The energy sector was a brutal place to invest in 2014 and 2015. In the 18 months from July 2014 to January 2016, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYS: XLE) fell nearly 50%. That decline was driven by a collapse in the price of oil, buckling from above $90 per barrel in the summer of 2014 to below $30 in January 2016. #-ad_banner-#Today, this bear market has ended. With a new bullish cycle unfolding, this is the best time to invest in energy stocks in the last five years. Not only are energy sector yields near a multi-year high,… Read More

The energy sector was a brutal place to invest in 2014 and 2015. In the 18 months from July 2014 to January 2016, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYS: XLE) fell nearly 50%. That decline was driven by a collapse in the price of oil, buckling from above $90 per barrel in the summer of 2014 to below $30 in January 2016. #-ad_banner-#Today, this bear market has ended. With a new bullish cycle unfolding, this is the best time to invest in energy stocks in the last five years. Not only are energy sector yields near a multi-year high, valuations are near a multi-year low. Perhaps most important, profits are set to rebound thanks to a breakthrough announcement from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Last week, OPEC made its biggest announcement in more than two years, saying that its members would cut global oil production by 1 million barrels per day beginning January 1, 2017. This decision has big implications for the price of oil in the short run and long run. In the short run, it caused the price of oil to jump more than 10% in one day, hitting $50 a barrel for the first… Read More

For the past several years, StreetAuthority has released annual reports on our most profitable predictions for the upcoming year. Of course, we never claim to have a crystal ball, so we can’t guarantee that each prediction will play out exactly as expected. That said, many of our predictions have delivered… Read More

Editor’s Note: Before you get to this week’s Market Outlook, there is a two-part investment strategy that has delivered extra payouts of $365, $520, $700 and even $1,000 to investors in addition to dividends and capital gains. The next payout could be worth as much as $500, and it’s available in the next 48 hours. Of course, there are a few restrictions, but it’s highly likely you qualify for this program. To see if you qualify for it, click here. After a one-week breather, the U.S. stock market resumed its post-election romp last week, with many… Read More

Editor’s Note: Before you get to this week’s Market Outlook, there is a two-part investment strategy that has delivered extra payouts of $365, $520, $700 and even $1,000 to investors in addition to dividends and capital gains. The next payout could be worth as much as $500, and it’s available in the next 48 hours. Of course, there are a few restrictions, but it’s highly likely you qualify for this program. To see if you qualify for it, click here. After a one-week breather, the U.S. stock market resumed its post-election romp last week, with many indices setting new all-time highs. The rally was led by the small-cap Russell 2000 (5.6%) and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (3.3%).   The advance was driven by expectations that a Trump presidency will be extremely favorable to U.S. businesses, with the loosening of government regulations and dismantling of Dodd-Frank being two expected changes. Last week’s rally was about as broad-based as they come. Every sector of the S&P 500 ended the week deep in positive territory, led by financials (4.9%), technology (4.2%) and real estate (3.8%).   Dow Industrials Closing In On 20,400 Target In last week’s Market Outlook, I… Read More

I love attending investment conferences. Investors gather to discuss the latest and most efficient methods of profiting from the financial markets. Encouraged and guided by the speakers, who are recognized experts in their discipline, the discourse among the attendees often reveals the current state of the markets. Knowing the consensus… Read More

In 1960, the U.S. Navy came up with the acronym KISS: “Keep it simple, stupid.” The principle behind it was that most systems work best if they are simple rather than complex. While the mantra was originally applied to building airplanes, it just as easily applies to many other aspects… Read More

The KBW Bank Index (Nasdaq: BKX) has surged nearly 20% since the election.  Investors are hopeful that decreased regulation and tax reform can break the multi-year slump in the financial sector. President-elect Trump may have a tough time completely repealing the massive Dodd-Frank banking reform act as he pledged to during the campaign, but there is no doubt the new administration will at least attempt to chip away at pieces of it. The banks that stand to benefit most from this are regional banks, which received good news in late November when legislators started discussing a measure that would redefine… Read More

