In June 2014, I made a very successful bearish bet that Olive Garden’s parent company (a restaurant conglomerate) would falter under the weight of its aging brands and mounting competition.  While the initial trade worked well, things are much different 27 months later.  My idea for returning to this trade (albeit on the other side) came to me when a commercial pilot friend of mine (and fantastic chef) asked me to join him at Olive Garden a few weeks back.  I thought, “OK, this guy flies a Boeing 777, dines around the world weekly and wants to eat at Olive… Read More

In June 2014, I made a very successful bearish bet that Olive Garden’s parent company (a restaurant conglomerate) would falter under the weight of its aging brands and mounting competition.  While the initial trade worked well, things are much different 27 months later.  My idea for returning to this trade (albeit on the other side) came to me when a commercial pilot friend of mine (and fantastic chef) asked me to join him at Olive Garden a few weeks back.  I thought, “OK, this guy flies a Boeing 777, dines around the world weekly and wants to eat at Olive Garden?” I’m no restaurant snob, but the last time I frequented Olive Garden was the early ’90s when I was in school and could only afford the never-ending pasta bowl. But I humored him. —Sponsored Link— 32 Central Banks Scrambling To Prepare For December Announcement A new global law in effect this December could deliver an unexpected shock to the markets. No less than 32 major central banks are scrambling to prepare for the inevitable fallout. They’re shifting their money into one single asset that could explode in value, even as everything else plummets. $3… Read More

Sixteen years ago I was thinner and had more hair. I also had a front-row seat to watch what was billed at the time as “the merger of the century”: AOL and Time Warner. What began as a perfect marriage of one of the best content and broadcast distribution complexes on the planet to the media distribution platform of tomorrow — a combo that would have an initial market cap of $350 billion (unheard of at the time) — ended in a whimpering split with both entities deeply discounted.  #-ad_banner-#After the divorce, AOL evolved from its original persona as an… Read More

Sixteen years ago I was thinner and had more hair. I also had a front-row seat to watch what was billed at the time as “the merger of the century”: AOL and Time Warner. What began as a perfect marriage of one of the best content and broadcast distribution complexes on the planet to the media distribution platform of tomorrow — a combo that would have an initial market cap of $350 billion (unheard of at the time) — ended in a whimpering split with both entities deeply discounted.  #-ad_banner-#After the divorce, AOL evolved from its original persona as an internet service provider to an actual, online content destination featuring sites such as the Huffington Post and MapQuest. AOL was acquired by AT&T’s chief wireless rival Verizon (NYSE: VZ) in 2015. Time Warner carried on business as usual, creating a seemingly endless stream of media content and distributing it via its cable networks and movie studios. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Now, as a dominant force in wireless telecom, internet, and television distribution with its recent acquisition of DIRECTV, AT&T (NYSE: T) is determined to not only control every screen we watch but what… Read More

As the redemptions piled up, the analyst sat stunned. This is so much worse than anticipated, he thought to himself. Nobody expected this level of out-flows.What’s going on? #-ad_banner-#Now, he knew the fund was prepared. In fact, an e-mail from the previous day indicated the company expected upwards of $1.5… Read More

One of the world’s greatest investors and businessmen was born July 8, 1839, in upstate New York. Son of a traveling snake-oil salesman, he rose from his rustic origins to become the world’s wealthiest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly by the time he was only 33 years old. I’m talking about John D. Rockefeller — an American icon and arguably one of the most mysterious and controversial businessmen in our nation’s history.  Rockefeller got his start as an assistant bookkeeper for a produce merchant at the age of 16. Having a knack for numbers and a… Read More

One of the world’s greatest investors and businessmen was born July 8, 1839, in upstate New York. Son of a traveling snake-oil salesman, he rose from his rustic origins to become the world’s wealthiest man by creating America’s most powerful and feared monopoly by the time he was only 33 years old. I’m talking about John D. Rockefeller — an American icon and arguably one of the most mysterious and controversial businessmen in our nation’s history.  Rockefeller got his start as an assistant bookkeeper for a produce merchant at the age of 16. Having a knack for numbers and a shrewd sense of the commodities markets, Rockefeller quickly built a reputation for himself as an honest, reliable merchant. Two years after starting as a bookkeeper, he purchased a partnership in another merchant, Maurice Clark. —Recommended Link— EXPIRES TODAY: A $200 Voucher For This Life-Changing Opportunity Imagine getting in on the next Facebook for 33 cents… Or the next Google for 44 cents… Or the next Apple for 78 cents… That’s the sort of opportunity I’m talking about here… You need to see if this offer is for you before it expires at midnight tonight. But events quickly shifted when… Read More

As a student of the stock market, I pay close attention to trends.  Investing into an established trend is a time-proven way to find success. When two or more trends merge, it creates a high-potential stock market investment. #-ad_banner-#Trends come in two types: societal trends and price trends. Societal trends are those that sweep across the culture, making certain things attractive or even a must-have among consumers.  An excellent example of a major societal trend is the one toward healthy eating. Organic fast food and low-fat dining have become the hot new things among the masses. We see successful restaurant… Read More

