There’s an old marketing adage that the best way to make money is through health, wealth or romance — and it’s proving as true in the internet age as it was on Madison Avenue. While retail sales stumble and the economy inches along, people will always pay for advice and services to make them healthier, wealthier and to find that one true love. The first large-scale computer dating system was created nearly 60 years ago, but the online dating industry seems to have found its sweet spot in millennials making it the best stock to invest in right now. The… Read More

There’s an old marketing adage that the best way to make money is through health, wealth or romance — and it’s proving as true in the internet age as it was on Madison Avenue. While retail sales stumble and the economy inches along, people will always pay for advice and services to make them healthier, wealthier and to find that one true love. The first large-scale computer dating system was created nearly 60 years ago, but the online dating industry seems to have found its sweet spot in millennials making it the best stock to invest in right now. The share of 18- to 24-year olds that have gone online to find love has tripled since 2013. Nearly a third of the group has used online dating, almost twice the proportion in the general population.  The addressable market of singles with internet access tops 500 million in North America and Western Europe alone, and is expected to grow to 672 million by 2019. While buyers in most sectors remain price conscious more than seven years after the Great Recession, dating sites are able to charge premium subscriptions up to $60 per month.  #-ad_banner-#One company is the undisputed leader… Read More

In a recent issue of StreetAuthority Daily, I told you all about my strategy for maximizing income by investing in stocks that fall in the high-yield ‘sweet spot’. They aren’t the absolute highest yielding stocks on the market, but this special group of stocks has outperformed all others, and returned an average of 14% per year over the past 86 years. And while these stocks are a key part of my portfolio — and consistently provide me ample dividend checks — “maximizing income” is just one aspect of my 3-part Daily Paycheck Retirement System. Read More

In a recent issue of StreetAuthority Daily, I told you all about my strategy for maximizing income by investing in stocks that fall in the high-yield ‘sweet spot’. They aren’t the absolute highest yielding stocks on the market, but this special group of stocks has outperformed all others, and returned an average of 14% per year over the past 86 years. And while these stocks are a key part of my portfolio — and consistently provide me ample dividend checks — “maximizing income” is just one aspect of my 3-part Daily Paycheck Retirement System. #-ad_banner-#I like to call this second group of stocks “Fast Dividend Growers.” These are the few companies that I think you could buy today and potentially hold for the rest of your life. And while you hold them, they can shower you with bigger and bigger dividends year in and year out. These stocks have one very distinct characteristic — Fast Dividend Growers are generally dominant companies with growing cash flows that you can depend on to pay — and increase — their dividends year after year. In other words, you… Read More

One of America’s beloved companies has produced an annualized return of 12.8% over the past three decades, easily beating the 7.5% annual return on the S&P 500.  From its 2011 lows to its all-time high in August 2015, the stock surged more than 350% as investors clamored to grab their stake in one of the world’s most recognized brands. And during this time, its trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio more than doubled. As a die-hard value investor, I found it difficult to justify buying shares given how expensive they were. But now, with the stock trading at a nearly… Read More

One of America’s beloved companies has produced an annualized return of 12.8% over the past three decades, easily beating the 7.5% annual return on the S&P 500.  From its 2011 lows to its all-time high in August 2015, the stock surged more than 350% as investors clamored to grab their stake in one of the world’s most recognized brands. And during this time, its trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio more than doubled. As a die-hard value investor, I found it difficult to justify buying shares given how expensive they were. But now, with the stock trading at a nearly 20% discount to its all-time high, I’m ready to pull the trigger. The House of Mouse Is Finally Affordable Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) have been under pressure since August, when CEO Bob Iger acknowledged subscriber losses in the media segment. This segment accounts for 45% of sales, and the warning sent shares tumbling. #-ad_banner-# After a quick rebound, shares plunged again when a November regulatory filing confirmed the negative trend. For instance, Disney’s most profitable channel, ESPN,… Read More

