There was an important news story in the latter half of December that seems to have been overlooked by many news sources. Bloomberg’s headline was “Calpers Rings Pension Warning Bell.” The response has been muted, but the truth is this story will affect millions of retirees and taxpayers around the country. Bloomberg explained, “The chief investment officer of the $303 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System just recommended that it lower its annual assumed rate of return to 7% from 7.5%, which will require workers to contribute more money to the plan.” That’s bad news for most pensions. This news… Read More

There was an important news story in the latter half of December that seems to have been overlooked by many news sources. Bloomberg’s headline was “Calpers Rings Pension Warning Bell.” The response has been muted, but the truth is this story will affect millions of retirees and taxpayers around the country. Bloomberg explained, “The chief investment officer of the $303 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System just recommended that it lower its annual assumed rate of return to 7% from 7.5%, which will require workers to contribute more money to the plan.” That’s bad news for most pensions. This news presents a problem because many pension funds assume returns of 7.5% or more. Lowering the level of assumed returns means employees and taxpayers need to contribute more or benefits must be cut. The pension problem will obviously affects taxes, public services, schools, and a number of other areas. But I want to focus on a less obvious question, which is what an individual investor should expect to earn from their investments. We all need to ask ourselves if we can really do better than Calpers, which has access to the best investment managers in the world. I believe we can,… Read More

My wife grew up in a largish Catholic family. It’s no surprise that most of her childhood was spent in the back of their Oldsmobile station wagon shuttling to different local grocery stores (this was pre-wholesale club) to take advantage of various sale items advertised in newspaper ads and circulars. For consumer staples, price ALWAYS matters. The same holds true when buying the stocks of packaged goods companies. At the bottom of the 2008 financial crisis, shell-shocked investors tiptoed back into equities via consumer staples stocks. The defensive nature of this sector and its dependable dividend streams made sense in… Read More

My wife grew up in a largish Catholic family. It’s no surprise that most of her childhood was spent in the back of their Oldsmobile station wagon shuttling to different local grocery stores (this was pre-wholesale club) to take advantage of various sale items advertised in newspaper ads and circulars. For consumer staples, price ALWAYS matters. The same holds true when buying the stocks of packaged goods companies. At the bottom of the 2008 financial crisis, shell-shocked investors tiptoed back into equities via consumer staples stocks. The defensive nature of this sector and its dependable dividend streams made sense in uncertain times. But, like with all investor trends, the sector became crowded and expensive. Until now. From its mid-year high, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLP), dropped nearly 10% before beginning a recovery in December. While the exchange traded fund basket approach is not a bad idea, especially with a discounted price and an attractive 2.5% dividend yield, there are better bargains available in individual names. Consumer staple titan General Mills (NYSE: GIS) has pulled back nearly 15% from its recent high, pushing the dividend yield to near 3%, a 20% pickup in yield over… Read More

A rising interest rate environment also supports a bearish case for some stocks, and I’ve found a trade to capitalize on this scenario.  Janet Yellen and the FOMC increased interest rates another quarter point last Wednesday, and Yellen made it very clear that she intends on being more aggressive with hikes than previously expected. Some are calling this new, market restrictive policy the “Yellen Collar.” Her promise for higher rates will slow down the flow of money in the economy, and will also trigger investors to move out of certain income-oriented sectors and into other assets.  This is where my… Read More

A rising interest rate environment also supports a bearish case for some stocks, and I’ve found a trade to capitalize on this scenario.  Janet Yellen and the FOMC increased interest rates another quarter point last Wednesday, and Yellen made it very clear that she intends on being more aggressive with hikes than previously expected. Some are calling this new, market restrictive policy the “Yellen Collar.” Her promise for higher rates will slow down the flow of money in the economy, and will also trigger investors to move out of certain income-oriented sectors and into other assets.  This is where my Profit Amplifier readers and I will position our next trade. —Recommended Link— How This Small Group Will Make MILLIONS On The Greatest Tech Innovation Of 2017 In the last few years they’ve seen gains of 296%… 545%… even as much as 696%! But a single new technology is poised to make 2017 their biggest year yet… Full story… How Rising Rate Environments Hurt Real Estate  One of the most rate sensitive investments is real estate. When interest rates rise, the higher loan costs squeeze profit margins and diminish investors’ returns. The affordability of real… Read More

The old saying that every dog has its day is particularly applicable on Wall Street. In this case, the dogs are reliable companies that have underperformed over a one-year period that then outperform over the next year. In many instances, the opposite is also true; outperformers one year can be… Read More

The consumer is back with multi-year-high confidence and strong spending numbers. Amazon is reporting its best holiday season ever and the National Retail Federation says total holiday spending could far exceed its initial estimate of $655 billion. #-ad_banner-#Expectations for 2017 have also grown, taking stocks along for the ride. Consumer confidence in November rose to its highest point since 2007 and sentiment among households earning $100,000 and more is at a 10-year high.   Keep in mind that this rising tide may not lift all boats equally. Recent government data supports this, showing uneven spending trends across categories. Read More

The consumer is back with multi-year-high confidence and strong spending numbers. Amazon is reporting its best holiday season ever and the National Retail Federation says total holiday spending could far exceed its initial estimate of $655 billion. #-ad_banner-#Expectations for 2017 have also grown, taking stocks along for the ride. Consumer confidence in November rose to its highest point since 2007 and sentiment among households earning $100,000 and more is at a 10-year high.   Keep in mind that this rising tide may not lift all boats equally. Recent government data supports this, showing uneven spending trends across categories. Finding the best investments in retail, then, may depend on following the money in consumer trends while avoiding sectors facing a weaker outlook. Not All Consumer Stocks Are Created Equal Investors have high expectations for 2017 and recent economic data points to a stronger consumer next year. The labor market is approaching full employment with unemployment at just 4.6% and fiscal stimulus next year could mean even more hiring. Consumer spending has bounced this year on higher wage growth. A survey by Deloitte estimates holiday spending could be as much as 4% higher compared to last year. Despite the… Read More

