A little over a month ago in StreetAuthority Daily, I talked about how the U.S. has been stuck in a spendthrift, “Frugal Nation” mentality. As I said then: “Right now, the economic outlook is muddled at best, as it has been for much of the past five years since the financial crisis. Depressed wages and a large amount of people collecting unemployment means there just isn’t enough money around for most consumers to spend lavishly.” I maintain that this consumer “money hoarding” behavior isn’t going away anytime soon. And… Read More

A little over a month ago in StreetAuthority Daily, I talked about how the U.S. has been stuck in a spendthrift, “Frugal Nation” mentality. As I said then: “Right now, the economic outlook is muddled at best, as it has been for much of the past five years since the financial crisis. Depressed wages and a large amount of people collecting unemployment means there just isn’t enough money around for most consumers to spend lavishly.” I maintain that this consumer “money hoarding” behavior isn’t going away anytime soon. And recent news from the Federal Reserve confirms this — noting that banks have put away close to $2.8 trillion in reserves and households are sitting on $2.15 trillion in savings — a 50% increase over the past five years. The Fed report goes on to explain that because people are sitting on cash, rather than spending it, the “velocity of money” in the economy has slowed, which in turn has led to relatively low inflation and a slow-growth economy. As two leading economists from the St. Louis Fed explained:… Read More

Let me start today’s essay with a prediction. I predict that over the next few years, many of those who invest in traditional stocks will struggle through an era I call “the death of high dividend yields.” Don’t get me wrong though, as I’ll show you today, there are ways you can still earn annual dividend yields of 8% or even 10%. But you have to be willing to look off the beaten path. I probably don’t have to remind you that it’s difficult to find stocks with even moderate dividend yields… Read More

Let me start today’s essay with a prediction. I predict that over the next few years, many of those who invest in traditional stocks will struggle through an era I call “the death of high dividend yields.” Don’t get me wrong though, as I’ll show you today, there are ways you can still earn annual dividend yields of 8% or even 10%. But you have to be willing to look off the beaten path. I probably don’t have to remind you that it’s difficult to find stocks with even moderate dividend yields in today’s market. As our resident income expert, Nathan Slaughter, noted in a recent issue of Dividend Opportunities: “High-quality stocks with yields [of 4% or higher] are extremely rare [right now]… Here’s how the distribution of yields among S&P 500 stocks currently looks: Dividend Yield Number of Stocks % of Index Above 6% 3 0.6% 4% to 6% 31 6.2% 3% to 4% 61 12.2% 2% to 3% 119 23.8% Less than 2% 286 57.2% Source: Bloomberg As you can see, dividends of 7% to 8% don’t exactly grow… Read More

Corporate America has been getting creative with how they reward shareholders. It’s something that will keep happening as long as interest rates remain low. And as PIMCO founder Bill Gross (a.k.a. the “Bond King”) said in a recent memo, that could be for a while. As Gross said: “We still believe the Fed will be on hold until mid-2015 and will hike [interest rates] only gradually to our New Neutral 2% by 2017.” #-ad_banner-#​While that’s disappointing news to those collecting next to nothing from their savings, it’s certainly… Read More

Corporate America has been getting creative with how they reward shareholders. It’s something that will keep happening as long as interest rates remain low. And as PIMCO founder Bill Gross (a.k.a. the “Bond King”) said in a recent memo, that could be for a while. As Gross said: “We still believe the Fed will be on hold until mid-2015 and will hike [interest rates] only gradually to our New Neutral 2% by 2017.” #-ad_banner-#​While that’s disappointing news to those collecting next to nothing from their savings, it’s certainly not bad for all. In fact, it’s led to some smart financial engineering that’s benefiting many of the largest U.S. corporations right now. And the tactics they’re using have steered investors to gains of 191%, 309% and even 392% in the past. More importantly, it’s an opportunity that could lead you to triple-digit gain potential in the future if you know what to look for. As our resident expert in all things related to dividends and buybacks, Nathan Slaughter, recently pointed out, U.S. corporations have been borrowing trillions to buy back… Read More

Last month, I looked in disbelief at how quickly the media was to trumpet the “great” news of the job report for June. Here’s the first few lines of a CNN Money story I read when the news broke. The reporters seemed absolutely giddy:  The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Thursday. That number beats economists’ expectations and comes along with other good news: Job growth was revised higher for both May and April. Along with CNN Money, most in the news media rejoiced.  Hot on the heels of a… Read More

