Lately, I’ve been noting the importance of the 200-day moving average (MA). The first chart I want to look at this week shows that the S&P 500 failed to break above that MA.  I’ve also highlighted another section of the chart that is a good illustration of how important the 200-day MA can be. During that period, the index reached its top in October and began selling off. The initial declined when the price broke below the 200-day MA.  For almost eight weeks, the S&P 500 remained within a few percentage points of this level. Then, in early December, the… Read More

Lately, I’ve been noting the importance of the 200-day moving average (MA). The first chart I want to look at this week shows that the S&P 500 failed to break above that MA.  I’ve also highlighted another section of the chart that is a good illustration of how important the 200-day MA can be. During that period, the index reached its top in October and began selling off. The initial declined when the price broke below the 200-day MA.  For almost eight weeks, the S&P 500 remained within a few percentage points of this level. Then, in early December, the index broke sharply below its moving average, sparking a 15% tumble that reached a low of 2,351 on December 24.  In the six weeks since those lows, the S&P 500 staged a steady rally back toward its 200-day MA (spurring an increase of bullish opinions)… but it stalled out last week after failing to break through the MA for two days.  —Recommended Link— Thousands Of Americans Have Joined A Revolutionary New Marijuana Profit-Sharing Plan. Their payouts have been breathtaking. The company behind this plan sends out profit-sharing checks like clockwork, and you could quickly find… Read More

I recently finished remaking one of the rooms at my house into a personal office. After rearranging and unpacking boxes, I found myself thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street,” by Peter Lynch. It had been a while since I’ve read it, and I can faithfully report that most of what Lynch writes about still holds up in today’s market. I’m sure you’re familiar with Lynch, but his track record bears repeating. While at the helm of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity, Lynch delivered a 29.2% average annual return from 1977 to 1990. Probably the greatest mutual fund… Read More

I recently finished remaking one of the rooms at my house into a personal office. After rearranging and unpacking boxes, I found myself thumbing through an old copy of “Beating the Street,” by Peter Lynch. It had been a while since I’ve read it, and I can faithfully report that most of what Lynch writes about still holds up in today’s market. I’m sure you’re familiar with Lynch, but his track record bears repeating. While at the helm of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity, Lynch delivered a 29.2% average annual return from 1977 to 1990. Probably the greatest mutual fund manager of all time, we have Lynch to thank for popular investing phrases like “invest in what you know,” “10-bagger” (a stock that gains 1,000%), “GARP” (growth at a reasonable price), and more. But what you might not know about Lynch is the story behind his exit from the Magellan Fund… —Recommended Link— The Single Best Group of Stocks to Buy NOW Since 1926, one collection of stocks has accounted for HALF of the S&P’s return — through every market environment imaginable. If you don’t have these picks in your own portfolio, you could be missing out on the… Read More

Have you heard? The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) just raised the price of a Forever stamp to $0.55 from $0.50. This is the sharpest percentage increase (10%) since 1991 — and the biggest hike on record in nominal terms. As a young financial advisor in the late 1990s, I would always stress the impact of inflation when meeting with prospective clients, modeling it into any retirement funding projections. And the best way to drive home the point was to show how stamp prices had increased steadily over the years. In fact, they are directly tethered to inflation rates. Back… Read More

Have you heard? The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) just raised the price of a Forever stamp to $0.55 from $0.50. This is the sharpest percentage increase (10%) since 1991 — and the biggest hike on record in nominal terms. As a young financial advisor in the late 1990s, I would always stress the impact of inflation when meeting with prospective clients, modeling it into any retirement funding projections. And the best way to drive home the point was to show how stamp prices had increased steadily over the years. In fact, they are directly tethered to inflation rates. Back then, stamps had doubled in price from $0.15 to $0.32 over the prior two decades. Twenty years later, and they’ve continued to march all the way to $0.55. How long do you think it will be before they hit $0.60, or $1.00?  An acquaintance of mine had the foresight back in 2007 to “invest” $1,000 in Forever Stamps, purchasing 2,439 at a fixed price of $0.41 each. It really wasn’t that different from speculating in commodities by using futures contracts. She didn’t do too bad. The value of those 2,439 stamps has now risen to $1,341, an increase of 34.1%. Read More

Back in December, I wrote about why the major cruise lines are compelling investment candidates right now. One of our loyal readers, Jim C., wrote in to point out that anyone who owns at least 100 shares of Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE: CCL) is entitled to a unique fringe benefit — up to $250 in complimentary onboard spending credits per cruise.  This isn’t one of those promotional offers you see advertised to the general public. It’s a special perk reserved strictly for Carnival shareholders. Put another way, this $250 offer is equivalent to $2.50 per share for an investor who holds 100 shares. Read More

