American singles bored with the bar scene are increasingly going online to find love. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults that have used online dating increased to 15% in the summer of 2015 from 13% in 2013. That seemingly small 2 percentage point increase represents a full 5 million new customers. As expected, the gains were skewed toward younger people — usage among 18-24 year olds tripled. #-ad_banner-#But as it turns out, older Americans are getting in on the action too. The number of 55-64 year olds that have used online dating… Read More

American singles bored with the bar scene are increasingly going online to find love. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults that have used online dating increased to 15% in the summer of 2015 from 13% in 2013. That seemingly small 2 percentage point increase represents a full 5 million new customers. As expected, the gains were skewed toward younger people — usage among 18-24 year olds tripled. #-ad_banner-#But as it turns out, older Americans are getting in on the action too. The number of 55-64 year olds that have used online dating apps doubled to 12% from 6% in 2013. Both statistics paint a promising outlook for the industry. The surge in popularity has the online dating industry on pace to generate $2.4 billion in sales in 2016. Looking forward, I am expecting industry sales to grow around 5% annually for the next two years. That 5% growth projection might not jump off the page. However, if a big chunk of that growth is captured by one global leader, it becomes significant. The online dating industry has become much more competitive in the last two years, creating nearly impassable barriers to entry. Read More

Democrats, Republicans and independents woke up to some good news on Wednesday: The election is over. Of course, about half of country sees the outcome as bad news while the other half views it as good news. But most people are glad the campaign has ended.  From my perspective, at least the ads are done and now we can plan for the future without the uncertainty of an election looming over us. #-ad_banner-#Now that we know who will be in the White House next year, planning a strategy for the market might be fairly easy. The presidential cycle is a… Read More

Democrats, Republicans and independents woke up to some good news on Wednesday: The election is over. Of course, about half of country sees the outcome as bad news while the other half views it as good news. But most people are glad the campaign has ended.  From my perspective, at least the ads are done and now we can plan for the future without the uncertainty of an election looming over us. #-ad_banner-#Now that we know who will be in the White House next year, planning a strategy for the market might be fairly easy. The presidential cycle is a four-year pattern in the stock market that many analysts have identified.  There are variations of this pattern, with some analysts starting the cycle in January when the president assumes office while others believe it starts in November with the election. Despite these differences, there is a general consensus that the first two years of a president’s term are the most difficult for the market. Once in office, a new president must make a variety of tough decisions. There are almost always problems the previous president was unable to resolve. Then there are new problems that develop. The essence of the… Read More

There’s an iconic U.S. company in trouble right now. This major player on the international stage symbolizes the American dream to many around the world. However, if you own this stock, now is the time to sell your shares. #-ad_banner-#The company is so popular that its mascot has posed with every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, and it once claimed that its mascot’s image had a 98% awareness rate among children aged 3-11 worldwide.  Launched in 1923, the company owns the world’s largest media company and one of the globe’s top providers of family… Read More

There’s an iconic U.S. company in trouble right now. This major player on the international stage symbolizes the American dream to many around the world. However, if you own this stock, now is the time to sell your shares. #-ad_banner-#The company is so popular that its mascot has posed with every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon Johnson, and it once claimed that its mascot’s image had a 98% awareness rate among children aged 3-11 worldwide.  Launched in 1923, the company owns the world’s largest media company and one of the globe’s top providers of family travel and leisure experiences.  If you have not guessed it, I am referencing Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney is a monster corporation with over $56 billion in revenue and a massive market cap of nearly $150 billion. Headquartered in Burbank, California, this global entertainment powerhouse has operations in over 40 nations and has become a symbol of the United States. As a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, nearly every financial institution or individual passive index investor has exposure to Disney stock.  This widespread ownership has paid off for investors in Disney over the… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need.  In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. #-ad_banner-#​ In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully. As an old trader once told me, “To know what… Read More