Most major U.S. stock indices closed in positive territory last week, led higher by a 0.9% gain in the small-cap Russell 2000 and a 0.8% advance in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100. However, these indices remain in the red for 2016 and are much weaker than the S&P 500, which is up 0.4% year to date. #-ad_banner-# This trend is important because technology and small-cap stocks typically lead the broader market both higher and lower. As long as… Read More

Most major U.S. stock indices closed in positive territory last week, led higher by a 0.9% gain in the small-cap Russell 2000 and a 0.8% advance in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100. However, these indices remain in the red for 2016 and are much weaker than the S&P 500, which is up 0.4% year to date. #-ad_banner-# This trend is important because technology and small-cap stocks typically lead the broader market both higher and lower. As long as the Russell 2000 and Nasdaq 100 are underperforming the S&P 500, it warns of more overall weakness. However, we are seeing some promising longer-term signs in the form of rising interest rates and commodity prices, which I will discuss in detail today. Last week’s strongest market sectors were energy (1.8%) and financials (1.4%), while real estate (-2.3%) and utilities (-2.2%) were the weakest. The rise in long-term interest rates was behind most of these moves, as higher rates benefit banks but are a drag on real estate sales. The table below shows the biggest sector-related inflow… Read More

When I first began my career at the Chicago Board of Trade, I felt like a newly hatched alligator being released into the wild. I was swimming around much bigger and more experienced animals that wanted to turn me into a quick lunch and take me out of the game. In that ultra-cutthroat environment, where I competed against Goldman Sachs and billion-dollar hedge funds every day, I had very little time to develop my trading technique and confidence. #-ad_banner-#When studying my fellow traders and developing my style, I noticed something important right away. Some… Read More

When I first began my career at the Chicago Board of Trade, I felt like a newly hatched alligator being released into the wild. I was swimming around much bigger and more experienced animals that wanted to turn me into a quick lunch and take me out of the game. In that ultra-cutthroat environment, where I competed against Goldman Sachs and billion-dollar hedge funds every day, I had very little time to develop my trading technique and confidence. #-ad_banner-#When studying my fellow traders and developing my style, I noticed something important right away. Some groups of traders would make money when the market was trending in one direction. On the flip side, there were other groups of traders that would make money when the market was range bound. Few traders could switch hats on a day-to-day basis and play both kinds of markets. Those who could were the real masters of trading. Seeing this pattern of different trading styles winning in certain kinds of markets year after year provided a valuable lesson about trading and investing. It taught me that every trader, or trading system,… Read More

The economic trends we saw developing earlier this year have continued, albeit with a little turbulence here and there: U.S. job creation remains solid, unemployment remains low and consumer incomes are rising. While the drag from economic woes in Europe and Asia is a concern, and any economy that relies on the energy industry is hurting (including ours, in part), for the most part American consumers are in better shape than they’ve been in years. Meanwhile, the inexorable aging of America is fueling growth for any provider of goods and services to older Americans. While healthcare is the obvious beneficiary,… Read More

The economic trends we saw developing earlier this year have continued, albeit with a little turbulence here and there: U.S. job creation remains solid, unemployment remains low and consumer incomes are rising. While the drag from economic woes in Europe and Asia is a concern, and any economy that relies on the energy industry is hurting (including ours, in part), for the most part American consumers are in better shape than they’ve been in years. Meanwhile, the inexorable aging of America is fueling growth for any provider of goods and services to older Americans. While healthcare is the obvious beneficiary, so is leisure: companies that profit from more spending on travel, dining, recreation and, well, fun. And few companies fit the bill better than the cruise ship lines. #-ad_banner-#The cruise industry has already grown rapidly in recent decades — passenger volume has risen at a compound annualized growth rate of about 7% over the past 35 years. And while most U.S. cruises still start in Florida, California or New York, the number of ports in use is expanding; in North America, more than 30 embarkation ports have been established, which puts a port within reasonable driving distance of 75% of… Read More

