I think the glory days are over for an iconic company.#-ad_banner-#​ Started in 1971 with a small store in Seattle, this company has grown into a global behemoth, with nearly 20,000 stores in more than 60 countries. In fact, this company has become so ubiquitous that it removed its name from its famous logo, since the image itself had become a universally known symbol for its brand. In other words, the logo transcended language, conveying its own message without the need for words — a marketing dream come true for any consumer-focused company. Translating this incredible story into… Read More

I think the glory days are over for an iconic company.#-ad_banner-#​ Started in 1971 with a small store in Seattle, this company has grown into a global behemoth, with nearly 20,000 stores in more than 60 countries. In fact, this company has become so ubiquitous that it removed its name from its famous logo, since the image itself had become a universally known symbol for its brand. In other words, the logo transcended language, conveying its own message without the need for words — a marketing dream come true for any consumer-focused company. Translating this incredible story into numbers reveals a market cap of over $57 billion, annual revenue of nearly $15 billion, and yearly gross profits of just over $8.5 billion. This company’s fiscal fourth quarter was very strong as well, with 13% revenue growth from the same period last year, a 29% increase in consolidated operating income and a 37% increase in earnings per share (EPS). The company’s entire fiscal 2013 was stellar, with more than 1,700 new stores opened and comparable-store growth of 9% in China/Asia Pacific and 7% worldwide. Reiterating what a great year it has been, this company’s CEO said the quarter “capped… Read More

I want to show you something that will likely raise a lot of eyebrows. Some of these claims might seem “outrageous” or “improbable.” But keep in mind, they come straight from readers of my premium newsletter, Income Trader — voluntarily, just six months after we launched the service earlier this year. Some of you won’t believe they’re true. But by the time you’ve finished reading this essay, my goal is to change your mind and show you how it’s possible for you to see similar results. ​“When I first started using [Amber’s] picks, my goal was… Read More

I want to show you something that will likely raise a lot of eyebrows. Some of these claims might seem “outrageous” or “improbable.” But keep in mind, they come straight from readers of my premium newsletter, Income Trader — voluntarily, just six months after we launched the service earlier this year. Some of you won’t believe they’re true. But by the time you’ve finished reading this essay, my goal is to change your mind and show you how it’s possible for you to see similar results. ​“When I first started using [Amber’s] picks, my goal was to earn $500. Then I quickly realized I can earn at least $1,000 per month. I use the profits to buy more… “ –Nathan S., West Long Branch, N.J. “About $30,000/ yr. Bought a Porsche” — Carter B., Clemmons, N.C. “I will never own a stock again if I can help it… since March, I have increased my account by $150,000. Keep the recommendations coming!” — Richard K., Dallas $1,000 per month… $30,000 per year… $150,000 since March… It’s enough to make anyone skeptical. You may be thinking that to make this kind of income from investing,… Read More

General Electric (NYSE: GE) has taken its share of knocks over the years for lacking vision and its focus on short-term performance.#-ad_banner-# That said, I’m convinced that the $270 billion-plus company that used to “bring good things to life” is coming back to life…with a vengeance. Changes are happening rapidly at GE as the company gets smarter. After saying good riddance to its dead or dying segments over the past couple years — insurance, NBC, plastics and subprime lending operations, in addition to its commitment to further reduce GE Capital — GE has shifted its… Read More

General Electric (NYSE: GE) has taken its share of knocks over the years for lacking vision and its focus on short-term performance.#-ad_banner-# That said, I’m convinced that the $270 billion-plus company that used to “bring good things to life” is coming back to life…with a vengeance. Changes are happening rapidly at GE as the company gets smarter. After saying good riddance to its dead or dying segments over the past couple years — insurance, NBC, plastics and subprime lending operations, in addition to its commitment to further reduce GE Capital — GE has shifted its focus to the Industrial Internet. It’s a new era that could contribute as much as $15 trillion a year to the global economy by 2020, and GE is emerging as a key player. I’m not talking about futuristic technology that may not see the light of day for decades. This is about machines and people coming together today to connect billions and billions of smart sensors and devices that can manage large-scale industrial machines in the cloud. GE has engineered the platform for doing so and made two dozen technologies available for aviation, health care, rail, energy industries and others… Read More

If you spend a lot of time researching investments, then you’ve probably heard of Macau, a former Portuguese colony consisting of two islands in the South China Sea and a small peninsula on the south coast of China. As you may know, Macau has gained a reputation as the “Las Vegas of China” because its gambling industry has been growing at an incredible pace. By 2006, Macau had become the world’s biggest gambling center, upstaging Las Vegas itself.#-ad_banner-#​ In a couple of recent articles, one from this summer and the other from October, my colleague Marshall Hargrave illustrated the… Read More

