Let me tell you about a guy I know named Nat. Nat’s known for enjoying the finer things in life. His 40th birthday was held at a marina in billionaire hotspot Montenegro. Palm trees were flown in from Uruguay. Caterers were brought in specially from London. Billionaires from across the globe were in attendance. How did Nat join the billionaire elite? On the surface, he appears to have built his more than $1.5 billion personal fortune in the metals and mining industries. But look a little deeper and you’ll see that Nat’s biggest advantage has been his family’s reputation and… Read More

Let me tell you about a guy I know named Nat. Nat’s known for enjoying the finer things in life. His 40th birthday was held at a marina in billionaire hotspot Montenegro. Palm trees were flown in from Uruguay. Caterers were brought in specially from London. Billionaires from across the globe were in attendance. How did Nat join the billionaire elite? On the surface, he appears to have built his more than $1.5 billion personal fortune in the metals and mining industries. But look a little deeper and you’ll see that Nat’s biggest advantage has been his family’s reputation and financial backing.#-ad_banner-# That’s because Nat is short for Nathaniel. His full name is Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild. He’s the latest descendant of the legendary Rothschild family… one of the world’s most powerful dynasties since the late 18th century. For over 200 years, the secretive family has had a hand in just about every major world event. Whether it’s bringing down Napoleon… building the Suez Canal… financing the California Gold Rush… or ushering in the railroad era… look closely and you’ll find Rothschild fingerprints everywhere. Early on, the family made it a point to pass the… Read More

After a tumultuous half-decade, the world has gone relatively quiet.#-ad_banner-# Sure, the Chinese economy is slowing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for an end to quantitative easing, and the U.S. government is weighing down the economy with its sequester-driven setbacks. But we haven’t seen any catalyzing events, positive or negative, of the sort that can trigger a rapid 1,000-point gain or loss in the Dow Jones industrial average. Whether it’s a tsunami in Japan or a sudden plunge in Europe, market-moving events aren’t always foreseeable. These kinds of… Read More

After a tumultuous half-decade, the world has gone relatively quiet.#-ad_banner-# Sure, the Chinese economy is slowing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for an end to quantitative easing, and the U.S. government is weighing down the economy with its sequester-driven setbacks. But we haven’t seen any catalyzing events, positive or negative, of the sort that can trigger a rapid 1,000-point gain or loss in the Dow Jones industrial average. Whether it’s a tsunami in Japan or a sudden plunge in Europe, market-moving events aren’t always foreseeable. These kinds of events caught the markets by surprise, and more surprises probably lie ahead. For example, of the four potential “black swans” I described at the start of this year, one has already come to pass. Yet we can still identify other events that have a decent chance of playing out, with profits or losses to follow close behind. Here are five themes I’m monitoring closely in this year’s second half. 1. U.S. natural gas exports get the green light In recent years, companies have laid out plans to build… Read More

Biotech investing is like the Wild West: Anything can — and does — happen.  Inexpensive stocks in this sector can shoot higher on signals of positive test results. By the same token, top-performing biotech shares can plummet when a flagship product fails to gain regulatory approval or is forced into irrelevancy by a competitor.  Even companies that appear to be up-and-coming industry leaders can quickly fade into… Read More

Biotech investing is like the Wild West: Anything can — and does — happen.  Inexpensive stocks in this sector can shoot higher on signals of positive test results. By the same token, top-performing biotech shares can plummet when a flagship product fails to gain regulatory approval or is forced into irrelevancy by a competitor.  Even companies that appear to be up-and-coming industry leaders can quickly fade into has-been status on news of a minor negative occurrence. In other words, while the biotech investing arena can sometimes offer rapid returns, it is only for investors who can stomach risk. One tactic used by the most successful investors in this arena is to spread risk across multiple stocks. This tactic relies on speculating that one or more will be a huge winner, creating profits for the portfolio despite the almost guaranteed losers.  The latest biotech company catching my attention is Exact… Read More

Biotech investing is like the Wild West: Anything can — and does — happen.  Inexpensive stocks in this sector can shoot higher on signals of positive test results. By the same token, top-performing biotech shares can plummet when a flagship product fails to gain regulatory approval or is forced into irrelevancy by a competitor.  Even companies that appear to be up-and-coming industry leaders can quickly fade into… Read More

Biotech investing is like the Wild West: Anything can — and does — happen.  Inexpensive stocks in this sector can shoot higher on signals of positive test results. By the same token, top-performing biotech shares can plummet when a flagship product fails to gain regulatory approval or is forced into irrelevancy by a competitor.  Even companies that appear to be up-and-coming industry leaders can quickly fade into has-been status on news of a minor negative occurrence. In other words, while the biotech investing arena can sometimes offer rapid returns, it is only for investors who can stomach risk. One tactic used by the most successful investors in this arena is to spread risk across multiple stocks. This tactic relies on speculating that one or more will be a huge winner, creating profits for the portfolio despite the almost guaranteed losers.  The latest biotech company catching my attention is Exact… Read More

Until recently, I would have avoided regional banks. However, the green shoots of the U.S. recovery are now sturdy enough that select financial institutions are showing highly bullish charts backed by strong fundamentals. Both the technicals and fundamentals tell me there is a good trading opportunity at hand. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the number of bank failures has dropped dramatically since June 2011. At this time two years ago, 48 banks had entered… Read More

