The number of consumers participating in recreational activities has declined over the past half decade, in part because people have been looking to save as much money as possible. However, as discretionary money starts flowing back into consumers’ pockets, what better way to spend that money than on recreational activities? A higher level of disposable income should help drive spending on recreation and outdoor activities higher in 2014. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) sell various apparel and recreational equipment, but one of the best plays in the market is a one-stop shop that offers a cornucopia of sports… Read More

The number of consumers participating in recreational activities has declined over the past half decade, in part because people have been looking to save as much money as possible. However, as discretionary money starts flowing back into consumers’ pockets, what better way to spend that money than on recreational activities? A higher level of disposable income should help drive spending on recreation and outdoor activities higher in 2014. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) sell various apparel and recreational equipment, but one of the best plays in the market is a one-stop shop that offers a cornucopia of sports gear, Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS). Beyond that, this particular recreational retailer has a number of growth levers that it is set to pull in 2014.#-ad_banner-# Dick’s operates the Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy retail brands, covering 44 states with over 600 locations. With its variety of sports apparel and equipment, the company will be one of the biggest benefactors of rising employment and personal income — but the story that investors should really be excited about is on the growth side. Earnings per share (EPS) and sales for Dick’s fiscal year (which ended in October) bested consensus estimates,… Read More

We are losing the battle of the bulge. Though health care practitioners have been trying to raise awareness about the perils of obesity for a decade, the numbers keep getting worse. According to a survey conducted by Gallup-Healthways, 27.2% of all Americans are classified as obese, up a full percentage point from 2012. A stunning 32.5% of people ages 45 to 64 are considered obese. Those figures go hand in hand with rising rates of diabetes and hypertension. Although investors had been pinning their hopes on obesity drugs offered by Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS), Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX) and Arena Pharmaceuticals… Read More

We are losing the battle of the bulge. Though health care practitioners have been trying to raise awareness about the perils of obesity for a decade, the numbers keep getting worse. According to a survey conducted by Gallup-Healthways, 27.2% of all Americans are classified as obese, up a full percentage point from 2012. A stunning 32.5% of people ages 45 to 64 are considered obese. Those figures go hand in hand with rising rates of diabetes and hypertension. Although investors had been pinning their hopes on obesity drugs offered by Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS), Orexigen Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OREX) and Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA), the fact that all three of those stocks still trade below $10 — despite many years of hype — shows that pill-based approaches have been underwhelming.#-ad_banner-# Little-known EnteroMedics (Nasdaq: ETRM) may have come up with a better approach. The company has developed an implantable device that impedes signals coming from the vagus nerve. EnteroMedics’ VBLOC (vagal blocking therapy) keeps the stomach from sending the brain a message that it’s time to eat. Though the company has already received regulatory approval in Australia and Europe, it’s the U.S. market that represents the holy grail for EnteroMedics, simply because the… Read More

Forget almost everything you learned about investing over the past few years.#-ad_banner-# The past 48 months have been characterized by sluggish U.S. economic growth, a helping hand from the Federal Reserve, global scares, and a steadily rising U.S. stock market. Yet as we head into 2014, many of these variables will no longer apply — and how you adjust to these changes can spell the difference between profits, losses or merely capital preservation. Sustainable 3% Growth? The U.S. economy surged an impressive 4.1% in the third quarter, thanks in large part to inventory restocking. That led economists to assume… Read More

Forget almost everything you learned about investing over the past few years.#-ad_banner-# The past 48 months have been characterized by sluggish U.S. economic growth, a helping hand from the Federal Reserve, global scares, and a steadily rising U.S. stock market. Yet as we head into 2014, many of these variables will no longer apply — and how you adjust to these changes can spell the difference between profits, losses or merely capital preservation. Sustainable 3% Growth? The U.S. economy surged an impressive 4.1% in the third quarter, thanks in large part to inventory restocking. That led economists to assume that fourth-quarter GDP growth would be notably weaker, especially as further inventory stocking was unlikely. Yet in recent weeks, it’s become apparent that the economy is on track for a second straight quarter of robust GDP growth. Economists at Deutsche Bank now anticipate 3.8% GDP growth in the quarter just ended (which they will revise after digesting an international trade report due Jan. 7). Two consecutive quarters of GDP growth above 3% is quite unusual. It’s happened only once in the past five years (the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012). The economy subsequently rose, on… Read More

Let’s be honest. When you hear about a stock that yields 12% or more, your first thought should be that the company is probably a basket case that can’t even turn a profit. If it’s offering a yield that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. #-ad_banner-#And you’d be right most of the time. Usually, yields are this high because a company’s share price is falling — signaling underlying problems in its business. A lower share price gives a higher dividend yield. That means profitable companies paying yields this high should be rare. In fact, my staff and… Read More