If you spend a lot of time researching investments, then you’ve probably heard of Macau, a former Portuguese colony consisting of two islands in the South China Sea and a small peninsula on the south coast of China. As you may know, Macau has gained a reputation as the “Las Vegas of China” because its gambling industry has been growing at an incredible pace. By 2006, Macau had become the world’s biggest gambling center, upstaging Las Vegas itself.#-ad_banner-#​ In a couple of recent articles, one from this summer and the other from October, my colleague Marshall Hargrave illustrated the phenomenal rise of Macau’s gaming industry. He also provided excellent stock tips for those who wish to capitalize — and I’ve got another one for you to consider: a Macau-based subsidiary of a leading U.S. operator of casino resorts. Since going public in October 2009, the subsidiary has seen its stock rise nearly threefold. Shares are up almost 70% during the past 12 months alone. I’m a huge fan of the stock (and own a substantial amount myself) because it’s a pure play on Macau, meaning it generates all its revenue there. This means there are no weaker-performing revenue sources… Read More

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by the gods. As the gods created her, each gave Pandora a special gift. Apollo bestowed on her the gift of music. Fast-forward about 3,000 years, and the Internet radio company that has taken her namesake could have a gift for investors. Pandora Media (NYSE: P) has that attractive combination of a strong chart and an outstanding fundamental growth story. In its most recent quarter, the company posted 50% year-over-year revenue growth, with sales climbing past $180 million. The number of active listeners rose 20%, to 70.9 million… Read More

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by the gods. As the gods created her, each gave Pandora a special gift. Apollo bestowed on her the gift of music. Fast-forward about 3,000 years, and the Internet radio company that has taken her namesake could have a gift for investors. Pandora Media (NYSE: P) has that attractive combination of a strong chart and an outstanding fundamental growth story. In its most recent quarter, the company posted 50% year-over-year revenue growth, with sales climbing past $180 million. The number of active listeners rose 20%, to 70.9 million users.#-ad_banner-# Pandora is a free service, although it does offer a paid premium service. However, its free offerings can be highly profitable for the company since its growing user base has caught the attention of advertisers. Mobile ad revenue is a tremendous growth area for the company. In its fiscal third quarter, mobile ad sales hit $104.9 million, a 58% increase from the same period last year. Pandora’s mobile ad platform is very attractive because the site specializes in collecting and aggregating user data based on listening preferences. This capability allows advertisers to accurately market products to specific target markets. Read More

Across the country, investment bankers are catching up on their sleep. They’ve been remarkably busy helping a stunning number of companies go public over the past two months. The IPO docket should now be quiet for the next few weeks as the market digests more than 50 IPOs that were launched since late October, according to Renaissance Capital. And that only counts deals underwritten by top-tier firms such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.#-ad_banner-#​ The flurry of activity caps off one of the busiest years for IPOs in recent memory. Dealogic notes that 166… Read More

Across the country, investment bankers are catching up on their sleep. They’ve been remarkably busy helping a stunning number of companies go public over the past two months. The IPO docket should now be quiet for the next few weeks as the market digests more than 50 IPOs that were launched since late October, according to Renaissance Capital. And that only counts deals underwritten by top-tier firms such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.#-ad_banner-#​ The flurry of activity caps off one of the busiest years for IPOs in recent memory. Dealogic notes that 166 companies have raised $64 billion thus far this year. To put that in perspective, there were never more than 80 IPOs in any given year from 2006 through 2011, and around 120 last year. The volume of secondary offerings this year (in terms of number of deals and dollars raised), is also on track to break records. And these aren’t no-name companies stepping up to the IPO trough: Household names such as Hilton (NYSE: HLT), Extended Stay America (Nasdaq: STAY), The Container Store (NYSE: TCS) and of course Twitter (Nasdaq: TWTR) have all come public in… Read More

Although the conventional wisdom is that the choice to purchase a home is the most important and expensive economic decision the average person or couple will make, there is another choice that is even costlier and more important — the choice to have children.#-ad_banner-# Raising children is an extremely expensive undertaking. This is particularly true if both spouses work and outside child care is necessary. One recent study found that annual child care costs varied by state, ranging from $4,863 to $16,430 per child. In addition, the Census Bureau reported in 2011 that child care… Read More

Although the conventional wisdom is that the choice to purchase a home is the most important and expensive economic decision the average person or couple will make, there is another choice that is even costlier and more important — the choice to have children.#-ad_banner-# Raising children is an extremely expensive undertaking. This is particularly true if both spouses work and outside child care is necessary. One recent study found that annual child care costs varied by state, ranging from $4,863 to $16,430 per child. In addition, the Census Bureau reported in 2011 that child care costs have increased dramatically since the 1980s. No matter how you slice it, this is one huge expense. The fact that the rising costs for families hasn’t translated into increased salaries for child care workers (per the Census Bureau’s report) can mean only one thing: Someone is making huge profits in the child care business. After recovering from the shock of these figures, I went to work to discover a way to profit from them. The child care business is primarily a fragmented industry of small-time operators ranging from home-based centers to regional chains. However, a newly public player in… Read More

