The Trump rally has come in two phases, with an initial burst of optimism after the election and another run higher since Inauguration Day. But has hope for tax reform and fewer regulations taken the market as far as it can? Investors are starting to get skeptical about the prospect for economic growth this year and the market is struggling to make new highs. When the reality of a slow process for the President’s business agenda sets in, investor caution could turn into a full-blown rout. On the other hand, you don’t want to miss out on further gains if… Read More

The Trump rally has come in two phases, with an initial burst of optimism after the election and another run higher since Inauguration Day. But has hope for tax reform and fewer regulations taken the market as far as it can? Investors are starting to get skeptical about the prospect for economic growth this year and the market is struggling to make new highs. When the reality of a slow process for the President’s business agenda sets in, investor caution could turn into a full-blown rout. On the other hand, you don’t want to miss out on further gains if improved business sentiment turns into a rebound in corporate profits. That could quickly legitimize the rally and send shares even higher. Fortunately, I’ve found one segment of the market that can offer both protection from a selloff as well as participation in further gains. This dual protection makes them some of the best growth stocks for 2017. Is The Trump Rally Over? The Trump rally has taken stocks to all-time highs but has really come in two phases. The first, from the election to mid-December, gave investors new hope in a business-friendly environment and a 6% bump in asset… Read More

Elections have consequences, and one of the most surprising consequences of November’s election has been the sharp increase in economic optimism. This can be seen in surveys of investors or business owners. The general mood of the nation is captured by Gallup, which published a number of surveys. Their Economic Confidence Index shows some recent weakness, but is up sharply since the election. Digging deeper, we see that there is a sharp divide based on political affiliation but, on average, Americans seem happier today than they were in early November. The same is true of small businesses, according… Read More

Elections have consequences, and one of the most surprising consequences of November’s election has been the sharp increase in economic optimism. This can be seen in surveys of investors or business owners. The general mood of the nation is captured by Gallup, which published a number of surveys. Their Economic Confidence Index shows some recent weakness, but is up sharply since the election. Digging deeper, we see that there is a sharp divide based on political affiliation but, on average, Americans seem happier today than they were in early November. The same is true of small businesses, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index. NFIB notes that “the stunning improvements in the Index components that occurred after post-election were improved in December and confirmed in January.” These improvements should lead to higher business spending and more jobs. If we see that, economic growth this year will begin to outperform 2016’s. Surveys are important, but economic growth will result only if spending follows the optimism. We should know by the middle of the year whether that’s the case. I’ll be watching economic data to see whether business and consumer spending rise… Read More

Ever since I was a kid, I loved discount stores. I remember the old TG&Y five and dime store in my neighborhood. I’d trade in enough Coke (NYSE: KO) bottles at the A&P next door to cobble together twenty five cents to buy a bag of green plastic army men… Read More

Finding great stocks can be a daunting task. While many investors are happy letting a financial adviser select their stocks, others rely on tips they read in magazines or on the Internet. Given the amount of market volatility day to day, picking promising stocks seems more like a matter of luck than the result of any real due diligence. But this doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, finding stocks that will outperform the market is much easier if you keep three principles in mind… Good Companies Earn Money Reliably At the end of the day, successful companies earn… Read More

Finding great stocks can be a daunting task. While many investors are happy letting a financial adviser select their stocks, others rely on tips they read in magazines or on the Internet. Given the amount of market volatility day to day, picking promising stocks seems more like a matter of luck than the result of any real due diligence. But this doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, finding stocks that will outperform the market is much easier if you keep three principles in mind… Good Companies Earn Money Reliably At the end of the day, successful companies earn money year after year. Now, one of my favorite metrics I use to find stocks is a high return on invested capital (ROIC). ROIC is calculated by subtracting taxes from operating profits and dividing the result by invested capital. #-ad_banner-#ROIC makes a superior metric because it is a more consistent measure of profits than net income. Additionally, ROIC excludes non-GAAP tricks like using one-time charges and write-offs that muddy the accounting waters. So what’s a good ROIC reading? Well, good companies generate a ROIC greater than 10% annually. But really good companies have an ROIC of 20% or more over… Read More