Back in December, I wrote about why the major cruise lines are compelling investment candidates right now. One of our loyal readers, Jim C., wrote in to point out that anyone who owns at least 100 shares of Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE: CCL) is entitled to a unique fringe benefit — up to $250 in complimentary onboard spending credits per cruise.  This isn’t one of those promotional offers you see advertised to the general public. It’s a special perk reserved strictly for Carnival shareholders. Put another way, this $250 offer is equivalent to $2.50 per share for an investor who holds 100 shares. That represents a bonus payout of 5.1% on the $48 stock — on top of the 4.3% dividend yield. Double that if you happen to book two cruises. After Jim wrote in to us, my staff and I got to talking… And after doing a little research, it turns out a whole host of companies offers little-known “perks” like this. So I thought it would be fun to take a break from our regular format and focus on four companies that offer special shareholder benefits.  Of course, these enticements alone aren’t necessarily reasons to invest. But since these are all… Read More

Nearly everyone is anxious… There’s talk of a global recession, much of the U.S. government remains closed for business, China’s economy is looking wobbly, and then there’s the ongoing trade war with that country. Not to mention slowing sales growth from notable companies like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and American Airlines (Nasdaq: AAL). And disappointing holiday sales that have crushed the share prices of many retailers, notably Macy’s (NYSE: M), which is down about 24% since January 9. The latest wall of worry for the market and the economy is that this earnings season is expected to be slower than previous… Read More

Nearly everyone is anxious… There’s talk of a global recession, much of the U.S. government remains closed for business, China’s economy is looking wobbly, and then there’s the ongoing trade war with that country. Not to mention slowing sales growth from notable companies like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and American Airlines (Nasdaq: AAL). And disappointing holiday sales that have crushed the share prices of many retailers, notably Macy’s (NYSE: M), which is down about 24% since January 9. The latest wall of worry for the market and the economy is that this earnings season is expected to be slower than previous quarters. Now, keep in mind that the last three quarters have seen earnings growth of more than 24%. That’s a high standard to beat. To give you an idea of what sort of bar has been set, just look at last quarter’s performance. In the third quarter of 2018, corporate earnings grew by a massive 25.9% over the year-earlier quarter, the strongest such growth in eight years. But expectations for fourth-quarter earnings are much less lofty, as analysts steadily drop their estimates. As recently as September, analysts expected earnings to grow by 17%, but that number has been knocked down… Read More

One of my favorite colloquialisms is “50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.” It’s best when said with a grizzled Southern accent with a big dip of Copenhagen wedged in the speaker’s lip. —Recommended Link— Ex-Military Intelligence Officer Finally Reveals He Secret To Her 90.9% Success Rate Today only save 62% on the system that is helping smart investors like you make massive gains…hurry, wall street insiders hope to shut this down soon… Click here before it’s too late. Kidding aside, this phrase is one of the many mantras… Read More

One of my favorite colloquialisms is “50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.” It’s best when said with a grizzled Southern accent with a big dip of Copenhagen wedged in the speaker’s lip. —Recommended Link— Ex-Military Intelligence Officer Finally Reveals He Secret To Her 90.9% Success Rate Today only save 62% on the system that is helping smart investors like you make massive gains…hurry, wall street insiders hope to shut this down soon… Click here before it’s too late. Kidding aside, this phrase is one of the many mantras grown-up investors will use from time to time. Markets and stocks will and do go down at some point. It’s one of the few guarantees that come with the territory. We all want to do well on the upside. But with an unavoidable downside, the key is to do less worse than the market. It’s doable. #-ad_banner-#The fancy term money managers throw around is “downside capture.” As ridiculous as it sounds, it’s a thing. And it works. There’s an actual portfolio called the downside capture ratio. However, rather than getting too far into those weeds, the ultimate goal of downside… Read More

I’m starting the New Year by reading some of the classics to develop a deeper understanding of some investment concepts. Among the concepts I’m researching… is the Keynesian beauty contest. Economist John Maynard Keynes used the “beauty contest” to explain why stock prices move up and down. —Recommended Link— Radical New Accelerated Dividend Program Lets YOU Pick When To Get Paid Attention Income Investors: That’s right, you pick your own “ex-dividend” date. I’ve already collected $119,247 In “Bonus Dividends” this way… on top of my regular dividends. While Keynes is deservedly… Read More

