Recent headlines have reminded us too well of the growing need for protection from terror groups and cybercrimes.  More than 32,000 people were killed in acts of terrorism in 2014, an increase of 80% from 2013. The economic impact of terrorism also reached a record $52.9 billion last year, surging 60% from the previous year and jumping ten-fold since 2000.  Cybercrimes and headlines of major hacking breaches have become regular occurrences, with more than 4,000 cyber-attacks reported every day. IBM estimates that businesses are attacked an average of 16,856 times a year. That’s every business. While the majority of online… Read More

Recent headlines have reminded us too well of the growing need for protection from terror groups and cybercrimes.  More than 32,000 people were killed in acts of terrorism in 2014, an increase of 80% from 2013. The economic impact of terrorism also reached a record $52.9 billion last year, surging 60% from the previous year and jumping ten-fold since 2000.  Cybercrimes and headlines of major hacking breaches have become regular occurrences, with more than 4,000 cyber-attacks reported every day. IBM estimates that businesses are attacked an average of 16,856 times a year. That’s every business. While the majority of online attacks don’t get through first-line defenses, an average of 1.7 per week are successful at breeching corporate networks. Growth in security products, services and cybersecurity is set to be a pervasive theme for the foreseeable future.  An industry report from ASIS International shows private security spending jumped 10.5% to $377 billion over the two years through 2015. That estimate is likely conservative, given that corporate security spending isn’t often separated out from general facilities management budgets. The global market for physical security grew to $120 billion in 2013, an increase of 11% from the previous year. Cyber security continues to… Read More

On Wednesday, I sounded the alarm about the problems looming for some consumer staples stocks. In short, many of these blue chips have been in business for decades — if not centuries — and have had their growth slowly grind to a crawl of late. I pointed out one stock in particular that might soon have to cut its dividend — which could devastate income investors who rely on those regular checks in their retirement. Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) may still seem like a safe place to keep your money. But as I pointed out, it has some fundamental problems… Read More

On Wednesday, I sounded the alarm about the problems looming for some consumer staples stocks. In short, many of these blue chips have been in business for decades — if not centuries — and have had their growth slowly grind to a crawl of late. I pointed out one stock in particular that might soon have to cut its dividend — which could devastate income investors who rely on those regular checks in their retirement. Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) may still seem like a safe place to keep your money. But as I pointed out, it has some fundamental problems that should make you think twice before investing in KMB today. Of course, not all stocks are created equal. And it certainly doesn’t mean all income-seeking individuals should avoid all consumer staples forever.  The best consumer staples investments are those that can pass two basic tests.  These tests can also identify good income plays in other industries, such as utilities, telecoms and tobacco plays. Today, I’ve found a consumer staples stock that passes these two tests with flying colors. If you ‘re looking for a great new addition to your income portfolio, read on. But you should also know how… Read More

Recently I’ve been telling my readers about a quiet revolution that’s taking place thanks to eccentric billionaire Elon Musk and his band of scientists at Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA).  You see, for years they’ve been working feverishly at their lab in Fremont, California on a battery that could provide enough energy to power a house.  Earlier this year, news came along that they’d finally broken through. And now, for the first time in decades, we could see the entire utility sector turned on its head as a result — leading to massive gains for early investors.  As you can see,… Read More

Recently I’ve been telling my readers about a quiet revolution that’s taking place thanks to eccentric billionaire Elon Musk and his band of scientists at Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA).  You see, for years they’ve been working feverishly at their lab in Fremont, California on a battery that could provide enough energy to power a house.  Earlier this year, news came along that they’d finally broken through. And now, for the first time in decades, we could see the entire utility sector turned on its head as a result — leading to massive gains for early investors.  As you can see, Tesla’s battery storage device looks nothing like your old-fashioned AA battery. It’s a sleek, compact unit that you can mount on the wall in your garage. One single, stand-alone unit delivers enough power to take an entire home completely off the grid. Simply charge it with a solar panel, windmill or any other power source, and you’ve got all the energy you need. Thanks to Tesla, the world is about to see that an energy sea-change has been quietly unfolding before their eyes for several years now. #-ad_banner-#And many of the world’s greatest investors are quickly staking their… Read More

If there is one sector that demonstrates how big stocks can overshadow the performance of the masses, it is retail. With behemoths such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) leading the way higher, retail benchmarks like the Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSE: RTH) are holding up fairly well.  But a look at somewhat smaller retailers such as Macy’s (NYSE: M) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) paints an entirely different picture. The typical retail stock is in serious decline.  While simply following the trend in falling stocks should lead to profits, I scanned the sector for… Read More

If there is one sector that demonstrates how big stocks can overshadow the performance of the masses, it is retail. With behemoths such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) leading the way higher, retail benchmarks like the Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSE: RTH) are holding up fairly well.  But a look at somewhat smaller retailers such as Macy’s (NYSE: M) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) paints an entirely different picture. The typical retail stock is in serious decline.  While simply following the trend in falling stocks should lead to profits, I scanned the sector for stocks that are not quite as far along in their declines. Stocks in weak groups that are just starting to break down have more room to fall.  The one I like best is L Brands (NYSE: LB),  which sells women’s apparel and beauty and personal care products through Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works stores.  LB outperformed the market coming off the late-August lows. In the process, it moved above resistance set by highs from earlier this year. The October breakout was tentative, but on Nov. 2, the company raised its guidance for the third… Read More