An old trader once told me, “Trading is the hardest easy money you’ll ever make.”  In theory, trading is easy enough — all you have to do is buy low and sell high, right? After all, there are thousands of books claiming to have all the information we’ll ever need.  In practice, however, trading is among the most difficult activities in the financial world. Despite the availability of a wealth of information, few do it well. #-ad_banner-#​ In fact, all that accessible information actually makes it harder to trade successfully. As an old trader once told me, “To know what everyone knows is to know nothing.” If everyone has the same tools, it’s difficult to use them to gain an advantage over everyone else. Think about that for a moment.  If you could really win in the markets by simply buying stocks with low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, then we would all be successful. The secret to beating the market — and your fellow investors — is to use little-known indicators, which act like secret weapons for trading. That’s why I developed my own indicator, which I call the Income Trader Volatility (ITV) indicator.  ITV is similar to the Volatility S&P… Read More

Bargain-basement and Warren Buffett are four words that are rarely, if ever, used together. Although Warren is best known for the value investment philosophy, the bargain stocks he chooses often remain relatively high-priced for the average investor. Despite being bargains, the high average stock prices for his picks makes it difficult for the average investor to build a properly diversified portfolio by following his picks.  #-ad_banner-#Remember, Mr. Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) is currently the most expensive stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $222,490.00 per share! Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns value companies like GEICO, NetJets, and… Read More

Bargain-basement and Warren Buffett are four words that are rarely, if ever, used together. Although Warren is best known for the value investment philosophy, the bargain stocks he chooses often remain relatively high-priced for the average investor. Despite being bargains, the high average stock prices for his picks makes it difficult for the average investor to build a properly diversified portfolio by following his picks.  #-ad_banner-#Remember, Mr. Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) is currently the most expensive stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $222,490.00 per share! Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns value companies like GEICO, NetJets, and Fruit of the Loom. It even holds a partial interest in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR).  Fortunately, one does not have to buy Berkshire Hathaway shares or even value stocks priced $20.00 or more per share to invest like Warren Buffett.  I have identified two stocks that fit with Warren Buffett’s value philosophy trading for less than $5.00 per share. These low-priced value stocks allow even novice investors to build a value-stock portfolio. Buffett’s Investment Philosophy Warren Buffett became one of the world’s wealthiest people by adhering to the simple philosophy of value investing. The… Read More

Quick, what’s 0.19% of $3.6 trillion? I’ll give you a hint: that’s how much, on average, passively “managed” mutual fund giant Vanguard Group collects in management fees annually. Since Vanguard is not a publicly traded entity, the actual revenue numbers are held pretty close to the vest. But the math comes out to be $6.8 billion in fees based on the average Vanguard fund expense ratio of 0.19%. #-ad_banner-#So, while the fund company prides itself on being shareholder owned, and pounds the table on passing value to the investor, make no mistake, Vanguard is a business and a profitable one… Read More

Quick, what’s 0.19% of $3.6 trillion? I’ll give you a hint: that’s how much, on average, passively “managed” mutual fund giant Vanguard Group collects in management fees annually. Since Vanguard is not a publicly traded entity, the actual revenue numbers are held pretty close to the vest. But the math comes out to be $6.8 billion in fees based on the average Vanguard fund expense ratio of 0.19%. #-ad_banner-#So, while the fund company prides itself on being shareholder owned, and pounds the table on passing value to the investor, make no mistake, Vanguard is a business and a profitable one at that. And while Vanguard founder John Bogle is nowhere close to being a Wall Street fat cat, his tenure at the company made him an incredibly wealthy man by most standards.  The other day while driving in to work, I listened to an interview with Mr. Bogle on Bloomberg radio, as always, trumpeting his case for cheap, passive index investing. He complained, like most of us, of the low-rate, low-growth environment. He said that the stock market is overvalued with a forward P/E of 20-plus (most estimates put it closer to 18), dividend yields barely around 2%, and U.S. Read More

It’s like a report card for the economy. Late last month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Commerce Department released the latest information on our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the three months ended in September.  #-ad_banner-#As with all economic report cards, investors await this report eagerly and read it closely, looking for clues about the nation’s economic health. Of course, the main idea is to give us a sense of how fast the economy can grow and whether it’s been doing better or worse than in previous quarters and years. But investors also look… Read More

