We’ve still got about two weeks to go until April 15 (thankfully). But the clock is ticking, and most of us will need to start gathering W-2s, brokerage statements and other information to file our tax returns soon (if you haven’t already). If you’re like me, all those dividends and interest payments that you cheered through the year will start to elicit more of a groan once the distributions are tallied up and reported to Uncle Sam. #-ad_banner-#If you’re in the upper income tax brackets and haven’t done so already, now may be an opportune time to explore options in… Read More

We’ve still got about two weeks to go until April 15 (thankfully). But the clock is ticking, and most of us will need to start gathering W-2s, brokerage statements and other information to file our tax returns soon (if you haven’t already). If you’re like me, all those dividends and interest payments that you cheered through the year will start to elicit more of a groan once the distributions are tallied up and reported to Uncle Sam. #-ad_banner-#If you’re in the upper income tax brackets and haven’t done so already, now may be an opportune time to explore options in the municipal bond arena. As you may know, muni bonds are used to fund things like roads, schools and bridges in cities all over the country. They are generally exempt from federal taxes, and possibly state taxes as well, depending on where you live and where the bond was issued. I’ve had several of my High-Yield Investing readers ask about muni bonds over the past few weeks. This is an asset class we’ve invested in before, albeit sparingly. My biggest problem with this particular group is that I think it’s only suitable for a portion of readers (lower income readers… Read More

There are as many ways to analyze the stock market as there are analysts. However, one method that has been proven in theory — and, more importantly, in real life — is relative strength investing. The idea is that stocks, sectors and markets all have inertia, not unlike an aircraft carrier powering across the ocean. The more inertia an asset has, whether it is from a bull market, a powerful sector or simple demand for shares, the more likely it will continue moving forward. Conversely, the more it will take to reverse its course. #-ad_banner-#In the stock market, we’ve all… Read More

There are as many ways to analyze the stock market as there are analysts. However, one method that has been proven in theory — and, more importantly, in real life — is relative strength investing. The idea is that stocks, sectors and markets all have inertia, not unlike an aircraft carrier powering across the ocean. The more inertia an asset has, whether it is from a bull market, a powerful sector or simple demand for shares, the more likely it will continue moving forward. Conversely, the more it will take to reverse its course. #-ad_banner-#In the stock market, we’ve all heard gurus profess that they buy the strongest stocks in the strongest sectors. This is the basis of relative strength investing. It is also the essence of top down investing where we look for the market-leading sectors and then drill down for individual stocks at the top of their sector “class.” It is no secret that biotech has been one of the strongest groups in the market. In the past two years, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB) is up 113% compared with 33% for the S&P 500. Biotech has actually been outperforming the broader market since… Read More

Fabled activist investor Carl Icahn doesn’t seem to care much about what short sellers think. On March 11, he bought nearly seven million shares, then worth about $93 million, of one of the most heavily shorted stocks in the S&P 500: exploration and production firm Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK). The move boosted Icahn’s stake in Chesapeake by a percentage point (to 11% or roughly 73 million shares). Buying more of the stock may seem reckless considering its 55% price decline since June and exceptionally high short interest, which currently stands at almost 111 million shares. That equates to about… Read More

Fabled activist investor Carl Icahn doesn’t seem to care much about what short sellers think. On March 11, he bought nearly seven million shares, then worth about $93 million, of one of the most heavily shorted stocks in the S&P 500: exploration and production firm Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK). The move boosted Icahn’s stake in Chesapeake by a percentage point (to 11% or roughly 73 million shares). Buying more of the stock may seem reckless considering its 55% price decline since June and exceptionally high short interest, which currently stands at almost 111 million shares. That equates to about 19% of the float. However, time should prove Icahn right about Chesapeake, even if the near-term looks ugly. As the second largest natural gas producer in the United States, next to Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Chesapeake is highly vulnerable to the natural gas supply glut resulting from North American overproduction. The glut pushed the price of natural gas down by more than 40% since last June, to around $2.65 per million British Thermal Units (BTU). Despite that drop, natural gas prices remained high enough in 2014 for Chesapeake to finish out the year… Read More

