When discussing consumerism from a socio-economic standpoint, the term “upward mobility” is always used. When consumers move up in economic class, money moves with them. I’ve discussed the rise of the emerging market middle class in previous articles. One product/service that had trouble gaining traction among the new middle class is consumer banking. Financial institutions like Citigroup (NYSE: C) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) have established large institutional footprints in emerging markets in corporate banking, as well wealth management services for the emerging market rich. #-ad_banner-#However, unlike in the United States where there is a brick and mortar bank… Read More

When discussing consumerism from a socio-economic standpoint, the term “upward mobility” is always used. When consumers move up in economic class, money moves with them. I’ve discussed the rise of the emerging market middle class in previous articles. One product/service that had trouble gaining traction among the new middle class is consumer banking. Financial institutions like Citigroup (NYSE: C) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) have established large institutional footprints in emerging markets in corporate banking, as well wealth management services for the emerging market rich. #-ad_banner-#However, unlike in the United States where there is a brick and mortar bank on every single corner, brick and mortar banking has not grown in emerging markets. But money still needs to move and consumers will find other ways to do it besides a traditional bank. Enter Western Union (NYSE: WU). Spun off from First Data Corp (NYSE: FDC) in 2006, Western Union is recognized as one of the nation’s largest independent providers of consumer money transfer services. Nearly 80% of the company’s revenues come from consumer to consumer services such as its branded Western Union Money Gram product, pre-paid debit cards, and money orders. In the United States, these services are distributed… Read More

Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI) is headquartered in my backyard: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. #-ad_banner-#It’s a company focused heavily on efficiency, and it’s got its finger on the pulse of what the corporate world wants. And it turns out, the corporate world wants what JCI is selling. In its latest Energy Efficiency Indicator survey, JCI found that 72% of the 1,243 participants said their companies are anticipating increasing their investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy in the next twelve months. That’s a massive number, and it’s also a massive increase compared to just four years ago. In 2013, JCI’s Energy Efficiency… Read More

Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI) is headquartered in my backyard: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. #-ad_banner-#It’s a company focused heavily on efficiency, and it’s got its finger on the pulse of what the corporate world wants. And it turns out, the corporate world wants what JCI is selling. In its latest Energy Efficiency Indicator survey, JCI found that 72% of the 1,243 participants said their companies are anticipating increasing their investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy in the next twelve months. That’s a massive number, and it’s also a massive increase compared to just four years ago. In 2013, JCI’s Energy Efficiency Indicator survey found that only 42% of those surveyed had planned to increase investment. And take a look at this map: Emerging markets are going to be investing heavily in efficiency and renewable energy, but developed economies aren’t sitting on the sidelines, either. I think the efficiency sectors is going to be an interesting area over the next couple of years, and there are several different areas that could be of note to investors. According to the survey, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements were the most popular improvement over the past 12 months, followed by energy-focused… Read More

Chances are, you’ve read plenty of articles telling you how you should be investing this election season. Articles like: “Invest In These Companies If Clinton Is Elected” “How To Profit From A Trump Presidency” And more… But I have news for you. #-ad_banner-# It doesn’t matter who gets elected. Based on factual historical data, chances are good that the market is going to sink. In fact, I’m bracing for as much as a 30% economic plunge.  It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. History suggests that there’s a strong predictable pattern.  Every four years, the American people head to… Read More

Chances are, you’ve read plenty of articles telling you how you should be investing this election season. Articles like: “Invest In These Companies If Clinton Is Elected” “How To Profit From A Trump Presidency” And more… But I have news for you. #-ad_banner-# It doesn’t matter who gets elected. Based on factual historical data, chances are good that the market is going to sink. In fact, I’m bracing for as much as a 30% economic plunge.  It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. History suggests that there’s a strong predictable pattern.  Every four years, the American people head to the voting booth to elect the next U.S. president. The ripple effects from that vote can impact many financial markets… including the U.S. stock market.  And economic turmoil has immediately followed almost every new President once he’s taken office.  In 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first year, the market was down by 27.3%. Nixon watched the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge 36%. In Reagan’s second year the unemployment rate hit 10.8% — the highest rate since the Great Depression. And according to CNN Money, in Obama’s second year, the market lost $2.8 trillion in value in only a few weeks… “some… Read More

U.S. stocks are near record highs. Many analysts would have downplayed the possibility of such a feat back in January, when fears of a sharp slowdown in demand from China and rising interest rates caused a mini-panic among some investors (and an opportunity for the rest of us). The impressive rebound after the selloff came in recognition of the relative strength of the U.S. economy versus much of the rest of the world. Employment continued to rise, wages finally started inching higher, the Fed kept its power dry and energy prices rallied, but not so much as to cause harm… Read More

U.S. stocks are near record highs. Many analysts would have downplayed the possibility of such a feat back in January, when fears of a sharp slowdown in demand from China and rising interest rates caused a mini-panic among some investors (and an opportunity for the rest of us). The impressive rebound after the selloff came in recognition of the relative strength of the U.S. economy versus much of the rest of the world. Employment continued to rise, wages finally started inching higher, the Fed kept its power dry and energy prices rallied, but not so much as to cause harm to pocketbooks or corporate earnings. Investors also couldn’t help but recognize the solid financial and competitive positions many large global companies have established since the financial crisis. #-ad_banner-#Investors have overlooked several worrisome signs: continued sluggishness in China, Europe, Brazil and Russia; an apparently stepped-up pace of terrorist attacks from ISIS; turmoil in the Middle East; Great Britain’s shocking vote to leave the European Union; an unpredictable, even bizarre, U.S. presidential race; and, most recently, a disturbing series of shootings in the United States that put the nation on edge. As the old expression goes, the market climbs a wall of… Read More

Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father, statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a brilliant inventor — creating bifocals, the lightning rod and the odometer. #-ad_banner-# But his greatest invention has been shrouded in mystery for more than 250 years… It involves controlling one of the most important resources known to man: energy. In 1749, through a revolutionary experiment, Franklin created a device that could capture and harness energy. Then, 150 years later, Thomas Edison picked up where Franklin left off. Since then, many others have carried forward this work. But a few months ago, a… Read More

Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father, statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a brilliant inventor — creating bifocals, the lightning rod and the odometer. #-ad_banner-# But his greatest invention has been shrouded in mystery for more than 250 years… It involves controlling one of the most important resources known to man: energy. In 1749, through a revolutionary experiment, Franklin created a device that could capture and harness energy. Then, 150 years later, Thomas Edison picked up where Franklin left off. Since then, many others have carried forward this work. But a few months ago, a band of scientists — backed by an eccentric billionaire — took Franklin’s dream to new heights. They finally broke through — and now it has the potential to make early investors a fortune. From Franklin, Tesla, Edison — And Now Musk We’ve all heard the first part of the folk tale… Ben Franklin was convinced that lightning bolts contain energy, and he wanted to prove it. So during a thunderstorm, he flew a kite with a metal key attached, hoping the kite would get hit. And it worked. The kite was struck by lightning, and the key produced a… Read More

Global pharmaceutical sales hit a record $1 trillion in 2014, and forecasts expect another $300 billion in growth by 2018 according to Thomson Reuters. If you watch TV, read magazines, or even go out in public, this probably doesn’t surprise you. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements for various drugs. In an industry dominated by big money and marketing, it can be hard for small-cap companies to thrive. There are a few approaches, though, that can help smaller companies succeed: 1. Create a ground-breaking product that cannot be copied 2. Partner with a larger pharmaceutical company to help with… Read More

Global pharmaceutical sales hit a record $1 trillion in 2014, and forecasts expect another $300 billion in growth by 2018 according to Thomson Reuters. If you watch TV, read magazines, or even go out in public, this probably doesn’t surprise you. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements for various drugs. In an industry dominated by big money and marketing, it can be hard for small-cap companies to thrive. There are a few approaches, though, that can help smaller companies succeed: 1. Create a ground-breaking product that cannot be copied 2. Partner with a larger pharmaceutical company to help with marketing and distribution In today’s Project Alpha, we’ve found a company that does both. A Misunderstood Acquisition Has Left This Pharma Leader Undervalued Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SCMP) is a global biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the Research and Development (R&D) of drugs. Its main product, AMITIZA, is the first chloride channel activator developed for the treatment of chronic constipation. It may not be the sexiest product, but the most successful drugs rarely are. Since 2006, AMITIZA, also known as lubiprostone, has been dispensed over 10 million times. Currently, it is available as a small oral gelcap taken twice a day and… Read More

After years of analyzing the markets and doling out investing advice, I’ve been asked thousands of questions. Some are seasonal. When can I expect a correction? What do you expect from earnings season? Some are topical. Are you worried about China’s economy? How will this overseas conflict affect my investments? But time has taught me there is one burning question that people wrestle with more than any other in the financial world. Where do I start? I recently received such a query from a new subscriber to my Game-Changing Stocks newsletter. #-ad_banner-#It would be easy for me to assume this… Read More

After years of analyzing the markets and doling out investing advice, I’ve been asked thousands of questions. Some are seasonal. When can I expect a correction? What do you expect from earnings season? Some are topical. Are you worried about China’s economy? How will this overseas conflict affect my investments? But time has taught me there is one burning question that people wrestle with more than any other in the financial world. Where do I start? I recently received such a query from a new subscriber to my Game-Changing Stocks newsletter. #-ad_banner-#It would be easy for me to assume this is the only one of my subscribers to ever have this question. But, it’s like your third grade teacher taught you: If you have a question, there’s probably a few others in the room wondering the same thing who were just too shy to put their hands in the air. So, to someone asking how to even begin investing, the first thing I’d like to say is: Congratulations! The most valuable thing you have is not money. It is time. So starting now is a good idea. Game-Changing Stocks has a unique approach to investing. We invest 80% of our… Read More

The U.S. stock market put in another strong performance last week, led by the small-cap Russell 2000, which gained 2.4% and is now up 6.1% for the year. More importantly, the benchmark S&P 500 has spiked higher by 170 points or 8.5% since the June 27 Brexit low, which keeps my 20,400 upside target in the bellwether Dow industrials alive. Moreover, both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials set new all-time highs next week, which should help to grease the skids for even more strength once the market deals with its latest investor complacency problem, which I will discuss later. Read More

The U.S. stock market put in another strong performance last week, led by the small-cap Russell 2000, which gained 2.4% and is now up 6.1% for the year. More importantly, the benchmark S&P 500 has spiked higher by 170 points or 8.5% since the June 27 Brexit low, which keeps my 20,400 upside target in the bellwether Dow industrials alive. Moreover, both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials set new all-time highs next week, which should help to grease the skids for even more strength once the market deals with its latest investor complacency problem, which I will discuss later. #-ad_banner-# Materials led all sectors of the S&P 500 last week with a 3.9% gain, as only utilities (-1%) finished the week with a loss. I have been pointing out scattered but consistent strength in the commodity space for much of this year, most recently in steel prices. In the July 5 Market Outlook I pointed out an emerging buying opportunity in the VanEck Vectors Steel ETF (NYSE: SLX), which has already gained 13.2% since July 5 and is well on its way to meeting my $33 upside target.  … Read More