money on the Street struggles with short investments. Take Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) for example. Short interest in the stock exploded higher from 20 million shares in mid-December to an eye-popping 37 million shares in the last week of 2012. This came after it was revealed that a number of billion-dollar hedge funds, led by Bill Ackman, had initiated a massive short position in the multi-level marketing company.  As you can see in the chart below, the surge in short interest coincided with the… Read More

Most people think being ignored or unpopular is a bad thing. But when it comes to stocks, it’s a blessing in disguise. There are about 63,000 publicly-traded companies in the world, according to data from Bloomberg. Of these 63,000, about 15,000 are based in… Read More

Most people think being ignored or unpopular is a bad thing. But when it comes to stocks, it’s a blessing in disguise. There are about 63,000 publicly-traded companies in the world, according to data from Bloomberg. Of these 63,000, about 15,000 are based in the United States, with about 5,000 being traded on public exchanges and the other 10,000 traded in various over-the-counter (OTC) markets.#-ad_banner-# But while many large, well-known companies such as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) have more than 30 analysts providing coverage, the majority of… Read More

Most people think being ignored or unpopular is a bad thing. But when it comes to stocks, it’s a blessing in disguise. There are about 63,000 publicly-traded companies in the world, according to data from Bloomberg. Of these 63,000, about 15,000 are based in the United States, with about 5,000 being traded on public exchanges and the other 10,000 traded in various over-the-counter (OTC) markets.#-ad_banner-# But while many large, well-known companies such as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) have more than 30 analysts providing coverage, the majority of public companies are being almost totally ignored by the analyst community, with little to no coverage at all. And like I said before, that’s a good thing for investors. That’s because stocks with high analyst coverage have usually already cycled through the early stages of rapid growth that produce big gains for early investors. These high levels of growth and big gains frequently trigger more interest from investors, which in turn make it much more profitable for investment research companies to create and sell research reports in high demand. On the institutional side, stocks… Read More

During the past 10 years, the best hedge funds have consistently produced market-beating returns, driving huge capital inflows into the industry and making hedge funds one of the hottest… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a leading home-value index that tracks prices in 20 residential markets, showed that home values rose 4.3% in October 2012 from the previous year, ahead of estimates looking for 4% growth. That follows the trend that has been in play for the past 12 months, with home prices showing steady gains through most of the year. And sure to fuel the rebound in home prices is the recent settlement of a massive lawsuit against 10 major U.S. banks and mortgage companies brought by the federal government. Not only is… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply,… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply, shares are up almost 100% in just two years. Take a look at the market-beating rally below… But just because early investors have seen big gains doesn’t mean the growth story is over. With the bullish trend still well in play and management confident, Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO) can continue to grow its store count and still leave plenty of room for investors to profit.#-ad_banner-# This little-known industry-leading retailer… Read More