Last month, I looked in disbelief at how quickly the media was to trumpet the “great” news of the job report for June. Here’s the first few lines of a CNN Money story I read when the news broke. The reporters seemed absolutely giddy:  The U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Thursday. That number beats economists’ expectations and comes along with other good news: Job growth was revised higher for both May and April. Along with CNN Money, most in the news media rejoiced.  Hot on the heels of a reported 2.9% contraction in the economy for the first quarter of the year, it was welcome news. And after a seemingly endless stretch of false economic starts and mixed job reports since 2009, this was a seemingly good sign of traction for the economy.  But here’s what the mainstream media didn’t tell you about those 288,000 jobs added…  Dig a little deeper into the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ June report and it details that there were 799,000 part-time jobs added in June, but a staggering 523,000 full-time jobs were lost.  You can see for yourself in… Read More

Corporate America’s “wealth giveaway” continues.  #-ad_banner-#Ever since America’s largest corporations hunkered down and began hoarding unprecedented amounts of cash to protect themselves in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, investors have been hounding companies to put that money to work. Fortunately for investors, companies have responded. But not in the way you might expect. You see, rather than putting their cash to work through expanding product lines, opening more stores and investing for growth, many large companies have been rewarding shareholders through record amounts of dividends and share repurchases. For the most part, this is good news for… Read More

Corporate America’s “wealth giveaway” continues.  #-ad_banner-#Ever since America’s largest corporations hunkered down and began hoarding unprecedented amounts of cash to protect themselves in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, investors have been hounding companies to put that money to work. Fortunately for investors, companies have responded. But not in the way you might expect. You see, rather than putting their cash to work through expanding product lines, opening more stores and investing for growth, many large companies have been rewarding shareholders through record amounts of dividends and share repurchases. For the most part, this is good news for investors. But there’s a hidden element to share about buybacks that you need to be aware of… because behind the scenes some companies are actually using this effective tool to erode shareholder wealth. Let me explain… As we’ve pointed out several times in StreetAuthority Daily (here and here), share buybacks are clearly in style. Corporate America uses this technique to boost stock value to reward shareholders, and it is being favored even above dividends. In fact, since 2009, the largest 500 companies in America have increased buyback spending by 245% — compared to just 60% growth in dividend payouts since… Read More

Last week, we told you about one of the key investing tools Amber uses in her conservative options strategy to earn average returns of 7.4% in just 56 days. Since her premium newsletter, Income Trader, launched 17 months ago, Amber and her readers have closed 63 straight winners, generating an average annualized return of 48.2%. (For proof, you can see her first 52 profitable trades by following this link.) In other words, we’re not simply telling you about these… Read More

Last week, we told you about one of the key investing tools Amber uses in her conservative options strategy to earn average returns of 7.4% in just 56 days. Since her premium newsletter, Income Trader, launched 17 months ago, Amber and her readers have closed 63 straight winners, generating an average annualized return of 48.2%. (For proof, you can see her first 52 profitable trades by following this link.) In other words, we’re not simply telling you about these investing tools because we say they work… We’re telling you about them because they are working. #-ad_banner-#In case you missed last Wednesday’s issue of StreetAuthority Daily, we talked about the first tool Amber uses to fuel her perfect track record — volatility. Amber looks for stocks with the right amount of volatility, which helps her maximize income and limit risk. Amber’s second key investment tool takes risk management one step further. It’s a safeguard that helps ensure that every trade she makes has a chance to be… Read More

Sometimes it’s easy to recognize when “the future” is on its way. For example, think back to the time you received your very first email. For many of you, that was probably around 1990. A few of you may have gotten emails in the workplace earlier than that. Before that moment, it could have taken weeks to mail someone something as simple as a one-page note. All of a sudden that same note could be sent in less than 30 seconds. Once you got that first email, it probably didn’t take long before you realized the way you’ve been doing… Read More

Sometimes it’s easy to recognize when “the future” is on its way. For example, think back to the time you received your very first email. For many of you, that was probably around 1990. A few of you may have gotten emails in the workplace earlier than that. Before that moment, it could have taken weeks to mail someone something as simple as a one-page note. All of a sudden that same note could be sent in less than 30 seconds. Once you got that first email, it probably didn’t take long before you realized the way you’ve been doing things for decades was about to change forever. #-ad_banner-#There’s another ground-breaking invention in play that, like email did in the 1990s, promises to revolutionize one of the world’s oldest industries. Also like e-mail, early investors in this trend have the chance to make a small fortune… I’m talking about electronic cigarettes (or e-cigs) — the product that could change America’s oldest industry, Big Tobacco, forever. Before I go on, we know many of you may scoff at such a suggestion. We recognize a lot of people have reservations when it comes to investing in tobacco companies. We also understand that… Read More

