The last of the leftover turkey and pumpkin pie are gone, which means the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. And thus far, it has been a smashing success for retailers. While Black Friday has traditionally been considered the kickoff to the holiday season, many retailers are moving the start earlier and earlier. An estimated 40 million Americans jumped the gun and hit the stores on Thanksgiving Day in search of special deals and promotions. While checkout lines weren’t quite as long on Friday (according to RetailNext, foot traffic slipped 2% after rising 2% on Thursday), shoppers still spent freely,… Read More

The last of the leftover turkey and pumpkin pie are gone, which means the countdown to Christmas has officially begun. And thus far, it has been a smashing success for retailers. While Black Friday has traditionally been considered the kickoff to the holiday season, many retailers are moving the start earlier and earlier. An estimated 40 million Americans jumped the gun and hit the stores on Thanksgiving Day in search of special deals and promotions. While checkout lines weren’t quite as long on Friday (according to RetailNext, foot traffic slipped 2% after rising 2% on Thursday), shoppers still spent freely, both online and offline. Adobe Analytics (which monitors real-time spending at 80 of the nation’s top 100 retailers) estimates that online shoppers spent $7.4 billion on Black Friday, up from $6.2 billion last year. By Sunday night, physical and virtual stores had rung up a combined $69 billion in sales over the long four-day weekend. But The Shopping Binge Didn’t End There… Cyber Monday defended its title as the busiest shopping day of the year, with online retailers taking in $9.2 billion in sales. That’s a healthy 17% increase from last year – and a new record high. #-ad_banner-#Research… Read More

Company executives and board members might sell some of their shares for any number of reasons. But there’s really only one reason they buy more: an expectation that the stock will deliver gains. That’s why insider buying can be more telling than insider selling. Nobody knows High-Yield Investing portfolio holding Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) better than the firm’s Chairman and co-founder Richard Kinder. It speaks volumes that Kinder has been gobbling up huge blocks of KMI shares all year. And he has stepped it up the past couple of months, buying 300,000 shares on October 29, another 300,000 on October 31, another 300,000… Read More

Company executives and board members might sell some of their shares for any number of reasons. But there’s really only one reason they buy more: an expectation that the stock will deliver gains. That’s why insider buying can be more telling than insider selling. Nobody knows High-Yield Investing portfolio holding Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) better than the firm’s Chairman and co-founder Richard Kinder. It speaks volumes that Kinder has been gobbling up huge blocks of KMI shares all year. And he has stepped it up the past couple of months, buying 300,000 shares on October 29, another 300,000 on October 31, another 300,000 on November 11, and then 300,000 more on November 26.  He’s not the only bull in the Kinder Morgan executive lounge. On November 20, director Sarofim Fayez put up $4 million of this own money to buy 200,000 shares near $20 per share. This enthusiastic insider buying is a reassuring vote of confidence. Management continues to “eat its own cooking” and now owns about 15% of the outstanding shares. And I share their optimism wholeheartedly. The Case For KMI Record U.S. natural gas production is playing right into Kinder Morgan’s strength. After all, the firm’s vast pipeline system handles roughly… Read More

I was sipping a frozen cocktail on the deck of the Norwegian Breakaway a few months ago. We were leisurely headed southward to Puerto Rico when, suddenly, I spotted a giant containership off our starboard bow. She was traveling in the opposite direction.  It’s not an uncommon sighting – containerships are the semi-trucks of the sea. Still, I couldn’t help but stare and wonder what goods were stowed inside all those metal boxes. Then, of course, I began to see dollar signs.  After all, several well-positioned companies are converting steady global shipping demand into juicy dividend yields two to three… Read More

I was sipping a frozen cocktail on the deck of the Norwegian Breakaway a few months ago. We were leisurely headed southward to Puerto Rico when, suddenly, I spotted a giant containership off our starboard bow. She was traveling in the opposite direction.  It’s not an uncommon sighting – containerships are the semi-trucks of the sea. Still, I couldn’t help but stare and wonder what goods were stowed inside all those metal boxes. Then, of course, I began to see dollar signs.  After all, several well-positioned companies are converting steady global shipping demand into juicy dividend yields two to three times the market average. —Recommended Link— 5 stocks that will get you through anything How do they do it? Because there is no substitute for them. Everyone buys what they sell, even when money is tight. Including you. You might cancel the Caribbean cruise, but you’re not going to stop paying for this. That nonstop demand means they are kicking the tar out of other stocks. Since early 2000, they have posted a 1,342% gain, towering above the S&P 500’s 178%. Click here to learn more. An Inside Look At Global… Read More

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. I recall seeing that on a bumper sticker somewhere. But it could certainly apply to corporate America right now, too. Many businesses are choosing to grow profits the old-fashioned way: by buying them. #-ad_banner-#According to Dealogic, there were 4,545 merger & acquisition (M&A) transactions in the first half of 2019, totaling $1.17 trillion. That’s a 20% increase from the same point last year – and the most active first half on record. Barely a week has gone by without some type of wheeling and dealing. To date, there have been 22… Read More

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. I recall seeing that on a bumper sticker somewhere. But it could certainly apply to corporate America right now, too. Many businesses are choosing to grow profits the old-fashioned way: by buying them. #-ad_banner-#According to Dealogic, there were 4,545 merger & acquisition (M&A) transactions in the first half of 2019, totaling $1.17 trillion. That’s a 20% increase from the same point last year – and the most active first half on record. Barely a week has gone by without some type of wheeling and dealing. To date, there have been 22 mega-deals ($10+ billion) announced, accounting for more than $700 billion in dollar value. That’s about one every twelve days on average. Several of my Daily Paycheck holdings have been involved in these colossal deals. And I suspect M&A activity will remain at elevated levels next year. While rising stock market valuations have given some executives pause, funding is still cheap and widely available. Plus, businesses across every industry are aggressively courting partners that will help move the earnings needle or provide a strategic advantage. Small Deals (Like This One) Can Mean Big Gains For every high-profile mega-deal that captures headlines,… Read More