The KBW Bank Index (Nasdaq: BKX) has surged nearly 20% since the election.  Investors are hopeful that decreased regulation and tax reform can break the multi-year slump in the financial sector. President-elect Trump may have a tough time completely repealing the massive Dodd-Frank banking reform act as he pledged to during the campaign, but there is no doubt the new administration will at least attempt to chip away at pieces of it. The banks that stand to benefit most from this are regional banks, which received good news in late November when legislators started discussing a measure that would redefine the threshold for ‘systemically important’ institutions. The current threshold of $50 billion or more in assets may be raised, freeing some regional banks from much of the regulatory burden. #-ad_banner-#In addition to clearing the regulatory costs and oversight on the industry, the macroeconomic backdrop is shifting to become more favorable to banking. The rate on the 10-year Treasury jumped 35% in November, rising to 2.44%, giving banks a lot more room between borrowing costs and lending rates. Unemployment is hovering around a decade-low and consumer confidence jumped just before the all-important holiday shopping season. FDIC-insured banks reported 12.9% earnings growth… Read More

When you think of the phrase “victim of its own success” and you might think about consumer technology giant Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). The company’s track record of groundbreaking innovation has set the bar of expectation at such a high level that even its billions in annual R&D research struggles to meet expectations. What Have You Done For Me Lately? Apple’s status as the world’s most valuable brand, not to mention its position as the largest publicly-traded company, makes Apple an unusual case for an investor to consider. Whether fairly or unfairly, Apple must always answer the question, “What… Read More

When you think of the phrase “victim of its own success” and you might think about consumer technology giant Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). The company’s track record of groundbreaking innovation has set the bar of expectation at such a high level that even its billions in annual R&D research struggles to meet expectations. What Have You Done For Me Lately? Apple’s status as the world’s most valuable brand, not to mention its position as the largest publicly-traded company, makes Apple an unusual case for an investor to consider. Whether fairly or unfairly, Apple must always answer the question, “What have you done for me lately?” That said, the company’s estimated $237 billion in cash on the balance sheet, which is more than even the U.S. Treasury ever hopes to amass, gives Apple plenty of resources to answer that question multiple times each year. Estimates from International Data Corporation (IDC) suggest that 1.45 billion smartphones will ship in 2016, a rise of less than 1% year-over-year. That compares to a rise of over 10% in 2015 and represents a huge fall from the 47% rise in 2012. Right now, the market values Apple on the assumption that it won’t grow… Read More

Many investors are familiar with Buffett’s famous holding of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). He began buying shares in 1988. At the time, Buffett said he expected to hang on to this “outstanding business” for “a long time.” And over the ensuing years, he continued to build his position in the iconic company. Today, Coca-Cola is one of Buffett’s largest holdings. As of February 19, Berkshire Hathaway owned 400 million shares of Coca-Cola, valued at roughly $17.2 billion. That’s nearly a fifth of the company’s equity portfolio. But what many investors don’t know is the story about when Buffett used options on… Read More

Many investors are familiar with Buffett’s famous holding of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). He began buying shares in 1988. At the time, Buffett said he expected to hang on to this “outstanding business” for “a long time.” And over the ensuing years, he continued to build his position in the iconic company. Today, Coca-Cola is one of Buffett’s largest holdings. As of February 19, Berkshire Hathaway owned 400 million shares of Coca-Cola, valued at roughly $17.2 billion. That’s nearly a fifth of the company’s equity portfolio. But what many investors don’t know is the story about when Buffett used options on Coca-Cola. —-Recommended Link-— The Single Best Group Of Stocks To Buy NOW Since 1926, one collection of stocks has accounted for HALF of the S&P’s return — through every market environment imaginable. If you don’t have this group in your own portfolio, you could be missing out on the single best place to put your money this year and next. Learn which stocks can… That’s right. The king of buy-and-hold uses options. More importantly, it’s the way Buffett used options in the case of Coca-Cola — which happens to be a safe, conservative way — that too many investors… Read More

This is BIG… For the first time since 1933, the SEC is now allowing regular people like you and me to invest in brand-new explosive-growth companies BEFORE THEY GO PUBLIC. Imagine getting in on the next Facebook for 33 cents a share or the next Apple at 78 cents. In… Read More