Let’s be honest. When you hear about a stock that yields 12% or more, your first thought should be that the company is probably a basket case that can’t even turn a profit. If it’s offering a yield that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. #-ad_banner-#And you’d be right most of the time. Usually, yields are this high because a company’s share price is falling — signaling underlying problems in its business. A lower share price gives a higher dividend yield. That means profitable companies paying yields this high should be rare. In fact, my staff and I recently ran the numbers. When we looked only at the companies that turned a profit over the past year, we found just 25 U.S. common stocks paying yields of more than 12%.  Here, you can see the 10 highest yields for yourself:   Ticker Company Yield CXW Corrections Corp. 24.2% MFA MFA Financial 22.7% ARR ARMOUR Residential 22.3% AGNC American Capital 21.9% ISSC Innovative Solutions 20.4% AMTG Apollo Residential 19.2% GNI Great Northern Iron Ore 17.2% EFC Ellington Financial 16.8% IVR… Read More

I counted twice, just to be sure. $16,074. That’s the amount in “daily paychecks” — more commonly known as dividends — I’ve received from my investment portfolio in the past 12 months. That total comes to $1,339 a month. Cash. I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you because I firmly believe that my system of investing is hands down one of the best ways to invest in the stock market. #-ad_banner-#Whether you’re 28 or 88… whether you’re a millionaire or just getting started… and whether you have an MBA or didn’t graduate high school… you can make… Read More

I counted twice, just to be sure. $16,074. That’s the amount in “daily paychecks” — more commonly known as dividends — I’ve received from my investment portfolio in the past 12 months. That total comes to $1,339 a month. Cash. I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you because I firmly believe that my system of investing is hands down one of the best ways to invest in the stock market. #-ad_banner-#Whether you’re 28 or 88… whether you’re a millionaire or just getting started… and whether you have an MBA or didn’t graduate high school… you can make money using this strategy.  The best part is all you need is 10-minutes a month. That’s it. You could be earning hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in extra income, in literally less time than it takes you to shower in the morning… If you’re a regular StreetAuthority reader, then you’ve probably figured out by now that I’m talking about the Daily Paycheck strategy. Simply put, the goal of this strategy is simple. By investing in a basket of high-quality income stocks that pay dividends regularly, I’ve successfully built a portfolio that pays me a dividend for every… Read More

We all remember the subprime mortgage crisis. The financial system was thrown into chaos, and many homeowners lost their overleveraged homes during those dark days.#-ad_banner-#​ Fortunately, the vast powers of the Federal Reserve were summoned to help stabilize the housing market, and along with it, the entire economy. The Fed worked its monetary magic, and the housing market is finally returning to normal. However, there is another crisis brewing just under the surface.  The sector this potential crisis is in isn’t as large as the subprime mortgage sector, but it’s still a $27 billion sector,… Read More

We all remember the subprime mortgage crisis. The financial system was thrown into chaos, and many homeowners lost their overleveraged homes during those dark days.#-ad_banner-#​ Fortunately, the vast powers of the Federal Reserve were summoned to help stabilize the housing market, and along with it, the entire economy. The Fed worked its monetary magic, and the housing market is finally returning to normal. However, there is another crisis brewing just under the surface.  The sector this potential crisis is in isn’t as large as the subprime mortgage sector, but it’s still a $27 billion sector, according to Forbes magazine. In fact, Forbes reports that 1 in 4 Americans may be participants in this potential crisis. I became aware of this potential time bomb last year. A close friend was financially destroyed by the subprime mortgage crisis. He is an investor and was overleveraged on more than a dozen investment properties. He was finally forced to declare bankruptcy to get out from under the mountain of debt.  Within a week of the bankruptcy filing, he started getting letters from companies like Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and General Motors (NYSE: GM). While my friend was used to… Read More

Global investing isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s constant worries over politics, elections, the rule of law, economic policies, global trade… let’s face it, when you invest outside the U.S., you’re not in Kansas anymore. Anything can happen and sometimes does.#-ad_banner-#   Perhaps the most cautionary tale is investing in Argentina. Billionaire and hedge fund manager Paul Singer and his Elliott Management have had to sue the country to get paid on bonds the government defaulted on. Spanish oil giant Repsol had its 51% stake in YPF (NYSE: YPF) seized as Argentina sought to assert more control… Read More

