As technology progresses, sometimes it amazes me at how fast things become obsolete. I have two teenage sons. When they were pre-teens, Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox game console was all the rage. New releases of ActivisionBlizzard’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) “Call of Duty” series were pre-ordered and eagerly anticipated. #-ad_banner-#It wasn’t that long ago, but it almost seems the gaming console platform is dead and gone, at least in our house. Most gaming done by my kids is handheld, whether on smartphone or tablet. When I hear Xbox generated gunfire and explosions coming from the back, I figure that they must be… Read More

As technology progresses, sometimes it amazes me at how fast things become obsolete. I have two teenage sons. When they were pre-teens, Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox game console was all the rage. New releases of ActivisionBlizzard’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) “Call of Duty” series were pre-ordered and eagerly anticipated. #-ad_banner-#It wasn’t that long ago, but it almost seems the gaming console platform is dead and gone, at least in our house. Most gaming done by my kids is handheld, whether on smartphone or tablet. When I hear Xbox generated gunfire and explosions coming from the back, I figure that they must be feeling nostalgic. With the rise of digital payment systems, I get a bit nostalgic at times when it comes to physical banking, whether it’s making a deposit in the drive through of an actual branch, writing a check, or even using an ATM. Birthed in the mid 1960’s, the ATM has become a staple of the modern convenience life. However, it could go the way of the pay phone. So what does the future hold for Diebold, Inc. (NYSE: DBD), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of ATMs? Is the stock worth owning? On a price… Read More

Growth investors are notoriously fickle when it comes to earnings reports. Unbridled enthusiasm leads them to bid up shares of rising stars, only to stampede for the exits when the company fails to meet ridiculously high expectations. Sometimes it doesn’t even take an earnings miss to send shares crashing, but merely a change in the company’s financial outlook. Lowered guidance may send analysts and shareholders fleeing, even if the company is still on a strong growth trajectory. In many cases, it’s not long before investors calm down and once again look at the company rationally. They reassess the longer-term outlook… Read More

Growth investors are notoriously fickle when it comes to earnings reports. Unbridled enthusiasm leads them to bid up shares of rising stars, only to stampede for the exits when the company fails to meet ridiculously high expectations. Sometimes it doesn’t even take an earnings miss to send shares crashing, but merely a change in the company’s financial outlook. Lowered guidance may send analysts and shareholders fleeing, even if the company is still on a strong growth trajectory. In many cases, it’s not long before investors calm down and once again look at the company rationally. They reassess the longer-term outlook — the same story that probably got them excited about the stock in the first place — and bid shares right back up. #-ad_banner-# So, when I see a best-of-breed company in one of my favorite long-term industries plummet after its earnings report, I get excited. Herd Quick To Bail On This Growth Stock… And Then Buy Again Few firms have been as innovative in information security as FireEye (Nasdaq: FEYE) with its advanced detection technology and threat intelligence feed. Security advisory firm SSP Blue estimates global spending on information… Read More

Today, I want to tell you about a way you can legally skim tens of thousands of dollars a year from some of the largest firms on Wall Street that has been called safe enough for widows and orphans. It may sound fishy at first, but I promise it is 100% legal. And it is widely regarded (at least by those in the know) as one of the most conservative strategies in the market. I have taught hundreds of people — from young couples struggling to make ends meet to retirees — how to… Read More

Today, I want to tell you about a way you can legally skim tens of thousands of dollars a year from some of the largest firms on Wall Street that has been called safe enough for widows and orphans. It may sound fishy at first, but I promise it is 100% legal. And it is widely regarded (at least by those in the know) as one of the most conservative strategies in the market. I have taught hundreds of people — from young couples struggling to make ends meet to retirees — how to supplement their income with it. Last year alone, I skimmed $46,360 from some of the largest firms on Wall Street. —Recommended Link— Big Kahuna Profits in Energy Storage Tesla CEO Elon Musk is building a large battery farm in Hawaii to store energy from island sunshine. It’s just his latest move to grow his energy storage business. Here are three little-known energy companies riding Tesla’s huge 10-bagger technology wave. This report reveals the full story.   It was easy to do. The money was just sitting there. And if I hadn’t taken it, someone else would have. I just beat… Read More