Volatility is ticking up in the U.S. stock market — no surprise, after the tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week, the political debate that followed, continued mixed signals on the economic front and the upcoming climate change talks in Paris Big moves in the market can cause anxiety, but they can also represent an opportunity for savvy investors. In this case they could be a chance to add shares of stocks most likely to overperform in 2016. Several signs point to a shift in market leadership from growth stocks — the darlings of recent years — to value stocks,… Read More

Volatility is ticking up in the U.S. stock market — no surprise, after the tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week, the political debate that followed, continued mixed signals on the economic front and the upcoming climate change talks in Paris Big moves in the market can cause anxiety, but they can also represent an opportunity for savvy investors. In this case they could be a chance to add shares of stocks most likely to overperform in 2016. Several signs point to a shift in market leadership from growth stocks — the darlings of recent years — to value stocks, making now a great time to buy. Most important, recent strong job growth figures indicate that the Federal Reserve is very likely to raise short-term interest rates in December, the first of what could be a multi-step process of rate hikes as the Fed moves modestly away from the emergency zero-interest-rate policy of the post-financial crisis period to a more traditional low-rate stance. The November jobs report showed the U.S. unemployment rate at only 5%. Below that level, economists tend to predict that inflation will rise. That’s because higher employment levels correlate with rising consumer spending, which can push prices… Read More

I’d like to share with you a list that was shown to me by our colleagues over at Profitable Trading.  It’s a list of 15 of the most widely owned stocks in the market. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of these companies, and it’s very possible you even own a few. #-ad_banner-#Yet Tom Vician, Certified Market Technician and Chief Investment Strategist of Alpha Trader, says that despite being featured prominently in the media and being held by some of the world’s top investment gurus, he wouldn’t touch any of them with a 10-foot pole. For example, one of these… Read More

I’d like to share with you a list that was shown to me by our colleagues over at Profitable Trading.  It’s a list of 15 of the most widely owned stocks in the market. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of these companies, and it’s very possible you even own a few. #-ad_banner-#Yet Tom Vician, Certified Market Technician and Chief Investment Strategist of Alpha Trader, says that despite being featured prominently in the media and being held by some of the world’s top investment gurus, he wouldn’t touch any of them with a 10-foot pole. For example, one of these stocks is a casino and resort operator. Hedge fund titan Mason Hawkins owns 12.1 million shares, yet it has collapsed 40% over the past six months. Another is a popular retailer that’s down 41% in the past six months. And Tom says it has basically been “dead in the water” for the past two years. But that’s not even the half of it. Tom says, based on their Alpha Scores, these stocks are likely to lag the market — or worse — over the coming weeks and months.  Simply put, they’re not stocks you’d want to have your money in… Read More

According to Forrester Research, it’s the “age of the customer,” which is why the buzz phrase “customer experience” is front and center for companies across industries. Research by Emmett and Mark Murphy, authors of “Leading on the Edge of Chaos,” shows companies can increase profitability by 25% to 125% by simply reducing their customer defection rate 5%. And according to a Customers 2020 Report, customer experience will be a more important differentiating factor than price or product over the next five years. One particularly interesting area of customer experience is called “engagement marketing,” which entails directly involving customers… Read More

According to Forrester Research, it’s the “age of the customer,” which is why the buzz phrase “customer experience” is front and center for companies across industries. Research by Emmett and Mark Murphy, authors of “Leading on the Edge of Chaos,” shows companies can increase profitability by 25% to 125% by simply reducing their customer defection rate 5%. And according to a Customers 2020 Report, customer experience will be a more important differentiating factor than price or product over the next five years. One particularly interesting area of customer experience is called “engagement marketing,” which entails directly involving customers in building a brand. Through social media and smartphone apps, customers can provide immediate input into a brand’s direction. In response, companies can better cater to customers’ needs, and as the theory goes, generate higher sales. #-ad_banner-# That’s where engagement marketing company Marketo (Nasdaq: MKTO) comes in. The company, which was founded in 2007, specializes in providing cloud-based engagement marketing software. This software enables online marketers to measure and improve the effectiveness of their customer interactions. Marketo boasts strong revenue growth and a stock on the brink of a bullish breakout. Despite double-digit sales growth, Marketo… Read More

There are a lot of uncertainties in today’s markets. Worries about China, low oil prices, and fears of deflation are all taking their toll on investors. At the same time, more Americans than ever before are close to retirement age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 15% of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older by 2020. And most of those retirees will be relying on steady income from their investments to support them through their golden years.  So it is becoming increasingly important to regularly evaluate your portfolio holdings and make sure that all of… Read More

There are a lot of uncertainties in today’s markets. Worries about China, low oil prices, and fears of deflation are all taking their toll on investors. At the same time, more Americans than ever before are close to retirement age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 15% of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older by 2020. And most of those retirees will be relying on steady income from their investments to support them through their golden years.  So it is becoming increasingly important to regularly evaluate your portfolio holdings and make sure that all of your investments — especially the dividend payers — are safe. Of course, this problem isn’t just one for people done with their careers. Income investing is also crucial to anyone saving for retirement (or any other long-term goal). Income compounding is one of the only tried and true ways to build a nest egg. But you can’t compound anything if one day your stocks stop paying you a dividend. And some of the most popular dividend payers have started showing signs of trouble… Slowing Growth Is Signaling Trouble For This Industry One of the most popular industries that income… Read More