It’s one of the biggest deals in the oil business in years. The question, of course, is whether shareholders will be happy with the end result.  The good news: now that the deal is consummated, we’re about to find out. I’m talking, of course, about Occidental Petroleum’s (NYSE: OXY) recent acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum. The Case For OXY For those who may have missed the news, Occidental finalized its acquisition of Anadarko on August 8th.  I covered the protracted bidding war between Occidental and Chevron in this piece back in May. In it, I discussed Warren Buffett’s financing arrangement with… Read More

It’s one of the biggest deals in the oil business in years. The question, of course, is whether shareholders will be happy with the end result.  The good news: now that the deal is consummated, we’re about to find out. I’m talking, of course, about Occidental Petroleum’s (NYSE: OXY) recent acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum. The Case For OXY For those who may have missed the news, Occidental finalized its acquisition of Anadarko on August 8th.  I covered the protracted bidding war between Occidental and Chevron in this piece back in May. In it, I discussed Warren Buffett’s financing arrangement with Occidental, which helped sweeten the pot and seal the deal. Here’s what I said about the arrangement: Occidental, one of the portfolio holdings in my High-Yield Investing premium newsletter, has since come forward with an offer of $76 per share, or $38 billion. That’s not only more generous than Chevron’s $65 bid, but it also has a higher cash component (50% versus 25%). While Anadarko has rebuffed previous advances from Occidental, in part because of concerns that OXY shareholders might balk, it has no choice but to seriously consider this offer. So how does Warren Buffett fit in? Well,… Read More

While many folks are busy making their shopping lists for the holiday season, my readers and I have been busy making a different type of shopping list. You see, each month I update my readers on what companies are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special dividends on the horizon, as well as for potential dividend hikes over the next four to six weeks. I give special attention to outsized double-digit increases and reliable dividend-payers that have been steadily growing payouts for a decade or more. I flag these stocks first… Read More

While many folks are busy making their shopping lists for the holiday season, my readers and I have been busy making a different type of shopping list. You see, each month I update my readers on what companies are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special dividends on the horizon, as well as for potential dividend hikes over the next four to six weeks. I give special attention to outsized double-digit increases and reliable dividend-payers that have been steadily growing payouts for a decade or more. I flag these stocks first for readers of my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing. Then, I share them with the public.  So without further delay, here are three potential dividend hikes I’m looking at right now… 1. Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) – Kimberly Clark is one of the world’s leading suppliers of diapers and feminine products. The company owns five different billion-dollar brands, with products on the shelves in more than 175 countries worldwide. It has been estimated that one-fourth of the world’s population uses KMB products on a daily basis. And that steady demand generates $18+ billion in annual sales. Despite rising commodity prices and… Read More

Most semiconductor stocks have rallied nicely in recent months on the expectation that global demand would pick up in the fourth quarter. But Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) recently threw some cold water on that outlook. #-ad_banner-#The company reported third-quarter revenues of $3.8 billion and earnings of $1.49 per share, which were roughly in-line with estimates. But its fourth-quarter forecast was bleak. The company is expecting revenues of $3.2 billion, a sequential decline of $600 million (16%) from this past quarter. Management flatly stated that the downturn could persist into the first half of next year. Like many companies with a… Read More

Most semiconductor stocks have rallied nicely in recent months on the expectation that global demand would pick up in the fourth quarter. But Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) recently threw some cold water on that outlook. #-ad_banner-#The company reported third-quarter revenues of $3.8 billion and earnings of $1.49 per share, which were roughly in-line with estimates. But its fourth-quarter forecast was bleak. The company is expecting revenues of $3.2 billion, a sequential decline of $600 million (16%) from this past quarter. Management flatly stated that the downturn could persist into the first half of next year. Like many companies with a global presence, Texas Instruments cited the negative impact of the ongoing trade war with China. The White House ban on U.S. companies conducting business with telecom equipment maker Huawei has been particularly problematic. Texas Instruments is a key supplier, and Huawei typically accounts for about 3% to 4% of overall sales. That’s a big reason why revenue in the communications sector is expected to drop by 20% next quarter. But the weakness is broad, from automotive to electronics. CFO Rafael Lizardi explained the situation using a colorful analogy. “We are at the very end of a long supply chain, and… Read More

They say that the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. That quip is widely attributed to famous economist John Maynard Keynes, who was nearly wiped out in the 1920s with leveraged foreign currency trades that went the wrong way. A great many investors have learned this lesson the hard way, ruined not necessarily because they were wrong and the market was right, but because they ran out of cash before the market corrected its mistake. This often happens within asset bubbles. Prices may be overinflated, yet they continue to rise. Those gains lure more buyers, who… Read More

They say that the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. That quip is widely attributed to famous economist John Maynard Keynes, who was nearly wiped out in the 1920s with leveraged foreign currency trades that went the wrong way. A great many investors have learned this lesson the hard way, ruined not necessarily because they were wrong and the market was right, but because they ran out of cash before the market corrected its mistake. This often happens within asset bubbles. Prices may be overinflated, yet they continue to rise. Those gains lure more buyers, who propel prices even higher, which leads to even more rampant speculation. Much like a pyramid scheme, successful investing in such conditions only requires one fool to find an even bigger fool willing to pay a higher price. That’s the nature of momentum investing — it works until it stops working. And then it gets ugly. But going against the herd with short sales carries its own risks. As Mr. Keynes found out, you can run out of money long before the bubble finally pops. But it’s the other half of the equation that I want to talk about today.  When… Read More