For as long as I can remember, I have always questioned the status quo and the established way of looking at things.#-ad_banner-# If the majority is doing one thing, then it’s my natural state to think the opposite. But as you likely know, a contrarian attitude isn’t generally perceived in a positive way. But I was happy to find out I’m not alone in the investment world. Many successful investors are contrarians by nature. In fact, being an investment contrarian… Read More

For as long as I can remember, I have always questioned the status quo and the established way of looking at things.#-ad_banner-# If the majority is doing one thing, then it’s my natural state to think the opposite. But as you likely know, a contrarian attitude isn’t generally perceived in a positive way. But I was happy to find out I’m not alone in the investment world. Many successful investors are contrarians by nature. In fact, being an investment contrarian can provide a huge edge. This is because the majority of investors is often wrong. Once the crowd gets excited about a particular stock, investment or tactic, it’s often a signal to do the opposite. The stock market has an uncanny knack for attracting the most possible money into an idea or stock right before a sharp change in direction causes many to take a loss. And one way I… Read More

In the late 1980s, Japan’s economy was the envy of the world. The country’s meteoric rise to become the world’s second-largest economy coupled with the dominance of Japanese brands such as Sony, Toyota and Kubota gave rise to the term “Japanese Economic Miracle.” Managers around the world sought to emulate the nation’s manufacturing techniques. Japanese companies and consumers, enriched by their nation’s rapid economic growth, bought up prime real estate and other assets in the United… Read More

In the late 1980s, Japan’s economy was the envy of the world. The country’s meteoric rise to become the world’s second-largest economy coupled with the dominance of Japanese brands such as Sony, Toyota and Kubota gave rise to the term “Japanese Economic Miracle.” Managers around the world sought to emulate the nation’s manufacturing techniques. Japanese companies and consumers, enriched by their nation’s rapid economic growth, bought up prime real estate and other assets in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. #-ad_banner-#But Japan’s miracle was built in part on a bubble. In 1989, at the height of the property bubble, choice commercial property in Tokyo sold for more than $20,000 per square foot. Average Japanese homes near the nation’s six largest cities cost the equivalent of 30 to 50 times the median Japanese income, an unsustainable level. Gains in residential and office properties between 1986 and the top of the property bubble in 1991 were even more dramatic than home price gains in the United States during the mid-2000s. The economic miracle came to an abrupt end… Read More

You don’t often find a stock with a 7.7% dividend yield in this income starved environment. When it’s supported by a bullish technical outlook and solid fundamentals, you know it’s likely a winning trade! Shares of Rentech Nitrogen Partners (NYSE: RNF) are on a tear. So far in 2013, the stock is up more than 15%, and, as I explain below, the technicals point to further price… Read More

You don’t often find a stock with a 7.7% dividend yield in this income starved environment. When it’s supported by a bullish technical outlook and solid fundamentals, you know it’s likely a winning trade! Shares of Rentech Nitrogen Partners (NYSE: RNF) are on a tear. So far in 2013, the stock is up more than 15%, and, as I explain below, the technicals point to further price appreciation ahead.#-ad_banner-# The master-limited partnership (MLP), which went public in 2011, makes nitrogen fertilizer and industrial chemicals. With a rising global population, and a decrease in arable land, their fertilizer is in high demand. Rentech operates two nitrogen fertilizer plants: one in Illinois, the other in Texas. The Illinois property is located in the heart of the Midwest Corn Belt — the largest consuming area of nitrogen fertilizers in the United States. This past November, Rentech acquired a Texas-based ammonium sulfate fertilizer plant, previously owned by Agrifos. It’s expected that the $158 million… Read More

If you have young children, you may be familiar with the educational toy company, LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF). The small-cap, California-based firm designs and develops technology-based learning tools to help kids tackle reading and writing.#-ad_banner-# As the mother of 17-month old little boy, I’d have to say his LeapFrog toys… Read More

To say that natural gas has been on a roller coaster ride for the past 10 years would be an understatement. Gas prices soared from $1.96 per MMBtu in early 2002 to a peak of $15.78 in late 2005 and back to a low of $1.90 early last year. … Read More

Roughly 18 months ago, I spelled out the relationship between economic growth and the stock market.  My key takeaway still stands: “The difference between 2% and 3% (economic growth) may not seem like… Read More

If you have young children, you may be familiar with the educational toy company, LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF). The small-cap, California-based firm designs and develops technology-based learning tools to help kids tackle reading and writing.#-ad_banner-# As the mother of 17-month old little boy, I’d have to say his LeapFrog toys are my favorite of the bunch. They’re robust, interactive and educational. But, best of all, they’re fun — even for me. LeapFrog’s flagship educational product is the LeapPad2. This is an interactive tablet, like the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, but designed specifically for kids, aged 3 to 9. It retails… Read More

If you have young children, you may be familiar with the educational toy company, LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF). The small-cap, California-based firm designs and develops technology-based learning tools to help kids tackle reading and writing.#-ad_banner-# As the mother of 17-month old little boy, I’d have to say his LeapFrog toys are my favorite of the bunch. They’re robust, interactive and educational. But, best of all, they’re fun — even for me. LeapFrog’s flagship educational product is the LeapPad2. This is an interactive tablet, like the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, but designed specifically for kids, aged 3 to 9. It retails for around $100. It lets kids play fun, educational games, run apps and even take pictures. In the United Kingdom, the LeapPad2 was the hottest selling toy in December. Although it hasn’t quite caught on as much in North America, it’s still very popular. In fact, during the holidays, retailers, like Toys “R” Us and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) only allowed customers to purchase two LeapPads at a time to keep up inventory supply, due to such strong demand. And, with exciting, new products expected to be released in April 2013, the outlook for LeapFrog… Read More

During the past 10 years, the best hedge funds have consistently produced market-beating returns, driving huge capital inflows into the industry and making hedge funds one of the hottest… Read More

Since the second half of 2012, bank stocks have really found their footing. Shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) have rallied more than 50% in the past six… Read More

To say that natural gas has been on a roller coaster ride for the past 10 years would be an understatement. Gas prices soared from $1.96 per MMBtu in early 2002 to a peak of $15.78 in late 2005 and back to a low of $1.90 early last year.  For investors, the ride has been no less wild. Natural gas exploration stocks were irrelevant in 2002, yet were all the rage by 2008 when natural gas became a stunningly profitable business to be in. Then, these stocks fell off investors’… Read More

To say that natural gas has been on a roller coaster ride for the past 10 years would be an understatement. Gas prices soared from $1.96 per MMBtu in early 2002 to a peak of $15.78 in late 2005 and back to a low of $1.90 early last year.  For investors, the ride has been no less wild. Natural gas exploration stocks were irrelevant in 2002, yet were all the rage by 2008 when natural gas became a stunningly profitable business to be in. Then, these stocks fell off investors’ radars again in 2011 when plunging gas prices — and a plethora of supply — pushed nearly all of them back into the red.#-ad_banner-# Still, the implications are clear. With an abundant supply (thanks to advanced drilling techniques), it looks like cheap natural gas is here to stay for the time being. But if the natural gas drillers aren’t making money, then how can investors profit? Andy Obermueller, editor of StreetAuthority’s Game-Changing Stocks… Read More