Construct a game plan, and I promise you will become a better investor.  With proper planning and perseverance, Profitable Trading’s Jared Levy became a successful trader at a young age.  After reading today’s essay, I hope you, too, will understand the importance of strategizing in order to maximize gains. By the time Jared was 18, he was making $600,000 a year. He was also one of the youngest-ever members of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. But without goals and a roadmap with which to achieve them, Jared wouldn’t be where he is today.  Before I get into the details of how… Read More

Construct a game plan, and I promise you will become a better investor.  With proper planning and perseverance, Profitable Trading’s Jared Levy became a successful trader at a young age.  After reading today’s essay, I hope you, too, will understand the importance of strategizing in order to maximize gains. By the time Jared was 18, he was making $600,000 a year. He was also one of the youngest-ever members of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. But without goals and a roadmap with which to achieve them, Jared wouldn’t be where he is today.  Before I get into the details of how Jared made so much money in the markets, please note that his investing strategy involves options, and options involve leverage.  Don’t let those words scare you. Jared’s approach is perfectly suited for beginners. In fact, I’d venture to say that they’re ideal for someone looking to cut their teeth in the investing world.  I know that sounds like a bold claim. Most investors think of options as an advanced, risky strategy. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Whether you want to dabble in options or not, I urge you to continue reading. What I’m about to explain will… Read More

One of the hallmarks of America is the near-universal belief that our nation is the land of opportunity. Despite the many problems in our country, we’ve always believed that our children would be better off than we were. #-ad_banner-#And for the better part of two centuries, that was true. But in the minds of many Americans today, that belief is dying… You see, more than 56% of Americans believe their children will be worse off financially than they are. Now, that’s an improvement from a similar survey in 2014, which found that 76% of parents feared for their children’s futures. Read More

One of the hallmarks of America is the near-universal belief that our nation is the land of opportunity. Despite the many problems in our country, we’ve always believed that our children would be better off than we were. #-ad_banner-#And for the better part of two centuries, that was true. But in the minds of many Americans today, that belief is dying… You see, more than 56% of Americans believe their children will be worse off financially than they are. Now, that’s an improvement from a similar survey in 2014, which found that 76% of parents feared for their children’s futures. But that still means that almost 60% of parents don’t think their children will achieve any lasting financial success. And that number is sure to grow as the United States edges ever closer to a financial abyss. This begs the question: Are these parents being overly pessimistic, or do their concerns have merit? Like many such questions, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But being proactive against the threats to our kid’s futures is a sure-fire way to secure their financial well-being. Take Social Security for instance. Social Security was instituted by Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 as a tool… Read More

Back in September, I wrote an essay detailing my reasons for adding Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. If you’re familiar with my newsletter at all, then you probably know that we normally focus on lesser-known, smaller companies because these are usually most likely to be the stocks that have triple-digit return potential. My reasoning for adding the company was simple. While still a “game-changer,” Wall Street had soured on Twitter as the company continued to struggle to turn a profit more than three years after its initial public offering in 2013. —Sponsored Link—… Read More

Back in September, I wrote an essay detailing my reasons for adding Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) to the portfolio of my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. If you’re familiar with my newsletter at all, then you probably know that we normally focus on lesser-known, smaller companies because these are usually most likely to be the stocks that have triple-digit return potential. My reasoning for adding the company was simple. While still a “game-changer,” Wall Street had soured on Twitter as the company continued to struggle to turn a profit more than three years after its initial public offering in 2013. —Sponsored Link— Former Google Exec Quits Dream Job To Launch Marijuana Empire Last year, Alan Gertner was in charge of a $100 million Asia-Pacific division for this internet titan. But he gave it all up. And soon he could become wealthier than he ever imagined from the United States’ “green” gold rush. $200 billion could be at stake. And you could get a big piece of it. Full story… But I’m optimistic in a turnaround. For one, as I discussed previously, Twitter is actively taking steps to monetize its huge user base through… Read More

Investors are gearing up for an exciting 2017. The new White House has exciting and lucrative plans for our nation. Stocks have already performed extremely enthusiastically to the pending changes. #-ad_banner-#Many investors are particularly excited about the ramp-up in infrastructure spending about to be released on America’s aging bridges, roads, and waterways. There is little question that the pending increase in spending will create a plethora of jobs and greatly benefit the population across the board. At the same time, there is a quiet revolution taking place in the infrastructure space. I am not talking about traditional infrastructure like most… Read More

Investors are gearing up for an exciting 2017. The new White House has exciting and lucrative plans for our nation. Stocks have already performed extremely enthusiastically to the pending changes. #-ad_banner-#Many investors are particularly excited about the ramp-up in infrastructure spending about to be released on America’s aging bridges, roads, and waterways. There is little question that the pending increase in spending will create a plethora of jobs and greatly benefit the population across the board. At the same time, there is a quiet revolution taking place in the infrastructure space. I am not talking about traditional infrastructure like most others. You can’t as easily see, touch, or feel this critical American infrastructure; but it is every bit as important to our economy as the traditional infrastructure. This is internet infrastructure, also known as the “backbone” of the web. Companies involved in this sector are poised for substantial gains in 2017 and beyond. I have identified three such companies that are poised to ride the wave higher. The way I see it, there are three main factors that will be driving this boom. First, the pending statutory corporate tax rate reduction will encourage U.S. Internet infrastructure firms to use… Read More