Global investing isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s constant worries over politics, elections, the rule of law, economic policies, global trade… let’s face it, when you invest outside the U.S., you’re not in Kansas anymore. Anything can happen and sometimes does.#-ad_banner-#   Perhaps the most cautionary tale is investing in Argentina. Billionaire and hedge fund manager Paul Singer and his Elliott Management have had to sue the country to get paid on bonds the government defaulted on. Spanish oil giant Repsol had its 51% stake in YPF (NYSE: YPF) seized as Argentina sought to assert more control over its natural resources. This has kept Argentina off the radar screens of most investors. But now the smart money is venturing back into YPF. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim purchased an 8.4% stake last year and is now the fourth-largest shareholder. Slim’s fellow billionaires George Soros and Richard Perry are also significant shareholders. The fact remains that Argentina is sitting on billions of barrels of shale oil that will be drilled for in the next 10 years — and YPF is the best way to play the coming oil boom in South America. YPF is a major integrated oil and gas… Read More

Gold had its first negative year in more than a decade as the bullish bias all but disappeared among investors. The yellow metal has had a 35%-plus drop from a record high above $1,900 an ounce in 2011. The June lows were tested in the past few weeks, but a bullish divergence (new lows in price without new highs in volatility) suggests the type of technical bottom that often puts in a long-term price base. SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) was off nearly 30% last year, while the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) was hit even… Read More

Gold had its first negative year in more than a decade as the bullish bias all but disappeared among investors. The yellow metal has had a 35%-plus drop from a record high above $1,900 an ounce in 2011. The June lows were tested in the past few weeks, but a bullish divergence (new lows in price without new highs in volatility) suggests the type of technical bottom that often puts in a long-term price base. SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) was off nearly 30% last year, while the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) was hit even harder with a decline of more than 50%. Therefore, miners offer greater reward to risk if and when gold stabilizes and recovers.   GDX is trading near its decade-plus lows around $16, which were made in 2008. A rally to the top of the nine-month trading channel at $30 is my initial target. #-ad_banner-#The $30 target is about 45% higher than recent prices, but traders who use a capital-preserving stock substitution strategy could see a 133% return on a move to that level. One major advantage of using a long call option rather than buying… Read More

Thanks to a popular financial website, the term “alpha” has become popular over the past few years. Yet the ETF industry wants you to think a lot more about “beta.” #-ad_banner-# Dozens of new exchange-traded funds were launched in 2013 in an emerging category known as “smart beta,” and investors will be treated to many more of these ETFs in the coming year. It’s a welcome development for an industry that risked growing stale. While the term “alpha” refers to any gains an investor can reap above the broader market, beta refers to how… Read More

Thanks to a popular financial website, the term “alpha” has become popular over the past few years. Yet the ETF industry wants you to think a lot more about “beta.” #-ad_banner-# Dozens of new exchange-traded funds were launched in 2013 in an emerging category known as “smart beta,” and investors will be treated to many more of these ETFs in the coming year. It’s a welcome development for an industry that risked growing stale. While the term “alpha” refers to any gains an investor can reap above the broader market, beta refers to how a stock or fund should be expected to perform relative to a given benchmark. In recent years, investors have had plenty of options among ETFs that can be expected to trade in a predictable fashion. From S&P 500 index funds to technology funds to high-yield bond funds, these passively managed ETFs are a great way to provide predictable exposure at a very low cost. These ETFs have emerged as great values, especially in relation to higher-cost actively managed mutual funds, which can carry expense ratios exceeding 2%. Now, this new class of smart-beta ETFs — which also go by terms… Read More

A young man named Sam Walton grew up during the Great Depression. As you can imagine, times were hard. But Sam did everything he could to earn an extra buck — as a boy he sold the surplus milk from the family farm… He delivered newspapers and sold magazines… In college, he waited tables.  Then after serving in the Army in World War II, Sam used a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and $5,000 of his own savings to purchase a small variety store in Newport, Arkansas. #-ad_banner-#By working hard and making sure his shelves were always well-stocked with simple… Read More

A young man named Sam Walton grew up during the Great Depression. As you can imagine, times were hard. But Sam did everything he could to earn an extra buck — as a boy he sold the surplus milk from the family farm… He delivered newspapers and sold magazines… In college, he waited tables.  Then after serving in the Army in World War II, Sam used a $20,000 loan from his father-in-law and $5,000 of his own savings to purchase a small variety store in Newport, Arkansas. #-ad_banner-#By working hard and making sure his shelves were always well-stocked with simple goods that people needed, he grew revenue from $80,000 to $225,000 in three years. The rest was history. Today the company Sam Walton founded — Wal-Mart — generates over $469 billion in revenue a year. It’s the largest retailer on the planet with nearly 10,000 stores spanning the globe. And although Sam Walton passed away in 1992 at the age of 74, his legacy lives on… The Walton family still controls over 50% of the company’s stock. His heirs consistently make the annual Forbes list of richest people in America. Christy Walton, widow of John Walton — one of Sam’s… Read More