Canada had the best performing stock index in the developed world in 2016. The TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) index delivered a total return of 18.26%. That was a 34% premium to the S&P 500’s total return of 13.59%. #-ad_banner-#This awesome performance was driven by a newly-listed TSX stock. On July 26, Canopy Growth Corp (TSX: WEED) became the first-ever cannabis company to be listed on the TSX Index. The listing generated huge interest from investors eager to cash in on the high-growth medical cannabis industry. Since the listing, shares of Canopy have gained 186%, making it the one of the… Read More

Canada had the best performing stock index in the developed world in 2016. The TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) index delivered a total return of 18.26%. That was a 34% premium to the S&P 500’s total return of 13.59%. #-ad_banner-#This awesome performance was driven by a newly-listed TSX stock. On July 26, Canopy Growth Corp (TSX: WEED) became the first-ever cannabis company to be listed on the TSX Index. The listing generated huge interest from investors eager to cash in on the high-growth medical cannabis industry. Since the listing, shares of Canopy have gained 186%, making it the one of the best performing stocks on the entire TSX Index. I wrote about CGC on November 1, telling investors to pay attention.  Since my article was published, Canopy is up 81%. If you missed out on those big returns, don’t worry. I see that same pattern unfolding again. Canopy is about to be joined on the TSX Index by another cannabis company. Aphria (TSXV: APH) is the second-largest medical cannabis company in Canada with a market value of $591 million. Shares of Aphria are currently traded on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange, a subsidiary of the TSX that allows smaller companies to… Read More

Today’s investors are barraged with technology-driven investment tools. Everything from a standard online trading platform to completely automated, decision-making robo-advisors is at our fingertips. #-ad_banner-#Known collectively as Fintech, these revolutionary changes have deeply altered our relationship with the financial markets. The stock market had grown tremendously since the days when investors had to phone in orders to brokers who in turn called the stock exchange to execute orders. Things are continuing to change and change fast for individual investors. And whenever there is change there are many opportunities for profit. And this is especially true of the fintech revolution, one… Read More

Today’s investors are barraged with technology-driven investment tools. Everything from a standard online trading platform to completely automated, decision-making robo-advisors is at our fingertips. #-ad_banner-#Known collectively as Fintech, these revolutionary changes have deeply altered our relationship with the financial markets. The stock market had grown tremendously since the days when investors had to phone in orders to brokers who in turn called the stock exchange to execute orders. Things are continuing to change and change fast for individual investors. And whenever there is change there are many opportunities for profit. And this is especially true of the fintech revolution, one of many smart stocks to invest in now. Early Fintech Advances Fintech can be traced back to the early 1960s with the advent of the Quotron system on brokers’ desks. Quotron was the first electronic system for distributing stock quotes in real time. In 1966, the global telex network was launched with the goal of creating the backbone for future international financial technology. Later on, the Clearing House Interbank Payments System was founded to allow large global banks the ability to convey and settle payments in greenbacks. While it feels like forever, it has only been since 1983 that… Read More

While headlines of the new presidential administration’s various actions have dominated the news since the start of the year, the stock market has quietly been on a tear. According to Bespoke Investment Group, 36 stocks in the S&P 500 reached all-time highs last Monday. Another 24 new highs followed on Tuesday. Wednesday saw 40. Here is a full list of S&P 500 companies that have set new all-time highs as of last week, courtesy of Bespoke: Hopefully, you’ve personally benefitted from this. The question is: How long can this last? —Sponsored Link— Turn $500… Read More

While headlines of the new presidential administration’s various actions have dominated the news since the start of the year, the stock market has quietly been on a tear. According to Bespoke Investment Group, 36 stocks in the S&P 500 reached all-time highs last Monday. Another 24 new highs followed on Tuesday. Wednesday saw 40. Here is a full list of S&P 500 companies that have set new all-time highs as of last week, courtesy of Bespoke: Hopefully, you’ve personally benefitted from this. The question is: How long can this last? —Sponsored Link— Turn $500 Into $650,000 Without Risking A Single Dollar In The Market The Wall Street Journal reports that this innovation “blows open the doors to investing.” Forbes says that “this changes everything.” And if you click here now, we’ll share the details behind this investing breakthrough. If this article from the Wall Street Journal is to be believed, one disconcerting sign about the economy could come from the National Federation of Independent Business. Last month, its survey of small business optimism reached its highest level in 12 years. At a reading of 105.9,… Read More