When I started in the investment biz twenty years ago, the Tech Bubble was building engine pressure. When then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan referred to the mania as “irrational exuberance”, he was understating. Valuations and expectations were insane. Period. #-ad_banner-#The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) was pretty much the benchmark for the technology madness. After a spectacular run up people from all walks of life were inspired to quit their day jobs to chase instant wealth day trading online. Of course it ended badly. From its peak, the Nasdaq gave up nearly 75% of the crazy money it made over… Read More

When I started in the investment biz twenty years ago, the Tech Bubble was building engine pressure. When then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan referred to the mania as “irrational exuberance”, he was understating. Valuations and expectations were insane. Period. #-ad_banner-#The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) was pretty much the benchmark for the technology madness. After a spectacular run up people from all walks of life were inspired to quit their day jobs to chase instant wealth day trading online. Of course it ended badly. From its peak, the Nasdaq gave up nearly 75% of the crazy money it made over the five year party. Thirteen years later, the Nasdaq has reclaimed the dizzying highs from the heady days at the beginning of the 21st century. Are we headed for another crash? I don’t know, and I’m not going to utter the most dangerous phrase in investing: this time it’s different. But, I am going to talk about valuations of a two of the biggest names in tech then and now. Basically, it’s damned near impossible to move data anywhere without these two companies facilitating the process. The big two? Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC).   Peak… Read More

It’s one of the easiest and safest ways to generate 20%-plus returns on a regular basis. Once you’ve mastered the technique, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stopped trading stocks or only buying and holding investments altogether. That’s how powerful this strategy is: It can drastically improve the way you make money in the markets. That goes for conservative income investors and aggressive traders alike. #-ad_banner-#The technique involves selling options. If you’ve never tried your hand at options before, don’t worry — the kind of options strategy I’m talking about is… Read More

It’s one of the easiest and safest ways to generate 20%-plus returns on a regular basis. Once you’ve mastered the technique, I wouldn’t be surprised if you stopped trading stocks or only buying and holding investments altogether. That’s how powerful this strategy is: It can drastically improve the way you make money in the markets. That goes for conservative income investors and aggressive traders alike. #-ad_banner-#The technique involves selling options. If you’ve never tried your hand at options before, don’t worry — the kind of options strategy I’m talking about is perhaps the safest, easiest way to execute a trade for income that you’ll ever come across. Specifically, I’m referring to selling call options. A call option gives the buyer the right — but not the obligation — to buy a stock from the call seller if it’s trading above a specified price before a specified date. When you sell a call option, you accept the potential obligation to sell a particular stock at a specified price at a set time in the future. When you sell a call, you generate what… Read More

The transportation sector has been lagging the broader market for the better part of the past year and a half. But truckers enjoyed a resurgence this year until mid-April, when the entire group suddenly slammed on the brakes.  While not technically a trucking stock, Ryder System (NYSE: R), which provides truck rentals, fleet management and other transportation services, just suffered a breakdown and looks ready to follow its cousins lower.  Ryder started 2016 off strong, retracing almost 50% of last year’s sharp decline, running from a January low just above $45 to an April high just below $72. A nearly… Read More

The transportation sector has been lagging the broader market for the better part of the past year and a half. But truckers enjoyed a resurgence this year until mid-April, when the entire group suddenly slammed on the brakes.  While not technically a trucking stock, Ryder System (NYSE: R), which provides truck rentals, fleet management and other transportation services, just suffered a breakdown and looks ready to follow its cousins lower.  Ryder started 2016 off strong, retracing almost 50% of last year’s sharp decline, running from a January low just above $45 to an April high just below $72. A nearly 60% gain in less than three months handily beat the market’s 16% advance during that time.  Unfortunately, last week, the stock moved below the very solid trendline that had been guiding prices higher.   For anyone watching closely, this breakdown was telegraphed by the technicals. #-ad_banner-# Momentum indicators such as Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) scored a bearish divergence and a downside crossover.  The price highs made in April and May, while not exactly the same, were close enough to… Read More