If you’re a regular StreetAuthority reader, then you may now consider yourself an income expert. Just this past few months, we’ve show you why dividends are the key to wealth (here), that international stocks offer the best yields on the market (here) and given you copious examples of dividend-payers worth owning (here, here and here). But today I’m going to tell you all about a class of stocks that combines the very best qualities of top dividend stocks: High-yielding international companies that you can buy today, forget about tomorrow and own… Read More

If you’re a regular StreetAuthority reader, then you may now consider yourself an income expert. Just this past few months, we’ve show you why dividends are the key to wealth (here), that international stocks offer the best yields on the market (here) and given you copious examples of dividend-payers worth owning (here, here and here). But today I’m going to tell you all about a class of stocks that combines the very best qualities of top dividend stocks: High-yielding international companies that you can buy today, forget about tomorrow and own for the rest of your life. I think you’ll love them. You see, if you’re after high yields, there’s no better place to look than foreign stocks. Because in fact, more than 79% of the world’s highest-yielding stocks are based in international markets. #-ad_banner-#The average stock in the United Kingdom yields 3.9%. Australia’s average yield is 4.7%. And New Zealand pays 4.7%. By contrast, the average U.S. stock yields about 2%. But my research team and I dug through these stocks looking for something more. Read More

As cross-border trade expands, U.S.-based healthcare providers are increasingly finding customers around the globe. Source: Abbott Labs 2014 Annual Report In the United States, healthcare spending is a whopping 18% of GDP. On the other hand, in emerging economies healthcare makes up only 6% of GDP. A growing middle class in developing nations means that number is rising. Companies focusing overseas are going to grow faster than U.S.-focused counterparts. Here are three companies following the growth around the world: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) Abbott is a global provider of branded pharmaceuticals and other healthcare… Read More

As cross-border trade expands, U.S.-based healthcare providers are increasingly finding customers around the globe. Source: Abbott Labs 2014 Annual Report In the United States, healthcare spending is a whopping 18% of GDP. On the other hand, in emerging economies healthcare makes up only 6% of GDP. A growing middle class in developing nations means that number is rising. Companies focusing overseas are going to grow faster than U.S.-focused counterparts. Here are three companies following the growth around the world: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) Abbott is a global provider of branded pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products. It operates in more than 100 countries and generates close to 70% of its revenue outside the United States. Asia represents Abbott’s fastest-growing region. #-ad_banner-#The Asia-Pacific region’s healthcare spending is expected to grow at a rate of 7.1 percent from 2013 to 2017, according to The Economist. China is one of the firm’s major markets, where Abbott Labs is excelling  despite a complex regulatory environment. The firm has grown sales in the country 24% per year since 2012, and China is now the company’s second-largest market behind the United States. Its third-largest market is India. Sales in the country… Read More

“You can’t time the market.” It’s one of the most often-repeated investment phrases. And it’s wrong. History has shown that a simple ratio delivers impressive market gains. In fact, it appears when most investors have little desire to buy stocks. Let me explain. Every week, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) asks its members to answer one simple question in an online survey: Regarding the future direction of the stock market, are you bullish, bearish or neutral? Over the long haul, investors feel bullish about 39% of the time, and at times of maximum optimism, more than… Read More

“You can’t time the market.” It’s one of the most often-repeated investment phrases. And it’s wrong. History has shown that a simple ratio delivers impressive market gains. In fact, it appears when most investors have little desire to buy stocks. Let me explain. Every week, the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) asks its members to answer one simple question in an online survey: Regarding the future direction of the stock market, are you bullish, bearish or neutral? Over the long haul, investors feel bullish about 39% of the time, and at times of maximum optimism, more than half of respondents will answer with a bullish response.  #-ad_banner-#Yet at rare pressure points in the market, what Sir John Templeton once cited as “the point of maximum pessimism,” the entire crowd can turn bearish. Indeed at various points over the past three decades, the vast majority of respondents in the AAII survey express extreme bearishness. Presumably, such investors are selling stocks at these times and moving to cash.  And that has proven to be a big mistake. I’ve tallied the market performance whenever the crowd turns bearish, and on almost every occasion the market has gone on to post… Read More