Previously seen as little more than as an annoyance to corporate boards, activist investors have stepped up the heat in recent years. Backed by hedge funds and the ultra-rich investors, they are making a strong push to force companies to unlock shareholder value. #-ad_banner-#So far, these activists have been most vocal about higher cash returns to shareholders. Carl Icahn launched his historic fight with Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in October 2013, calling for a $150 billion buyback. Reluctant at first, Apple has since instituted a dividend and bought back $68 billion in shares. Beyond higher cash returns, activist investors have… Read More

Previously seen as little more than as an annoyance to corporate boards, activist investors have stepped up the heat in recent years. Backed by hedge funds and the ultra-rich investors, they are making a strong push to force companies to unlock shareholder value. #-ad_banner-#So far, these activists have been most vocal about higher cash returns to shareholders. Carl Icahn launched his historic fight with Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in October 2013, calling for a $150 billion buyback. Reluctant at first, Apple has since instituted a dividend and bought back $68 billion in shares. Beyond higher cash returns, activist investors have also increased their calls for spinoffs, management changes or an outright sale of the company. But a recent ruling by the Internal Revenue Service may spark a new wave of activist demands. The IRS’ moves could have a strong impact on one industry in particular, has already drawn the interest of a major activist investor. Do You Really Want To Be A Real Estate Company? The IRS ruling in question regards document storage firm Iron Mountain, Inc. (NYSE: IRM). The company was given the greenlight to convert into a real estate investment trust (REIT). Shares soon… Read More

It started out as an experiment. It wound up being one of the greatest investment discoveries we’ve ever found. A little more than five years ago, StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy approached me with an idea. He wanted me to build a portfolio of dividend stocks that would pay out more than 30 dividend checks a month — one for every day of the year. In order to show he was serious, he gave me $200,000 and a dedicated brokerage account to get started. I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first. The idea seemed too good to be… Read More

It started out as an experiment. It wound up being one of the greatest investment discoveries we’ve ever found. A little more than five years ago, StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy approached me with an idea. He wanted me to build a portfolio of dividend stocks that would pay out more than 30 dividend checks a month — one for every day of the year. In order to show he was serious, he gave me $200,000 and a dedicated brokerage account to get started. I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first. The idea seemed too good to be true. But in just over five years, 1,889 dividends and $79,578 worth of dividend income later, the results have been far better than anyone could have imagined. Since I started my portfolio back in December 2009, my initial $200,000 investment has grown to more than $310,000, giving me a total return of more than 55% in a little more than five years. As of this month, the total dividends I’ve received amount to $79,578. In its first full year of operation, my portfolio generated an average of $809 in dividends a month. But my portfolio’s ability… Read More

There has been an unprecedented rally going on in an often-ignored corner of the market. And its enormous move has important ramifications for U.S. equities.  Starting in June, the U.S. dollar index, a measure of the value of the dollar relative to a basket of international currencies heavily weighted to the euro, has rallied 25%. The current rally is even greater in both speed and magnitude than the one we saw during the 2008 financial crash. This is a historically significant move. The index just made a key upside break above three decades’ worth of resistance,… Read More

There has been an unprecedented rally going on in an often-ignored corner of the market. And its enormous move has important ramifications for U.S. equities.  Starting in June, the U.S. dollar index, a measure of the value of the dollar relative to a basket of international currencies heavily weighted to the euro, has rallied 25%. The current rally is even greater in both speed and magnitude than the one we saw during the 2008 financial crash. This is a historically significant move. The index just made a key upside break above three decades’ worth of resistance, shown on the monthly chart below. Before we get into what this means for your portfolio going forward, let’s start with a quick primer on currency.  Currency is always valued relative to other currencies. For example, we can value the U.S. dollar based on how many Japanese yen one dollar can purchase. The dollar is often valued against the euro or a basket of currencies, which is what the dollar index above measures. Currencies have two main factors that drive their trends. The primary factor is the interest rate differentials between two countries. The country with the higher… Read More

The struggles for wireless communications firm BlackBerry Ltd (Nasdaq: BBRY) have been underway for years. #-ad_banner-#In early 2013, the company’s business model was showing signs of stress, thanks to surging competition from Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Samsung, Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and others. Back then, short sellers held nearly 140 million shares, or an estimated 29% of the outstanding share float. As a group, they anticipated a major downdraft ahead. Fast forward to 2015 and shares have fallen by half. Yet short sellers haven’t booked profits and moved on. They now hold 95 million shares short, or 19.5% of the… Read More

