Mergers and acquisitions are significant price driving forces in the stock market. Purchasing shares in a company before it is acquired is a time-tested way to earn huge returns. Should a bidding war erupt over the enterprise, that’s even better for the investors! Locating a potential acquisition target already leading its industry and riding a major technological trend places the odds of a winning investment solidly in your court. #-ad_banner-#Sounds easy to accomplish, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. The most efficient way to locate likely acquisition candidates is to wait for a rumor to surface.  To be… Read More

Mergers and acquisitions are significant price driving forces in the stock market. Purchasing shares in a company before it is acquired is a time-tested way to earn huge returns. Should a bidding war erupt over the enterprise, that’s even better for the investors! Locating a potential acquisition target already leading its industry and riding a major technological trend places the odds of a winning investment solidly in your court. #-ad_banner-#Sounds easy to accomplish, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. The most efficient way to locate likely acquisition candidates is to wait for a rumor to surface.  To be clear, I am not advocating investing in every acquisition rumor, but rather that you should use rumors as a first step in identifying potential investments.  In most cases, the rumor itself is enough to push share prices sharply higher. Astute investors make certain that the target company is a strong investment, even if the acquisition never takes place. In other words, the company should have much more going for it than an iffy buyout.  I have identified a cutting edge, trend-leading company that has acquisition rumors swirling, yet would make a solid investment even without them.  The company is InvenSense… Read More

2016 is on pace to be another record year for gun sales in the United States. According to a recent report released by the FBI, gun sales hit a 17th consecutive monthly record in October, up 27% from the same period last year. #-ad_banner-#This spike in demand is being driven by two powerful forces. The first is crime. Although the national crime rate remains near 20-year lows, crime rates in major cities have spiked. For example, Chicago recently recorded its 600th murder in 2016, a number already 100% higher than that rate in 2015. Demand for guns is also being… Read More

2016 is on pace to be another record year for gun sales in the United States. According to a recent report released by the FBI, gun sales hit a 17th consecutive monthly record in October, up 27% from the same period last year. #-ad_banner-#This spike in demand is being driven by two powerful forces. The first is crime. Although the national crime rate remains near 20-year lows, crime rates in major cities have spiked. For example, Chicago recently recorded its 600th murder in 2016, a number already 100% higher than that rate in 2015. Demand for guns is also being driven by politics. Gun owners and potential buyers worry about stricter gun laws. This is pulling demand forward and prompting consumers to purchase firearms sooner rather than later. Looking forward, I don’t expect either of these forces to fade away quickly — in fact, I am expecting gun sales to hit another monthly record in December and close the year at an all-time high. That’s why it’s a great time to take a fresh look at one of the most undervalued growth stocks in the S&P 500. This global leader’s share price is up more than 145% in the last… Read More

It’s nearly over… With Election Day finally upon us, the rumblings from both sides regarding the “doomsday” scenario that will fall upon our economy should their opponent get elected continue to grow louder. But here’s the thing… both sides are probably right. Do I think we’re going fall into a recession in the future? Yes, absolutely. It’s part of the economic cycle. Now I know this sort of talk might anger folks, especially those who like to point fingers and give blame to the opposing party. But the truth is that the market doesn’t really care who you vote for. Read More

It’s nearly over… With Election Day finally upon us, the rumblings from both sides regarding the “doomsday” scenario that will fall upon our economy should their opponent get elected continue to grow louder. But here’s the thing… both sides are probably right. Do I think we’re going fall into a recession in the future? Yes, absolutely. It’s part of the economic cycle. Now I know this sort of talk might anger folks, especially those who like to point fingers and give blame to the opposing party. But the truth is that the market doesn’t really care who you vote for. —Recommended Link— The Best Place To Put Your Money In 2017 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. Get the details here… It’s true that the market has been more volatile than usual in the weeks leading up to today. The CBOE Volatility Index was at the top of its longest streak of gains since 2013 at the… Read More

In last week’s report, I identified 2,121 as a key level to watch in the benchmark S&P 500, saying a breakdown below that level would clear the way for a deeper decline as we headed into Election Day. That is precisely what happened last week, as the major indices logged another weekly decline, led down by the Nasdaq 100 (-3%) and Russell 2000 (-2%).   Last week’s weakness was broad-based, with every sector of the S&P 500 finishing lower. The poorest performers were technology (-2.7%) and energy (-2.3%). We are at a major decision point where investors must draw some longer-term… Read More

In last week’s report, I identified 2,121 as a key level to watch in the benchmark S&P 500, saying a breakdown below that level would clear the way for a deeper decline as we headed into Election Day. That is precisely what happened last week, as the major indices logged another weekly decline, led down by the Nasdaq 100 (-3%) and Russell 2000 (-2%).   Last week’s weakness was broad-based, with every sector of the S&P 500 finishing lower. The poorest performers were technology (-2.7%) and energy (-2.3%). We are at a major decision point where investors must draw some longer-term conclusions as to where we are headed as a country. As is often the case, this political and economic decision point can also be seen in asset prices.  Stocks spiked on Monday, following news that the FBI said Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges after a review of new emails. This action clearly indicates the market would be much more comfortable with a Clinton presidency. Fear Can Be a Good Thing Since mid-July, I have been warning that the extremely low market volatility — as evidenced by a reading in the Volatility S&P 500 (VIX) near 12 — would… Read More

