Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price… Read More

Carla Pasternak, editor of Street Authority’s High-Yield Investing, calls it “the most dramatic turnaround in U.S. history.” And millions of people across the country are reaping its benefits, increasing their net worth, while reducing the stress point that used to cause many to lose sleep at night. I’m talking about the clear recovery taking place in the residential and commercial real estate markets.#-ad_banner-# The latest read on the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a leading home-value index that tracks prices in 20 residential markets, showed that home values rose 4.3% in October 2012 from the previous year, ahead of estimates looking for 4% growth. That follows the trend that has been in play for the past 12 months, with home prices showing steady gains through most of the year. And sure to fuel the rebound in home prices is the recent settlement of a massive lawsuit against 10 major U.S. banks and mortgage companies brought by the federal government. Not only is… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply,… Read More

Most industry-leading retailers are household names. In apparel, there is Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS). In consumer electronics, there is Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). And in home goods, companies such as Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) maintain high levels of visibility that fuels interest from consumers and investors. But behind the scenes, there is a secret retailer that is crushing the competition, seeing huge gains in earnings and jumping higher on the chart. In fact, earnings have been growing so sharply, shares are up almost 100% in just two years. Take a look at the market-beating rally below… But just because early investors have seen big gains doesn’t mean the growth story is over. With the bullish trend still well in play and management confident, Tractor Supply (Nasdaq: TSCO) can continue to grow its store count and still leave plenty of room for investors to profit.#-ad_banner-# This little-known industry-leading retailer… Read More

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is a widely followed sentiment indicator. When VIX is high, it indicates that traders are worried about… Read More

Financial stocks have been out of favor for much of the period since the financial crisis. In the United States, the S&P 500 Financials Index rallied just 9% between the end of 2008… Read More

Here’s a situation every investor faces sooner or later… Imagine you are sitting on solid profits from a stock you foresee climbing higher. But then a little bad news hits the newswire, sending the stock lower.#-ad_banner-# The news becomes modestly worse… Read More

There are lots of reasons why monthly dividend payers (MDPs) are so attractive for yield-starved investors. After all, why should we settle for four quarterly dividend payments every year when we could just as easily get 12?… Read More

It looks like Carl Icahn was on to something. Last year, he tried to acquire the The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) for $22 a share, an offer that was subsequently rebuffed by management. In November, I cautioned that it was unwise to follow… Read More

If a rich yield is your goal, then few investments can compete with mortgage real estate… Read More

Bond yields are at record lows, which has caused many income-seeking investors to turn to high-yield stocks, while others have supplemented dividend payments with income from… Read More