It’s Nov. 7. Staffers on one presidential campaign are packing their bags for Washington, D.C., while those at the other campaign are posting resumes on Monster.com. Meanwhile, as TV political pundits wallow in post-game analyses like a pig wallowing… er … in whatever pigs like to wallow in, investors are actually relieved. The unknown is now known. And now it’s time to reposition their portfolios based on the change or lack of change in the political landscape. Personally, I’ve never been a huge believer in reactionary trading based on election outcome. Read More

It’s Nov. 7. Staffers on one presidential campaign are packing their bags for Washington, D.C., while those at the other campaign are posting resumes on Monster.com. Meanwhile, as TV political pundits wallow in post-game analyses like a pig wallowing… er … in whatever pigs like to wallow in, investors are actually relieved. The unknown is now known. And now it’s time to reposition their portfolios based on the change or lack of change in the political landscape. Personally, I’ve never been a huge believer in reactionary trading based on election outcome. However, there are sectors that will undoubtedly perform better or worse based on which administration is driving the bus. Some are relatively predictable. Some may surprise you… Either way, even if you don’t plan to restructure your portfolio any time soon, it’s important to know which types of stocks could shine or dive in the next presidential term. President Willard Mitt Romney It’s pretty easy to guess which sectors would benefit from a Romney victory… Big Oil — Historically, Republican presidential… Read More

The hype prior to Facebook’s (Nasdaq: FB) IPO on May 18 was unprecedented. Every media outlet was keenly focused on this revolutionary young company with such massive valuation. Investors competed to be included on the IPO share distribution lists, certain that the world’s… Read More

I love stories of people rising up out of harsh or even ordinary, middle class lives to ones of great influence, wealth and power. Individuals who have experienced life, as most of us have, are generally better suited for having a complete understanding of how markets and economies really work. This is due to the fact that they have firsthand experience making it to the top. Unlike those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, this personal experience of making dreams real can teach everyone crucial lessons for any endeavor. These rags-to-riches stories are perhaps best personified… Read More

I love stories of people rising up out of harsh or even ordinary, middle class lives to ones of great influence, wealth and power. Individuals who have experienced life, as most of us have, are generally better suited for having a complete understanding of how markets and economies really work. This is due to the fact that they have firsthand experience making it to the top. Unlike those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, this personal experience of making dreams real can teach everyone crucial lessons for any endeavor. These rags-to-riches stories are perhaps best personified by Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates — the largest hedge fund in the world. Dalio was born in Queens, NY in 1949 to a jazz musician and stay-at-home mom. He was never very good at early schooling, wanting to understand the “whys” behind everything. Rout memorization just wasn’t his thing. He caddied in summers to earn spending money and would listen keenly to the golfers talking about stocks and other investments. Those conversations sparked a lifelong obsession with the financial markets. Taking the few dollars he managed to save from his caddie… Read More

While value investing and short-term trading seem to be at opposite ends of the investment spectrum, there are ways short-term traders can use long-term value investing principles to profit. Value investors look for cheap stocks and buy in the hope that over… Read More

I’ve written many times about using a cash-secured put sale strategy as a disciplined way to enter a long stock position at a lower price or get paid not to.#-ad_banner-# I have a slight twist on this strategy that I call the… Read More

The earnings cycle is widely followed by economists and some long-term investors, but traders often overlook the state of the economy when they develop their… Read More

Would you rather have a 60% or a 100% return on an investment? The obvious answer is 100%. But this answer ignores an important factor: How long will this investment take to reach this amazing return? That’s exactly what’s happening with financial services stocks… Read More

It started out as an experiment. It wound up being one of the greatest investment discoveries we’ve ever found. About two years ago, StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy approached me with an idea. He wanted me to build a portfolio of dividend stocks that would pay out… Read More

The recent decision by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to artificially inflate the economy to the tune of $40 billion dollars a month has the markets screaming higher. The big talk on the Street is that most money managers and individual investors… Read More

Bad news can send stocks sharply lower, and that initial down move based on the news is often just the first step in a steeper decline. But unless the company is destined for bankruptcy, the stock will eventually stop falling and turn up. That’s the idea behind bottom fishing. There are some trading strategies that can be used to spot when the selling has gone too far and an upward bounce should be expected. But keep in mind that bottom fishing should… Read More

Bad news can send stocks sharply lower, and that initial down move based on the news is often just the first step in a steeper decline. But unless the company is destined for bankruptcy, the stock will eventually stop falling and turn up. That’s the idea behind bottom fishing. There are some trading strategies that can be used to spot when the selling has gone too far and an upward bounce should be expected. But keep in mind that bottom fishing should only be done in a bull market when stocks have a stronger tendency to rise.#-ad_banner-# The first step is to identify when the selling may have peaked. In a downtrend, it is very common to see the selling pressure accelerate. As prices fall, more and more traders want to sell and the result is a fast down move. When the selling stops, we often see prices bounce higher, and this is a good time to buy if we can find rules that define this pattern. To find… Read More