The chorus of investing gurus sounding the alarm on bubbles in both the bond and stock market grows almost daily. It started as early as last year with Vanguard founder Jack Bogle warning that stocks could return as little as 6% annually over the next decade based on record low interest rates and overvaluation. #-ad_banner-#​DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said last month that investors have entered, “a world of uber complacency,” recommending that investors sell everything and that the stock market should be, “down massively.” The $100 billion L.A.-based asset manager also went “maximum negative” on U.S. Treasuries, marking… Read More

The chorus of investing gurus sounding the alarm on bubbles in both the bond and stock market grows almost daily. It started as early as last year with Vanguard founder Jack Bogle warning that stocks could return as little as 6% annually over the next decade based on record low interest rates and overvaluation. #-ad_banner-#​DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said last month that investors have entered, “a world of uber complacency,” recommending that investors sell everything and that the stock market should be, “down massively.” The $100 billion L.A.-based asset manager also went “maximum negative” on U.S. Treasuries, marking a familiar alarm among smart money that investors may find no safety in bonds either. Bond guru Bill Gross has previously been critical of the massive monetary programs by central banks globally and told Bloomberg this month that it’s, “devolved into Ponzi finance,” and have become, “promises that can never be kept.” Looking at valuations, the Janus Capital Manager said he doesn’t like bonds or most stocks, but admitted that investors need to put their money to work.  In fact, against the potential for the financial system to “implode”, Gross said the Janus Unconstrained Fund is holding just 5% in… Read More

My wife and I are planning to visit Europe soon. Deciding exactly where to go is proving difficult: historic German castles and biergartens, quaint Irish country inns, moonlit Italian dining… There are just too many things to see.  Regardless of whether we fly to Munich, Dublin or somewhere else, our budget will stretch much further these days thanks to the strong dollar.  Two years ago, the dollar was equivalent to 0.70 euros. Today, the same greenback will get you 0.90 euros. So if you set aside $1,000 in spending money back then and went to a bank to exchange it,… Read More

My wife and I are planning to visit Europe soon. Deciding exactly where to go is proving difficult: historic German castles and biergartens, quaint Irish country inns, moonlit Italian dining… There are just too many things to see.  Regardless of whether we fly to Munich, Dublin or somewhere else, our budget will stretch much further these days thanks to the strong dollar.  Two years ago, the dollar was equivalent to 0.70 euros. Today, the same greenback will get you 0.90 euros. So if you set aside $1,000 in spending money back then and went to a bank to exchange it, you would have walked out with 700 euros to spend. Today, the same outlay will put 900 euros in your pocket.  ​ This favorable exchange means my wife and I can enjoy better meals, stay in nicer hotels, and visit more attractions — all without spending a single extra dollar. You can see why travelers love this strong dollar. Unfortunately, large businesses hate it. U.S.-made goods exported overseas have become more expensive for foreign buyers. Compounding matters, any sales based in euros, yen or rupees are being converted back into fewer dollars — causing revenue and profit to shrink… Read More

I’ve written quite a bit this year about China’s economic transition. Michael Spence, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, calls it the middle-income transition, when a company moves from a developing economy to an advanced economy. #-ad_banner-#For China, this means a shift away from exports and export-based growth and toward domestic consumption. We’ve seen this evidenced in the rise in wages and also in the rise in the amount that services contribute to GDP. But for those of you still not convinced of this economic shift, let’s take a look at the multi-billion-dollar deal that just happened in China. From Bloomberg: “Uber… Read More