The 30-year Treasury is quite possibly the worst investment option out there right now… even your Uncle Dave’s coin and baseball card collection might offer better long-term returns. #-ad_banner-#Let’s forget for a moment about the Federal Reserve’s intention to taper quantitative easing, which has already begun to place upward pressure on interest rates (and thus downward pressure on bond prices). And let’s forget that the longer a bond’s duration, the greater its sensitivity to interest rate movements. So with every basis point uptick, nothing will feel the pain more acutely than the 30-year “long bond.” Let’s even forget… Read More

The 30-year Treasury is quite possibly the worst investment option out there right now… even your Uncle Dave’s coin and baseball card collection might offer better long-term returns. #-ad_banner-#Let’s forget for a moment about the Federal Reserve’s intention to taper quantitative easing, which has already begun to place upward pressure on interest rates (and thus downward pressure on bond prices). And let’s forget that the longer a bond’s duration, the greater its sensitivity to interest rate movements. So with every basis point uptick, nothing will feel the pain more acutely than the 30-year “long bond.” Let’s even forget that Uncle Sam’s credit rating has already been downgraded by at least one ratings agency. Even if interest rates don’t rise and Congress miraculously balances the budget — a best-case scenario — you’re still tying up your capital for the next three decades at a paltry rate of around 3.5%. But here’s the kicker: When your principal is finally repaid in the distant future, those dollars will have lost much of their purchasing power. Just ask anyone who bought one of these bonds back in 1983. Maybe they lent the government $30,000, enough money to buy three average new cars… Read More

We live in the era of technology. Whether you work from home or corporate America, you rely on modern technology to allow you interact with clients, create business plans and run day-to-day operations. It seems safe to say that the future growth of any industry is dependent upon growth in technology itself.#-ad_banner-#​ It’s been said that many real-life scientific breakthroughs stem from the inspiration of science fiction. For instance, our modern society looks an awful lot like the Hill Valley of 2015 as depicted in “Back to the Future 2.” While the ubiquity of flat-panel televisions, the return… Read More

We live in the era of technology. Whether you work from home or corporate America, you rely on modern technology to allow you interact with clients, create business plans and run day-to-day operations. It seems safe to say that the future growth of any industry is dependent upon growth in technology itself.#-ad_banner-#​ It’s been said that many real-life scientific breakthroughs stem from the inspiration of science fiction. For instance, our modern society looks an awful lot like the Hill Valley of 2015 as depicted in “Back to the Future 2.” While the ubiquity of flat-panel televisions, the return of 3-D movies, and multi-channel surfing capabilities may have all been played for laughs in that movie almost a quarter-century ago, all those technologies are part of our daily lives today.  Touchscreens are another type of technology was once relegated to the realm of sci-fi but is now commonplace. Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) first iPhone, launched in 2007, popularized touchscreens for mainstream consumers. Mobile devices and tablets have been the largest market for touchscreen interfaces, but there’s a growing trend to put them into laptops and desktop computers.  The touchscreen industry is expected to top $14 billion by 2016 with a… Read More

There is a dangerous malady sweeping the United States.#-ad_banner-# According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over a third of American adults — more than 72 million people — suffer from this ailment. It is a well-known cause of killers like heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and Type 2 diabetes.  Unfortunately, here in the U.S., many aspects of advertising and the general culture actually seem to promote this condition, even though it costs Americans an estimated $147 billion in annual medical costs — nearly 10% of all U.S. medical spending. The American… Read More

There is a dangerous malady sweeping the United States.#-ad_banner-# According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over a third of American adults — more than 72 million people — suffer from this ailment. It is a well-known cause of killers like heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and Type 2 diabetes.  Unfortunately, here in the U.S., many aspects of advertising and the general culture actually seem to promote this condition, even though it costs Americans an estimated $147 billion in annual medical costs — nearly 10% of all U.S. medical spending. The American Heart Association has gone so far as to call this issue an epidemic and has projected that 44% of the U.S. population may be afflicted with this condition by 2030.   If you haven’t guessed, I’m referring to obesity. While the causes of this malady are many, society does little to curtail the constant promotion of factors that eventually result in an obese population. High-fat and high-sugar foods are not only usually among the least expensive, they are the most readily and easily available, not to mention the most heavily advertised.  Fortunately, many companies are focused on solving the obesity… Read More