As a student of the stock market, I pay close attention to trends.  Investing into an established trend is a time-proven way to find success. When two or more trends merge, it creates a high-potential stock market investment. #-ad_banner-#Trends come in two types: societal trends and price trends. Societal trends are those that sweep across the culture, making certain things attractive or even a must-have among consumers.  An excellent example of a major societal trend is the one toward healthy eating. Organic fast food and low-fat dining have become the hot new things among the masses. We see successful restaurant chains like Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) riding the organic, healthy fast food trend.  Another major trend is the growth of pet-ownership spending in the United States. According to the American Pet Products Association, total pet spending in 2010 hit $48.35 billion. This number has been growing steadily and is expected to hit $62.75 billion in 2016 with $27 billion being attributed to food products.  Combining these two seemingly unrelated trends pointed me toward the organic pet food market. As pet ownership trends higher, wholesome food-oriented consumers seek to provide their pets a similarly healthy diet.  The leading company in the wholesome… Read More

In 1977, a man named Mike Markkula had already made his millions from stock options while working as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. He was introduced to two renegade engineers by the name of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, who were working on a new personal computer, the Apple II.  After talking with Jobs, Markkula decided to fund the company, thus becoming its first “angel investor” and employee number three. Three years later, Apple went public and Markkula’s stake was worth $203 million.  —Recommended Link— Play The Presidential Market Plunge For Triple-Digit Returns ​Economic turmoil historically… Read More

In 1977, a man named Mike Markkula had already made his millions from stock options while working as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. He was introduced to two renegade engineers by the name of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack, who were working on a new personal computer, the Apple II.  After talking with Jobs, Markkula decided to fund the company, thus becoming its first “angel investor” and employee number three. Three years later, Apple went public and Markkula’s stake was worth $203 million.  —Recommended Link— Play The Presidential Market Plunge For Triple-Digit Returns ​Economic turmoil historically follows nearly every newly elected president. In fact, Bush fueled a 78% Nasdaq collapse in 2002. So regardless of who wins on November 8… you MUST take steps to protect your portfolio today. Click here to discover three POTUS-proof industries to play for up to 200.6% profits. That’s a serious chunk of change. Consequently, Markkula retired from Apple in 1996. Had he retained his full stake in Apple, it would be worth more than $177 billion today. Success stories like this are more common than you might think. That’s what can happen when you’re able to get in on the early stages of a promising… Read More

1933 was an important year for U.S. investors. That was the year the 18th amendment was repealed. This regulatory breakthrough accomplished two things. For one, it once again made it legal to drink a cold beer after work. #-ad_banner-#Then, it unleashed one of the best investment opportunities of the century, setting the stage for a billion dollar wealth transfer and giving birth to future global leaders such as Budweiser and Jack Daniels. If you weren’t around back then to capitalize, don’t worry. Today, that same cycle is repeating itself. Cannabis is being legalized all across North America. In the United… Read More

1933 was an important year for U.S. investors. That was the year the 18th amendment was repealed. This regulatory breakthrough accomplished two things. For one, it once again made it legal to drink a cold beer after work. #-ad_banner-#Then, it unleashed one of the best investment opportunities of the century, setting the stage for a billion dollar wealth transfer and giving birth to future global leaders such as Budweiser and Jack Daniels. If you weren’t around back then to capitalize, don’t worry. Today, that same cycle is repeating itself. Cannabis is being legalized all across North America. In the United States, 25 states have adopted medical marijuana programs. Three states have legalized recreational consumption. The list of cannabis-friendly states continues to grow. Nine states are set to vote on cannabis initiatives on Election Day (November 8). In Canada, medical marijuana is already legal on the federal level. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are making it a top priority to also legalize recreational cannabis. It is possible an initiative could be voted on in Canada within the next 12 months. In Mexico, it’s already legal for citizens to carry up to an ounce of cannabis. In April, Mexican… Read More

Back on October 26, I told you about one of the most exciting revolutions for investing to happen in years. The new opportunity has to do with an asset class that has delivered out-sized returns for wealthy, elite investors while remaining off-limits to everyone else.  I’m talking about pre-IPO investing. As you probably know, before well-known giants like Facebook or Twitter were public companies, they were burgeoning startups. As such, they weren’t traded on the public exchanges most of us are familiar with.  —Recommended Link— Only One Thing Stands Between You And $457K If you invested $10,000 into one… Read More

Back on October 26, I told you about one of the most exciting revolutions for investing to happen in years. The new opportunity has to do with an asset class that has delivered out-sized returns for wealthy, elite investors while remaining off-limits to everyone else.  I’m talking about pre-IPO investing. As you probably know, before well-known giants like Facebook or Twitter were public companies, they were burgeoning startups. As such, they weren’t traded on the public exchanges most of us are familiar with.  —Recommended Link— Only One Thing Stands Between You And $457K If you invested $10,000 into one unexpected group of stocks in 1972, you’d have $457,791 in your pocket in 2015. But if you put $10k into their counterparts instead, you’d have just $30,153. The only difference between these 2 choices is… Get the full story. But as it turns out, certain select wealthy, elite investors were able to get in on these companies before the rest of us. And in many cases, they were able to make millions. Until now. #-ad_banner-#You see, thanks to the passage of new regulations, regular investors are able to get in on the same kinds of pre-IPO deals that these “accredited”… Read More