Days after college graduation, a newly-minted Finance/Investment Management degree in hand, I found myself combing through the newspaper want-ads looking for work. Yes, I said newspaper. This was the dawn of the internet era, long before job seekers began uploading their resumes to sites like Indeed.com and visiting professional networking portals such as LinkedIn. Fortunately, everything worked out. Needless to say, it’s a different world for today’s job seekers. The average job hunt is filled with digital pathways to make connections. If you’re an electrician looking for a job in the Chicago area, for example, a quick search of CareerBuilder.com… Read More

Days after college graduation, a newly-minted Finance/Investment Management degree in hand, I found myself combing through the newspaper want-ads looking for work. Yes, I said newspaper. This was the dawn of the internet era, long before job seekers began uploading their resumes to sites like Indeed.com and visiting professional networking portals such as LinkedIn. Fortunately, everything worked out. Needless to say, it’s a different world for today’s job seekers. The average job hunt is filled with digital pathways to make connections. If you’re an electrician looking for a job in the Chicago area, for example, a quick search of CareerBuilder.com shows 64 available positions. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. A successful job search still depends in large part (aside from the applicant’s qualifications) on the number of businesses hanging out help-wanted signs. The more the better. And they are plentiful right now, to say the least. —Recommended Link—   Most Traders Do THIS Wrong (Hint: They’re paying Wall Street instead of letting Wall Street pay them!) They’re screwing it up… and they’re missing out on the chance to make easy profits every single week without a ton of risk. Read More

Check out this stock chart. This is the part where a financial writer would normally make some kind of half-hearted analogy to a roller coaster ride. It would certainly be fitting in this case, not only because of the stock’s stomach-churning ups and downs, but also because it belongs to none other than Six Flags (NYSE: SIX).  —Recommended Link— A stock that yields 67% a year? Really? If you’re happy with stocks yielding you 4% or 5% a year, you don’t need this. But if you want to see how we built a portfolio that now… Read More

Check out this stock chart. This is the part where a financial writer would normally make some kind of half-hearted analogy to a roller coaster ride. It would certainly be fitting in this case, not only because of the stock’s stomach-churning ups and downs, but also because it belongs to none other than Six Flags (NYSE: SIX).  —Recommended Link— A stock that yields 67% a year? Really? If you’re happy with stocks yielding you 4% or 5% a year, you don’t need this. But if you want to see how we built a portfolio that now pays us a 67% cash on cash return – with no leverage, options, or gimmicks — then go here ASAP. Six Flags knows a thing or two about adrenaline-inducing rides. It has constantly raised the entertainment bar over the years, introducing thrilling attractions such as Goliath, the world’s fastest and steepest wooden coaster, and Zumanjaro, the world’s tallest drop ride (41 stories at 90 mph). It has even just given us the first looping virtual reality coaster.  As the world’s largest regional theme park owner, Six Flags operates 145 roller coasters (925 total rides) that delight… Read More

There’s some much-needed good news to report for shareholders of one of America’s most storied companies. Shortly after sealing the $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat back in July, IBM (NYSE: IBM) predicted the open-source software provider would generate $350 million in revenues in its first full post-merger quarter. The actual number: $371 million. That contribution helped third-quarter revenues from Big Blue’s cloud and cognitive software unit rise 6.4% to $5.3 billion. That’s the good news. For those who may not be familiar, the Red Hat acquisition is one of a number of moves Big Blue has made in… Read More

There’s some much-needed good news to report for shareholders of one of America’s most storied companies. Shortly after sealing the $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat back in July, IBM (NYSE: IBM) predicted the open-source software provider would generate $350 million in revenues in its first full post-merger quarter. The actual number: $371 million. That contribution helped third-quarter revenues from Big Blue’s cloud and cognitive software unit rise 6.4% to $5.3 billion. That’s the good news. For those who may not be familiar, the Red Hat acquisition is one of a number of moves Big Blue has made in recent years to remake itself. The bad news: Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to offset weakness elsewhere, most notably in the core global technology services division. Can Big Blue Finally Turn It Around? Overall sales for the period dipped 4% to $18 billion. That was about $200 million below expectations — and the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. On the positive side, adjusted earnings of $2.68 per share came in ahead of expectations for the 9th straight quarter. But the investment community remains fixated on the persistent top-line slump. This has dogged IBM as the company transitions from legacy mainframe… Read More

Hollywood’s fortunes may rest on the big screen, but one movie theater chain is making an important move to diversify. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is launching a brand new service that will stream video right to your mobile phone or living room. It will be the first movie exhibitor in the U.S. to offer such a platform.  Members of AMC’s premium Stubs loyalty program — 21+ million strong — will soon have the option to rent or buy more than 2,000 feature films and view them on any internet-connected TV or mobile device. The company has already secured licensing… Read More