When it comes to stock markets, China’s sure marches to the beat of its own drum.  The Shanghai Composite gained 145% in the past year, compared to about 7% for the S&P 500. Now, though, things may be unraveling in China — and given what happened there just a few years ago, it is not likely to be pretty. In the chart below, we can see the recent nearly vertical rise in the Chinese market after a slow, multiyear drift lower.  The same thing happened at the start of this century. It was as if sellers… Read More

When it comes to stock markets, China’s sure marches to the beat of its own drum.  The Shanghai Composite gained 145% in the past year, compared to about 7% for the S&P 500. Now, though, things may be unraveling in China — and given what happened there just a few years ago, it is not likely to be pretty. In the chart below, we can see the recent nearly vertical rise in the Chinese market after a slow, multiyear drift lower.  The same thing happened at the start of this century. It was as if sellers just gave up and buyers pushed valuations to impossible levels. Chinese stocks peaked in 2007 and then fell off a cliff when the magic of the Chinese economy faded, taking commodity markets down with them.  Experience shows that when a market trend continually accelerates, affectionately called “going parabolic,” the gain is often mirrored by the decline on the other side. Most of the time, the accelerated rally is erased completely.  If that happens again now, the resulting decline could be on the order of 55% to 60% from current levels — devastating by any definition.  Domestic investors cannot easily short… Read More

With the bull market looking increasingly vulnerable to a steep selloff, many investors are wisely seeking out safe, reliable market leaders that pay generous dividends. A top name to consider: the iconic healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). This long-time component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average dominates on several fronts including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer healthcare/personal care products. And it throws off uncommonly large amounts of cash. Indeed, free cash flow totaled more than $125 billion from 2005 through 2014, according to Morningstar data. That’s substantially more than many other Dow icons including McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD),… Read More

With the bull market looking increasingly vulnerable to a steep selloff, many investors are wisely seeking out safe, reliable market leaders that pay generous dividends. A top name to consider: the iconic healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). This long-time component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average dominates on several fronts including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer healthcare/personal care products. And it throws off uncommonly large amounts of cash. Indeed, free cash flow totaled more than $125 billion from 2005 through 2014, according to Morningstar data. That’s substantially more than many other Dow icons including McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG). During the same period, these four firms reported cumulative free cash of $37 billion, $44 billion, $99 billion and $103 billion, respectively. Along with tens of billions in cash on the balance sheet, superior free cash flow enabled JNJ to dole out nearly $57 billion in dividends from 2005 to 2014. As the following chart from the firm’s investor relations webpage shows, the per-share payout more than doubled to $2.76 during that time. It has since climbed to an annualized $3 a share, which… Read More

While Wall Street analysts focus on how a company will fare in the next quarter, I’m always thinking about what a business will look like in five, 10 or even 20 years down the road. Some companies simply hope that business will be good in future years, while others can speak with a high degree of confidence about their long-term goals. That’s because these firms share one key trait: they have a “sticky” customer base. #-ad_banner-#Let’s take Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP) as an example. The company provides outsourced payroll… Read More

While Wall Street analysts focus on how a company will fare in the next quarter, I’m always thinking about what a business will look like in five, 10 or even 20 years down the road. Some companies simply hope that business will be good in future years, while others can speak with a high degree of confidence about their long-term goals. That’s because these firms share one key trait: they have a “sticky” customer base. #-ad_banner-#Let’s take Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP) as an example. The company provides outsourced payroll management and other services typically handled by human resources departments. Although ADP provides clear value to its clients, the company boasts of a 91% annual retention rate for another reason: switching costs. You see, once a client has agreed to turn over its business processes to ADP, it becomes awfully hard to take that business back. That means a new customer that ADP signs up today is likely to stick around through the next bear market and the next bull market. We can see proof of this by looking at how ADP fared during… Read More