Until recently, I would have avoided regional banks. However, the green shoots of the U.S. recovery are now sturdy enough that select financial institutions are showing highly bullish charts backed by strong fundamentals. Both the technicals and fundamentals tell me there is a good trading opportunity at hand. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the number of bank failures has dropped dramatically since June 2011. At this time two years ago, 48 banks had entered receivership. By this time in 2012, the number dropped to 31. So far this year, only 16 banks have failed — one-third the number of failures compared with 2011.#-ad_banner-# Moreover, revenue and earnings prospects for select regional banks should continue to improve. For starters, the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates near record lows means low-cost loans for consumers, and that translates to strong… Read More

The recent threat of Fed “tapering” has been putting many investors on edge lately — hence the triple-digit market swings we experienced last week.  At the same time, the “conventional wisdom” I’ve seen come with this news is clouding judgment, telling income investors — wrongly — to sell a certain asset class in the market right now. This is exactly the sort of “conventional wisdom” myth that costs investors big time over the long run. Read More

The recent threat of Fed “tapering” has been putting many investors on edge lately — hence the triple-digit market swings we experienced last week.  At the same time, the “conventional wisdom” I’ve seen come with this news is clouding judgment, telling income investors — wrongly — to sell a certain asset class in the market right now. This is exactly the sort of “conventional wisdom” myth that costs investors big time over the long run. And I’m certain you’ll see it pushed in the mainstream financial media soon. #-ad_banner-#I’ll tell you why you should ignore their advice in a moment, and instead seize the opportunity that will be presented because of it. But first, let’s look at the situation we’re dealing with in the markets.  The official transcript of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke‘s press conference two weeks ago contained 7,267 words, but the 10 that stuck out most to me were: “If the incoming data are broadly consistent with this forecast…” In… Read More

Let me tell you about a guy I know named Nat. Nat’s known for enjoying the finer things in life. His 40th birthday was held at a marina in billionaire hotspot Montenegro. Palm trees were flown in from Uruguay. Caterers were brought in specially from London. Billionaires from across the globe were in attendance. How did Nat join the billionaire elite? On the surface, he appears to have built his more than $1.5 billion personal fortune in the metals and mining industries. But look a little deeper and you’ll see that Nat’s biggest advantage has been his family’s reputation and… Read More

Let me tell you about a guy I know named Nat. Nat’s known for enjoying the finer things in life. His 40th birthday was held at a marina in billionaire hotspot Montenegro. Palm trees were flown in from Uruguay. Caterers were brought in specially from London. Billionaires from across the globe were in attendance. How did Nat join the billionaire elite? On the surface, he appears to have built his more than $1.5 billion personal fortune in the metals and mining industries. But look a little deeper and you’ll see that Nat’s biggest advantage has been his family’s reputation and financial backing.#-ad_banner-# That’s because Nat is short for Nathaniel. His full name is Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild. He’s the latest descendant of the legendary Rothschild family… one of the world’s most powerful dynasties since the late 18th century. For over 200 years, the secretive family has had a hand in just about every major world event. Whether it’s bringing down Napoleon… building the Suez Canal… financing the California Gold Rush… or ushering in the railroad era… look closely and you’ll find Rothschild fingerprints everywhere. Early on, the family made it a point to pass the… Read More

After a tumultuous half-decade, the world has gone relatively quiet.#-ad_banner-# Sure, the Chinese economy is slowing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for an end to quantitative easing, and the U.S. government is weighing down the economy with its sequester-driven setbacks. But we haven’t seen any catalyzing events, positive or negative, of the sort that can trigger a rapid 1,000-point gain or loss in the Dow Jones industrial average. Whether it’s a tsunami in Japan or a sudden plunge in Europe, market-moving events aren’t always foreseeable. These kinds of… Read More

After a tumultuous half-decade, the world has gone relatively quiet.#-ad_banner-# Sure, the Chinese economy is slowing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for an end to quantitative easing, and the U.S. government is weighing down the economy with its sequester-driven setbacks. But we haven’t seen any catalyzing events, positive or negative, of the sort that can trigger a rapid 1,000-point gain or loss in the Dow Jones industrial average. Whether it’s a tsunami in Japan or a sudden plunge in Europe, market-moving events aren’t always foreseeable. These kinds of events caught the markets by surprise, and more surprises probably lie ahead. For example, of the four potential “black swans” I described at the start of this year, one has already come to pass. Yet we can still identify other events that have a decent chance of playing out, with profits or losses to follow close behind. Here are five themes I’m monitoring closely in this year’s second half. 1. U.S. natural gas exports get the green light In recent years, companies have laid out plans to build… Read More

Until recently, I would have avoided regional banks. However, the green shoots of the U.S. recovery are now sturdy enough that select financial institutions are showing highly bullish charts backed by strong fundamentals. Both the technicals and fundamentals tell me there is a good trading opportunity at hand. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the number of bank failures has dropped dramatically since June 2011. At this time two years ago, 48 banks had entered… Read More

Until recently, I would have avoided regional banks. However, the green shoots of the U.S. recovery are now sturdy enough that select financial institutions are showing highly bullish charts backed by strong fundamentals. Both the technicals and fundamentals tell me there is a good trading opportunity at hand. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the number of bank failures has dropped dramatically since June 2011. At this time two years ago, 48 banks had entered receivership. By this time in 2012, the number dropped to 31. So far this year, only 16 banks have failed — one-third the number of failures compared with 2011.#-ad_banner-# Moreover, revenue and earnings prospects for select regional banks should continue to improve. For starters, the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates near record lows means low-cost loans for consumers, and that translates to strong… Read More