Hollywood’s fortunes may rest on the big screen, but one movie theater chain is making an important move to diversify. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is launching a brand new service that will stream video right to your mobile phone or living room. It will be the first movie exhibitor in the U.S. to offer such a platform.  Members of AMC’s premium Stubs loyalty program — 21+ million strong — will soon have the option to rent or buy more than 2,000 feature films and view them on any internet-connected TV or mobile device. The company has already secured licensing agreements with every major Hollywood studio. They’ll even stream new releases once they are out of theaters. Why Move Into Streaming? You may be wondering why a movie theater chain like AMC would make such a move. This article in The New York Times summarizes the problem thusly: The movie theater industry has long been at odds with online video. Why trek to theaters if thousands of movies are available at the click of a button at home or on your phone? Sure, new films do not arrive on V.O.D. until they have played in… Read More

As the saying goes, there are three kinds of falsehoods: lies, damned lies, and statistics.  That quote is often attributed to 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. I doubt he was referring to financial matters. But there are few places where numbers are as frequently bent, twisted, adjusted, and dissected as the investment world.  Even when data isn’t being deliberately manipulated, numbers can still paint a misleading picture. Case in point, you might be surprised to hear that nearly 400 large-cap U.S. stocks are in negative territory this year. That sure doesn’t jive with the healthy 22% return of… Read More

As the saying goes, there are three kinds of falsehoods: lies, damned lies, and statistics.  That quote is often attributed to 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. I doubt he was referring to financial matters. But there are few places where numbers are as frequently bent, twisted, adjusted, and dissected as the investment world.  Even when data isn’t being deliberately manipulated, numbers can still paint a misleading picture. Case in point, you might be surprised to hear that nearly 400 large-cap U.S. stocks are in negative territory this year. That sure doesn’t jive with the healthy 22% return of the S&P 500. —Recommended Link— $5 Stock To Rake In $4.6 Million A DAY In 5G Patent Royalties Apple, Samsung, LG, and others will owe one under-the-radar company up to $6.65 billion in 5G licensing fees… potentially sending this $5 stock to Google levels or higher. Early investors could see $5,000 turn into $117,385 in the next 12 months. Stake your claim before this company’s name hits the evening news. Click here for full details. ​ But this market-cap-weighted barometer isn’t representative of the market as a whole. The… Read More

Last month, I hauled the family from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a few days of fun and relaxation at the end of the summer. That’s about a 1,900-mile journey round-trip.  #-ad_banner-#I’m not sure how many interstate exits there are along that particular stretch of road, but I think we must have taken pit stops at about half of them for fuel, snacks, and/or bathroom breaks. Years ago, weary travelers had no clue what amenities could be found at upcoming exits (except whatever tall signs were visible from a distance). Of course, we have a wealth of… Read More

Last month, I hauled the family from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a few days of fun and relaxation at the end of the summer. That’s about a 1,900-mile journey round-trip.  #-ad_banner-#I’m not sure how many interstate exits there are along that particular stretch of road, but I think we must have taken pit stops at about half of them for fuel, snacks, and/or bathroom breaks. Years ago, weary travelers had no clue what amenities could be found at upcoming exits (except whatever tall signs were visible from a distance). Of course, we have a wealth of information at our fingertips these days. GPS-enabled navigation systems not only provide turn-by-turn directions but an alphabetized list of food and lodging options at the push of a button. This amazing technology can even alert drivers to upcoming traffic jams and suggest an alternate course. But even without digital assistance, travelers can still rely on those faithful blue signs along the way. You know… the ones that display the logos of nearby restaurants, hotels and gas stations.  Hungry? One glance and you will know there’s a Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and Subway coming up just a mile or two down… Read More

It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is right around the corner. And some of us will have just a little bit more to be thankful for this year than others. Why? Because we’re raking in more income. Plain and simple.  As many of you know, each month I update my readers on what companies I think are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special distributions 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… Read More

It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is right around the corner. And some of us will have just a little bit more to be thankful for this year than others. Why? Because we’re raking in more income. Plain and simple.  As many of you know, each month I update my readers on what companies I think are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special distributions 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… —Recommended Link—   This opportunity is just too big to keep under wraps. Dr. Stephen Leeb has just exposed details of a devastating flaw in next-generation 5G technology. One that could cost the world economy up to $12 trillion if a solution isn’t found. Thankfully. Dr. Leeb has… Read More