As Chief Investment Strategist of Profitable Trading’s Alpha Trader service, I’ve noticed a clear trend emerging over the past few weeks. When I ran my algorithms to screen the market for our next big winners, two things leapt out at me — and both are bullish signs.  First, the number of stocks I’ve been recommending to subscribers is running at twice its “normal” rate.  #-ad_banner-# Second, which I’m going to discuss today, my watch list of potential future entries has exploded. In fact, this is the largest my list has been… Read More

As Chief Investment Strategist of Profitable Trading’s Alpha Trader service, I’ve noticed a clear trend emerging over the past few weeks. When I ran my algorithms to screen the market for our next big winners, two things leapt out at me — and both are bullish signs.  First, the number of stocks I’ve been recommending to subscribers is running at twice its “normal” rate.  #-ad_banner-# Second, which I’m going to discuss today, my watch list of potential future entries has exploded. In fact, this is the largest my list has been in the past six months. My watch list is a group of stocks that meet Alpha Trader‘s stringent initial qualifications and are nearing — but not quite at — a buy recommendation.  All stocks considered for Alpha Trader must have an Alpha Score of 140 or more out of a possible 200. You may have heard us discuss the Alpha Score before, which is based on two proven indicators — one technical and one fundamental.  Both of these critical factors have a plethora of studies supporting their success in helping select winning investments. The technical component… Read More

There are only two ways to score huge gains. Find a stock that is relatively unknown, and build a position before the crowd arrives. Or find a stock that is widely known, but widely loathed. In the case of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (Nasdaq: MPEL), the first scenario has already played out, and the second scenario is just coming into play. When I first looked at this Macau-focused casino operator, shares were trading under $5. I looked at this stock a few years later when shares traded at $18 and noted considerable remaining upside. Shares eventually moved above $35. This… Read More

There are only two ways to score huge gains. Find a stock that is relatively unknown, and build a position before the crowd arrives. Or find a stock that is widely known, but widely loathed. In the case of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (Nasdaq: MPEL), the first scenario has already played out, and the second scenario is just coming into play. When I first looked at this Macau-focused casino operator, shares were trading under $5. I looked at this stock a few years later when shares traded at $18 and noted considerable remaining upside. Shares eventually moved above $35. This stock’s meteoric rise was due to the fact that few investors knew about the company in 2010. Even as it gained adherents in subsequent years, many investors underestimated the powerful cash flow potential on Melco’s business model. Back in 2010, Melco Crown generated around $90 million in operating profits. By 2014, that figure had grown to $685 million. Yet Melco Crown, along with other Macau-focused casino operators, is now making headlines for different reasons. A sharp crackdown on corruption in China has led many Chinese high rollers to stay close to home, avoiding any appearance of conspicuous consumption. And as… Read More

I spend a lot of time on the road. As far as I’m concerned, to truly grasp the investment opportunities that emerge each year across the globe, there’s no better way than to actually see it in person. My travels recently took me to Hong Kong, the island protectorate that has been home to the some of the most stunning stock market gains seen in quite some time. #-ad_banner-#While visiting the area, which has been under Chinese control since 1999, I had a chance to sit down with friends working and investing in Hong… Read More

I spend a lot of time on the road. As far as I’m concerned, to truly grasp the investment opportunities that emerge each year across the globe, there’s no better way than to actually see it in person. My travels recently took me to Hong Kong, the island protectorate that has been home to the some of the most stunning stock market gains seen in quite some time. #-ad_banner-#While visiting the area, which has been under Chinese control since 1999, I had a chance to sit down with friends working and investing in Hong Kong — first over tapas and wine on the famed Old Bailey Street in Central district, and then whiskey and Cuban cigars at a friend’s private club. And what they told me confirmed the data I’ve been seeing on this part of the world: a powerful investment trend is in full swing. You see, over the past two months, the Hong Kong stock exchange has been on a tear. Beginning March 11, the benchmark Hang Seng index gained 20% to hit a high of around 28,500 in late April. Since then,… Read More