There are things in life we all wish we’d never heard of: bacon-flavored toothpaste, tramp stamps, combovers, meat from a can. That sentiment is true in the investing world, too, especially for those of us who have been burned once or twice. But remember, information is the best asset, and knowing more is always better than knowing less. Ask yourself how many kinds of bonds you can name, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Here are a few more that… Read More

There are things in life we all wish we’d never heard of: bacon-flavored toothpaste, tramp stamps, combovers, meat from a can. That sentiment is true in the investing world, too, especially for those of us who have been burned once or twice. But remember, information is the best asset, and knowing more is always better than knowing less. Ask yourself how many kinds of bonds you can name, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Here are a few more that you’ve probably never heard of. Step-Up Bonds A step-up bond has a coupon that increases (“steps up”), usually at regular intervals, while the bond is outstanding. Government agencies, as well as Fannie Mae and Sallie Mae, issue these bonds.#-ad_banner-# Consider a five-year step-up bond issued by Company XYZ. The coupon rate might be 7% for the first two years,… Read More

You’ve probably heard his popular catchphrase, “You’re fired!” The Donald has long been a bombastic figure on the American financial scene. He is a well-known real estate magnate, and he is almost as famous for his companies’ bankruptcies as he is for his companies’ lavish real estate projects.#-ad_banner-#   Through it all, however, Donald Trump has shown that he knows what he’s doing. He’s been a wily businessman, and his real estate development projects have been, overall, fairly successful. Read More

You’ve probably heard his popular catchphrase, “You’re fired!” The Donald has long been a bombastic figure on the American financial scene. He is a well-known real estate magnate, and he is almost as famous for his companies’ bankruptcies as he is for his companies’ lavish real estate projects.#-ad_banner-#   Through it all, however, Donald Trump has shown that he knows what he’s doing. He’s been a wily businessman, and his real estate development projects have been, overall, fairly successful. But how did he get his start? And what does he think would make a great investment right now? The Trump Secret We hear a lot about Donald Trump’s real estate empire. Yes, he’s built it up to something truly lucrative. (Forbes puts his worth at $3.2 billion.) However, he didn’t get his start from nothing. So what’s his secret? Like so many successful and… Read More

Nobody ever believes me when I tell them this is probably the best way to find great stocks. My trick is to use Wall Street‘s army of thousands of analysts. They’ve led to relative easy gains as high as 810% in the past few years. Honestly. And best of all, they’re continuing to do it even as the markets are showing the greatest signs of weakness in years. It’s not the way you’re probably thinking,… Read More

Nobody ever believes me when I tell them this is probably the best way to find great stocks. My trick is to use Wall Street‘s army of thousands of analysts. They’ve led to relative easy gains as high as 810% in the past few years. Honestly. And best of all, they’re continuing to do it even as the markets are showing the greatest signs of weakness in years. It’s not the way you’re probably thinking, though. Here’s how to do it. Wall Street’s Best-Kept Secret Exposed You see, most Wall Street analysts are truly awful at their jobs. And I mean awful. A recent analysis of Wall Street analysts’ “buy” and “sell” recommendations shows how you can turn these high-priced suits into safe, consistent gains. The research found that between 2008 and 2012 investors could have made a fortune by doing one simple thing — the exact opposite of what Wall Street says. Let me explain… Had you bought the 10 stocks Wall Street rated the highest… Read More

Not many people know that Warren Buffett collects a 50% dividend yield on his shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). That’s because it seems impossible. If you or I were to buy shares today, we’d earn a yield of less than 3%. #-ad_banner-#How does Buffett do it? Did he cut a behind-closed-doors deal with the legendary soft drink maker? Did he receive special dividends? To get a yield that high, you might even be tempted to think… Read More