I’ve written quite a bit this year about China’s economic transition. Michael Spence, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, calls it the middle-income transition, when a company moves from a developing economy to an advanced economy. #-ad_banner-#For China, this means a shift away from exports and export-based growth and toward domestic consumption. We’ve seen this evidenced in the rise in wages and also in the rise in the amount that services contribute to GDP. But for those of you still not convinced of this economic shift, let’s take a look at the multi-billion-dollar deal that just happened in China. From Bloomberg: “Uber Technologies Inc. is selling its China operations to fierce rival Didi Chuxing, ending an expensive price war and freeing it up to focus on other markets and possibly an initial public offering. The truce brings to an end a bruising battle between the two companies for leadership in China’s fast-growing ride-hailing market. Uber has already lost $2 billion in China in two years there, people familiar with the matter have said, prompting investors to pressure the company to cut a deal. As part of the arrangement, Didi will invest $1 billion in Uber’s global company, people familiar with the matter… Read More

The U.S. stock market resumed its rally last week, following three weeks of mostly sideways price activity within a narrow range. Following a much-better-than-expected July jobs report on Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 powered to a new all-time closing high. #-ad_banner-#The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, up 1.3%, and small-cap Russell 2000, up 0.9%, outperformed the broader market S&P 500, which added 0.4% for the week. At the sector level, last week’s advance was led by financial services (2.2%) and technology (1.3%). The traditionally defensive utilities sector was the worst-performing sector, off 2.7%. The common denominator between financials and utilities is that… Read More

The U.S. stock market resumed its rally last week, following three weeks of mostly sideways price activity within a narrow range. Following a much-better-than-expected July jobs report on Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 powered to a new all-time closing high. #-ad_banner-#The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, up 1.3%, and small-cap Russell 2000, up 0.9%, outperformed the broader market S&P 500, which added 0.4% for the week. At the sector level, last week’s advance was led by financial services (2.2%) and technology (1.3%). The traditionally defensive utilities sector was the worst-performing sector, off 2.7%. The common denominator between financials and utilities is that both sectors are heavily influenced by U.S. interest rates. Strengthening financials and weakening utilities are characteristic of a market that’s expecting long-term interest rates to rise. I’ll talk about this in more detail later in the report, but before we dig deeper into the interest rate outlook, let’s look at what other indicators are saying about likely market movement. Volatility, Seasonality Still Warn Of A Correction Over the past few weeks, I have stated that near-term downside risk in the stock market exceeds upside potential for a number of reasons, including August and September seasonality (see last week’s report) and current… Read More

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) surprised investors who were concerned about slowing iPhone sales when it reported its fiscal Q3 earnings in late July. While profits on the smartphone were down, Apple reported sales of 40.4 million iPhones, slightly beating projections by 400,000. The stock is up 9.5% since the earnings announcement, which is no doubt impressive. But I believe the key to understanding and profiting from AAPL going forward is acknowledging its shift from a high-growth business model to a mature one — and from a high-growth stock to a conservative investment. —Recommended Link— New Retirement Plan Lets You Schedule Payments… Read More

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) surprised investors who were concerned about slowing iPhone sales when it reported its fiscal Q3 earnings in late July. While profits on the smartphone were down, Apple reported sales of 40.4 million iPhones, slightly beating projections by 400,000. The stock is up 9.5% since the earnings announcement, which is no doubt impressive. But I believe the key to understanding and profiting from AAPL going forward is acknowledging its shift from a high-growth business model to a mature one — and from a high-growth stock to a conservative investment. —Recommended Link— New Retirement Plan Lets You Schedule Payments When You Want Retirees love this program because they see in advance exactly how much income they’ll make AND exactly when they’ll make it. And it’s 37% safer than the stock market. Check it out here. Unexpected growth isn’t entirely out of the question. The next iPhone could exceed sales expectations, or the company might introduce a new product that revolutionizes an industry. These events have happened before, and they explain why AAPL has one of the greatest growth histories of any stock. But shareholders have already been rewarded for those historic developments. New shareholders should expect their returns… Read More