I love finding stealth rallies in the financial markets. These under-the-radar moves higher are ignored by the financial media and therefore by most investors.  Stealth rallies occur for any number of reasons. Primarily, these types of upward moves happen in commodities or stocks that have been beaten down for so long that the public simply loses interest in them.  #-ad_banner-#A stealth rally starts by attracting the attention of only the most diehard followers. These early investors quietly pocket huge gains while the rest of the investment community is chasing the latest hot stocks or futures.  Right now, a stealth rally… Read More

I love finding stealth rallies in the financial markets. These under-the-radar moves higher are ignored by the financial media and therefore by most investors.  Stealth rallies occur for any number of reasons. Primarily, these types of upward moves happen in commodities or stocks that have been beaten down for so long that the public simply loses interest in them.  #-ad_banner-#A stealth rally starts by attracting the attention of only the most diehard followers. These early investors quietly pocket huge gains while the rest of the investment community is chasing the latest hot stocks or futures.  Right now, a stealth rally is taking place in a commodity that has not been in the headlines for a while. Once a darling of the financial media, this commodity has been beaten down so severely it is rarely mentioned in the daily financial press. After being hailed as the savior of the United States’ energy future, this commodity quickly became over-produced. It may have succeeded in revitalizing U.S. energy, but its price continued to plunge lower as the years passed.  In case you haven’t guessed it, I am referencing natural gas. The widespread use of fracking created an oversupply of the commodity, resulting in… Read More

AT&T (NYSE: T) has proven the adage ‘Content is King’ with its $85 billion bid for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). The $226 billion media distributor has access to over 100 million subscribers across wireless, internet, and video but needs an endless array of programming to fill that pipeline.  #-ad_banner-#Time Warner is the world’s third-largest media conglomerate, owning a library of movie rights along with content-creating behemoths like HBO and CNN. But content doesn’t just mean original video programming. It’s any information created regularly that brings potential customers back to the distribution channel. That wider definition makes social media networks the… Read More

AT&T (NYSE: T) has proven the adage ‘Content is King’ with its $85 billion bid for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). The $226 billion media distributor has access to over 100 million subscribers across wireless, internet, and video but needs an endless array of programming to fill that pipeline.  #-ad_banner-#Time Warner is the world’s third-largest media conglomerate, owning a library of movie rights along with content-creating behemoths like HBO and CNN. But content doesn’t just mean original video programming. It’s any information created regularly that brings potential customers back to the distribution channel. That wider definition makes social media networks the most sought-after content creators available. Social media content is user generated so it costs nothing to produce. It’s also interactive and personal, two ideas traditional video content struggles with on its one-way feed.  We’ve already seen the value of this social content in Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) planned $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD). Not only does the business networking platform promise an endless supply of content, but also its own distribution channel through which Microsoft can integrate its suite of office tools.  Now buyers have their sights set on other social media platforms and I’ve found one that could… Read More

There is more to successful dividend investing than just buying high yielding stocks and waiting. Many investors mistakenly believe that wealth is easily created by holding onto high dividend-paying companies. Nothing could be further from the truth.  #-ad_banner-#Wealth is created in the stock market by a combination of dividend reinvestment and buying solid companies at a discounted price — in other words, dividend paying companies that have been unfairly beaten lower by irrational investor fears. Using this tactic combines the very real compounding power of dividend reinvestment on top of a high potential for stock price appreciation, creating an unbeatable… Read More

There is more to successful dividend investing than just buying high yielding stocks and waiting. Many investors mistakenly believe that wealth is easily created by holding onto high dividend-paying companies. Nothing could be further from the truth.  #-ad_banner-#Wealth is created in the stock market by a combination of dividend reinvestment and buying solid companies at a discounted price — in other words, dividend paying companies that have been unfairly beaten lower by irrational investor fears. Using this tactic combines the very real compounding power of dividend reinvestment on top of a high potential for stock price appreciation, creating an unbeatable wealth-building strategy.  I have discovered three dividend-paying stocks trading well off their highs that will make excellent candidates for this approach. The Power Of Dividend Reinvestment Dividends alone make up a huge part of the overall total returns of the stock market. In fact, the numbers astounded me. Morgan Stanley published a study revealing that, since 1930, 42% of all U.S. stock market returns were due to dividends! Talk about a powerful stock market force that cannot be ignored. Dividend reinvestment means plowing the cash earned from the dividends back into the stock. Simply stated, it means buying more… Read More