It’s like a report card for the economy. Late last month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Commerce Department released the latest information on our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the three months ended in September.  #-ad_banner-#As with all economic report cards, investors await this report eagerly and read it closely, looking for clues about the nation’s economic health. Of course, the main idea is to give us a sense of how fast the economy can grow and whether it’s been doing better or worse than in previous quarters and years. But investors also look for details on where the growth comes from and how well the U.S. economy is positioned to continue economic progress.  The GDP report also provides hints about overall economic and industry trends. But perhaps the biggest question on investors’ minds these days is whether — and when — the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.  While third-quarter GDP increased at an annualized rate of 2.9% (which was much better than the 2.5% that most economists had expected), much of the growth stemmed from one-time factors.  For instance, a build-up in inventories accounted for 60 basis points of that growth. On… Read More

One of the hottest trends over the last few years has been the shift in electronics and tech to what is called the Internet of Things (IoT).  The IoT is a convergence of electronics and internet connectivity, in which virtually every electronic device and household appliance can be controlled through a single internet connection. It’s the next evolution of connectivity and has the potential to rival the importance of smartphones, tablets, and even home computers. #-ad_banner-#Research firm IDC estimates the market for IoT products could triple to $1.7 trillion in 2020 from just $655 billion in 2014. Another firm, Smart… Read More

One of the hottest trends over the last few years has been the shift in electronics and tech to what is called the Internet of Things (IoT).  The IoT is a convergence of electronics and internet connectivity, in which virtually every electronic device and household appliance can be controlled through a single internet connection. It’s the next evolution of connectivity and has the potential to rival the importance of smartphones, tablets, and even home computers. #-ad_banner-#Research firm IDC estimates the market for IoT products could triple to $1.7 trillion in 2020 from just $655 billion in 2014. Another firm, Smart America Challenge, estimates that cities around the world will invest as much as $41 trillion over the next 20 years to integrate IoT infrastructure into city planning. Most IoT investing has targeted the connected products themselves like wearables, connected-home devices and hardware — but success depends on finding the needle within a haystack of companies that could produce the next hot consumer gadget. There’s one common theme that connects all IoT products — a theme that could mean a boom in earnings for one industry. Investing in the best-of-breed within this industry could allow you to benefit from the IoT… Read More

The inherent volatility of biotech shares makes biotech investing among the most lucrative ways to invest in the stock market. At the same time, that volatility also makes it one of the most dangerous. Often, biotech stocks are powered by sector- and stock-specific factors unrelated to the overall economy. Price drivers like FDA approvals, drug sales, product announcements, test results, and even government regulations are the catalysts behind biotech share prices.  #-ad_banner-#However, this volatility serves me well, because I love buying weakness in the stock market.  Not just any weakness, but a weakness that is tied to a short-term situation… Read More

The inherent volatility of biotech shares makes biotech investing among the most lucrative ways to invest in the stock market. At the same time, that volatility also makes it one of the most dangerous. Often, biotech stocks are powered by sector- and stock-specific factors unrelated to the overall economy. Price drivers like FDA approvals, drug sales, product announcements, test results, and even government regulations are the catalysts behind biotech share prices.  #-ad_banner-#However, this volatility serves me well, because I love buying weakness in the stock market.  Not just any weakness, but a weakness that is tied to a short-term situation rather than an inherent flaw in the company.  When a short-term negative situation is combined with the inherent volatility of a biotech company on the cutting edge of its market, I see an opportunity… Ophthotech (Nasdaq: OPHT) fits the above description to a tee. Let’s take a closer look. Ophthotech describes itself as a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development of novel therapeutics to manage diseases of the rear of the eye. They specialize in developing creative therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  The company’s most promising product candidate, Fovista anti-platelet-derived growth factor (anti-PDGF) therapy, is in Phase 3 clinical… Read More