The struggles for wireless communications firm BlackBerry Ltd (Nasdaq: BBRY) have been underway for years. #-ad_banner-#In early 2013, the company’s business model was showing signs of stress, thanks to surging competition from Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Samsung, Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and others. Back then, short sellers held nearly 140 million shares, or an estimated 29% of the outstanding share float. As a group, they anticipated a major downdraft ahead. Fast forward to 2015 and shares have fallen by half. Yet short sellers haven’t booked profits and moved on. They now hold 95 million shares short, or 19.5% of the outstanding share float, making Blackberry the fifth most heavily shorted stock on the Nasdaq. A fresh look at quarterly results reveals why these short sellers still see downside ahead. Stabilizing The Ship To be fair, Blackberry’s CEO John Chen inherited quite a mess when he took control of the company in late 2013. Revenues were falling fast, and a high cost structure led to rising losses. Chen is now more than halfway through a two-year restructuring process that is starting to bear fruit. Chen furloughed hundreds of staffers, and annual operating expenses have now dropped by more than $2… Read More

Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) is dying and its largest shareholder, chairman and CEO, Eddie Lampert, is dismantling the retail giant and selling it for parts. However, investors who have held on despite a 52% share price drop from April 2010 highs could be in for a nice reward; that is, if Lampert gets his way and if those same investors can see past the bad. #-ad_banner-#Since 2007, revenue at Sears Holdings has steadily declined, while earnings per share have been negative for the previous 16 consecutive quarters. The company shuttered 56% of its stores since 2010. It spun off Sears Hometown… Read More

Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) is dying and its largest shareholder, chairman and CEO, Eddie Lampert, is dismantling the retail giant and selling it for parts. However, investors who have held on despite a 52% share price drop from April 2010 highs could be in for a nice reward; that is, if Lampert gets his way and if those same investors can see past the bad. #-ad_banner-#Since 2007, revenue at Sears Holdings has steadily declined, while earnings per share have been negative for the previous 16 consecutive quarters. The company shuttered 56% of its stores since 2010. It spun off Sears Hometown and Outlet in October 2012, the clothing brand Land’s End in April 2014 and Sears Canada in October 2014. These asset sales provided SHLD with desperately needed cash, which has kept its remaining 1,725 stores stocked with merchandise. Of that, SHLD owns 183 Kmart stores and 501 Sears locations, and it leases 796 Kmart and 245 Sears stores. Nonetheless, the numbers clearly show a dying retailer in dire need of more capital. In its most recent filing, Sears Holdings had $3.8 billion in debt, but only $250 million cash on hand; 76% less cash than the fiscal year prior. Last November,… Read More

I don’t normally chime in on well-known stocks. As Chief Investment Strategist of Game-Changing Stocks, my goal is tell readers about “The Next Big Thing” — under-the-radar trends or companies with the potential to change the market’s outlook on an entire industry. #-ad_banner-#If I’m right, my readers and I enjoy triple-digit gains. And not to boast, but my record of uncovering profitable opportunities is second to none. Every once in a while though, I come across a well-known company that leaves me shaking my head — it’s just too good to pass up. A few months ago, I told my… Read More

I don’t normally chime in on well-known stocks. As Chief Investment Strategist of Game-Changing Stocks, my goal is tell readers about “The Next Big Thing” — under-the-radar trends or companies with the potential to change the market’s outlook on an entire industry. #-ad_banner-#If I’m right, my readers and I enjoy triple-digit gains. And not to boast, but my record of uncovering profitable opportunities is second to none. Every once in a while though, I come across a well-known company that leaves me shaking my head — it’s just too good to pass up. A few months ago, I told my Game-Changing Stocks readers about one of these opportunities. Today, I’d like to give you an update on it. Retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), announced its fourth-quarter and full 2014 results on February 26. The good news — strong holiday sales — was already priced into the stock, but the bottom-line number disappointed investors. It was a bit of a heartbreak: Since January 1, shares inched their way from the gutter to close above $9 on February 26. That’s a gain of more than 40% in less than two months, compared with the S&P 500’s 2.5% advance in the same time… Read More