Yesterday, I mentioned how bond investors are being ripped off. More importantly, I made the case that if you’re invested in long-term bond funds right now, you could be setting yourself up for double-digit losses in less than a year’s time. So if long-term bond funds are risky, and we are given a pittance in exchange for our hard-earned dollars in short-term bonds, where are income investors to turn? #-ad_banner-#An investment with a dividend yield over 3% would be nice for starters — beating the 2.6% yield that the 10-year Treasury currently offers, without locking up your money for the… Read More

Yesterday, I mentioned how bond investors are being ripped off. More importantly, I made the case that if you’re invested in long-term bond funds right now, you could be setting yourself up for double-digit losses in less than a year’s time. So if long-term bond funds are risky, and we are given a pittance in exchange for our hard-earned dollars in short-term bonds, where are income investors to turn? #-ad_banner-#An investment with a dividend yield over 3% would be nice for starters — beating the 2.6% yield that the 10-year Treasury currently offers, without locking up your money for the next 10 years. But why stop with a 3% yield? How about something that would give us an income raise every year, even through market corrections and recessions? How about an investment with a fair amount of safety, but something that’s beaten the S&P 500 index over the long haul — even doubling the market’s performance? Believe it or not, investments like this do exist. In fact, the good folks at Standard & Poor’s put this select group of stocks into a class of their own. They’re called the “Dividend Aristocrats.” You may have heard of Dividend Aristocrats before. Here’s… Read More

Five years after the start of the Great Recession, many investors are still afraid of the stock market. As of May 28, more than $2.59 trillion sat in “safe” money investments like cash, bonds and treasuries, according to a report by the Investment Company Institute. The problem with short-term securities is obvious. An investment in a 1-year Treasury bill that’s paying 0.1% would take roughly 720 years to double. Even if it were paying 2%, it would take more than three decades just to double your money. #-ad_banner-#Now, of course, doubling your money isn’t the goal with treasuries. The idea… Read More

Five years after the start of the Great Recession, many investors are still afraid of the stock market. As of May 28, more than $2.59 trillion sat in “safe” money investments like cash, bonds and treasuries, according to a report by the Investment Company Institute. The problem with short-term securities is obvious. An investment in a 1-year Treasury bill that’s paying 0.1% would take roughly 720 years to double. Even if it were paying 2%, it would take more than three decades just to double your money. #-ad_banner-#Now, of course, doubling your money isn’t the goal with treasuries. The idea most investors have in mind when they park their money in treasuries is to put it somewhere safe, at least until a better investment opportunity comes along. But many investors still want to get paid to wait, as they rightfully should. So, in an effort to earn higher yields, many turn to another supposedly “safe” investment… One that could quickly turn out to be a “portfolio killer.” That portfolio killer is long-term bond funds. You see, as investors search for higher yields with “safe” investments like treasuries and bonds, they often end up putting their money into mutual funds and… Read More

Quick, what’s in your wallet right now? My guess is you have some family pictures, a few credit cards and maybe some old business receipts. If you’re more old fashioned like I am, you might hold a few greenbacks in there as well… just in case. Why am I asking? Because I predict that within the next five to ten years you won’t need a wallet. #-ad_banner-#Simply put, I predict a small technology company is going to make all material forms of currency obsolete. And it’s going to do so with the help from technology juggernauts like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)… Read More

Quick, what’s in your wallet right now? My guess is you have some family pictures, a few credit cards and maybe some old business receipts. If you’re more old fashioned like I am, you might hold a few greenbacks in there as well… just in case. Why am I asking? Because I predict that within the next five to ten years you won’t need a wallet. #-ad_banner-#Simply put, I predict a small technology company is going to make all material forms of currency obsolete. And it’s going to do so with the help from technology juggernauts like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL). If that sounds crazy, consider this. It took a few thousand years to go from coins to paper money and then onto charge cards. It took 18 years for debit cards to surpass checks. Four years after that, more than 50% of all transactions were electronic. This year, nearly two out of every three money transactions (64%) will be made electronically. While many of those transactions will be online, a large portion will come from something called “near field communication” (NFC) — a new technology that’s getting widespread attention across the globe. Near field communication is… Read More