Not many people know that Warren Buffett collects a 50% dividend yield on his shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). That’s because it seems impossible. If you or I were to buy shares today, we’d earn a yield of less than 3%. #-ad_banner-#How does Buffett do it? Did he cut a behind-closed-doors deal with the legendary soft drink maker? Did he receive special dividends? To get a yield that high, you might even be tempted to think he did something unethical to get it.  But actually, it’s none of the above. The answer is much simpler than you might think. He uses a simple tool that many successful investors use. It’s one you can use today to potentially earn yields as high as 10%, 20% or more on a handful of your investments in just a few years. Let me show you how it works…  When most investors want a big dividend check, they look at stocks with the… Read More

Here at StreetAuthority, we’re always on the lookout for catalysts that can help deliver quick and robust gains for a stock. Often, these catalysts are hidden from view, and we have to dig deep to spot them.  Other times, these catalysts stare us right in the face. They are practically begging to be noticed, even as the rest of the market may be focusing elsewhere. Robert Benmosche, the… Read More

Here at StreetAuthority, we’re always on the lookout for catalysts that can help deliver quick and robust gains for a stock. Often, these catalysts are hidden from view, and we have to dig deep to spot them.  Other times, these catalysts stare us right in the face. They are practically begging to be noticed, even as the rest of the market may be focusing elsewhere. Robert Benmosche, the CEO of American International Group (NYSE: AIG), went on CNBC in May and laid out a pair of time-tested stock catalysts: “As we continue to work on our capital plan and work with the Federal Reserve, our next priority would be to put a dividend on the stock, because we think that will increase the potential buyers. We’re also looking at potential stock buybacks as we progress through the… Read More

We’re coming up on the five-year anniversary of an epic global economic meltdown. And while many major European companies are still struggling with weak demand, U.S. rivals have fared better, thanks to a slightly perkier U.S. economy. Yet you won’t find the executives… Read More

When it comes right down to it, nothing is more American than the desire to achieve and to profit. In fact, buying great American companies has been a winning strategy of mine over the years. The key is to buy the right ones at the right time. With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at some great American companies and see how they stack up in today’s market. Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is one of the truly great American success stories. The company started… Read More

When it comes right down to it, nothing is more American than the desire to achieve and to profit. In fact, buying great American companies has been a winning strategy of mine over the years. The key is to buy the right ones at the right time. With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at some great American companies and see how they stack up in today’s market. Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is one of the truly great American success stories. The company started in 1978 with two stores in Atlanta and has been the fastest-growing retailer in U.S. history. Today the company has 2,257 stores in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It’s the world’s largest home improvement retailer — and with the real estate markets starting to improve, Home Depot is in the sweet spot for future growth. As American’s situation continues to improve, they will feel more comfortable spending money to fix up their houses… Read More

Described as “a vulture, albeit a well-dressed one,” Wilbur Ross is also “one of the best bottom feeders in the business,” according to no less an authority than a fellow billionaire, real estate magnate Leonard Stern. These comparisons may seem unflattering,… Read More

Even as the S&P 500 has risen 20% over the past 12 months, the champagne is really flowing in Japan, where the Nikkei index is up a stunning 60%.#-ad_banner-# But it’s time to put the cork back in the bottle. As my colleague Joseph Hogue recently noted, the Japanese economy holds the risk of a deep blow-up. Joseph focused on Japan’s potentially ruinous debt load and didn’t even touch… Read More

Even as the S&P 500 has risen 20% over the past 12 months, the champagne is really flowing in Japan, where the Nikkei index is up a stunning 60%.#-ad_banner-# But it’s time to put the cork back in the bottle. As my colleague Joseph Hogue recently noted, the Japanese economy holds the risk of a deep blow-up. Joseph focused on Japan’s potentially ruinous debt load and didn’t even touch on two other major concerns. First, Japan’s decision to end its use of nuclear power is leading to a massive spike in fossil fuel imports. Japan now looks set to run massive trade deficits far into the future. Second, Japan is aging fast. Consider these stats: Roughly 23% of Japan’s citizens are now over 65, up from 11.6% in 1989. This figure is set to keep rising. (As a point of reference, roughly 14% of all Americans are over 65, and this percentage is expected to rise to 20% by… Read More