I’m starting the New Year by reading some of the classics to develop a deeper understanding of some investment concepts. Among the concepts I’m researching… is the Keynesian beauty contest. Economist John Maynard Keynes used the “beauty contest” to explain why stock prices move up and down. —Recommended Link— Radical New Accelerated Dividend Program Lets YOU Pick When To Get Paid Attention Income Investors: That’s right, you pick your own “ex-dividend” date. I’ve already collected $119,247 In “Bonus Dividends” this way… on top of my regular dividends. While Keynes is deservedly recognized for his economic insights, he was also a great investor. From 1924 to 1946, he managed a fund for King’s College from 1924 to 1946. Over that time, the benchmark stock market index in Great Britain declined 15% as the Great Depression and World War II weighed on the market. Keynes delivered a total return of more than 1,160% during that time, an average annual return of about 12% a year. #-ad_banner-#To explain how he thought about the stock market, Keynes compared investors to readers of a newspaper that sponsored a beauty contest. (This book was published in 1936,… Read More

Dear Mr. Culp, I wish you the best in your new challenge. This Motley Fool article about your background is encouraging. Why am I writing this? During the Jack Welch era, GE contracted with my training company, Value Selling. GE’s needs were different. Jack’s vision was clear. Each business was required to grow market share and improve their profit margins – even if they sold commodity products. —Recommended Link— Looking For Bigger Gains? Want To Reduce Your Risk? For a limited time only, discover how one industry veteran is generating 37,000 or more in additional income… Read More

Dear Mr. Culp, I wish you the best in your new challenge. This Motley Fool article about your background is encouraging. Why am I writing this? During the Jack Welch era, GE contracted with my training company, Value Selling. GE’s needs were different. Jack’s vision was clear. Each business was required to grow market share and improve their profit margins – even if they sold commodity products. —Recommended Link— Looking For Bigger Gains? Want To Reduce Your Risk? For a limited time only, discover how one industry veteran is generating 37,000 or more in additional income with no added risk. Newly disclosed details here. Professor Noel Tichy defined corporate culture as – “The unwritten norms, beliefs and values that define appropriate behavior.” Our challenge was to assist with changing the culture of the sales force from order takers to consultants; part of the inner circle of profit improvers for their major customers. #-ad_banner-#Several clients funded a research project. I researched their top salespeople. What did these elite performers do that set them apart? I was amazed; it made little difference whether they sold high tech products or commodities, or where they fit in the distribution channel,… Read More

The nine-year streak has ended. 2018 marks the first time since 2008 that the S&P 500 closed in the red. The index lost 6.3%, not including dividends. With dividends accounted for, the loss was 4.4%. —Recommended Link— Make Money Every Time You Trade Over the past year, I placed 49 trades… and had 49 winners. Here’s my secret… “This is the first time I have had a ‘strategy’ and a system to generate consistent and regular income,” says subscriber, Dennis J. Keep reading… December alone saw its worst performance since… Read More

The nine-year streak has ended. 2018 marks the first time since 2008 that the S&P 500 closed in the red. The index lost 6.3%, not including dividends. With dividends accounted for, the loss was 4.4%. —Recommended Link— Make Money Every Time You Trade Over the past year, I placed 49 trades… and had 49 winners. Here’s my secret… “This is the first time I have had a ‘strategy’ and a system to generate consistent and regular income,” says subscriber, Dennis J. Keep reading… December alone saw its worst performance since the Great Depression — the S&P 500 ended with a 9.2% loss. And while the major blue-chip indexes — S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — have yet to enter official bear-market territory, the same can’t be true for other indexes. The Wilshire 5000 dropped below the 20% bear-market threshold in December, as did the Nasdaq, Russell 2000, and the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Now the question on everybody’s mind is… are we going into a recession? The Important Thing To Remember About Recessions… Here’s the thing about recessions, we don’t know when recessions start, or… Read More

With the recent market weakness, I think it prudent to follow up on what’s become a regular (and popular) feature. You see, while I mostly focus my attention on finding little-known, innovative companies that have the potential to deliver mega-returns to investors, I’ve consistently made the case that a big part of successful investing is often about what not to buy as well as what to buy. —Recommended Link— Legal? Completely. Simple? Definitely. Profitable? Hugely. You NEED to hear about this. If you’re looking for an innovative way to earn double and triple-digit gains then you don’t want to… Read More

With the recent market weakness, I think it prudent to follow up on what’s become a regular (and popular) feature. You see, while I mostly focus my attention on finding little-known, innovative companies that have the potential to deliver mega-returns to investors, I’ve consistently made the case that a big part of successful investing is often about what not to buy as well as what to buy. —Recommended Link— Legal? Completely. Simple? Definitely. Profitable? Hugely. You NEED to hear about this. If you’re looking for an innovative way to earn double and triple-digit gains then you don’t want to miss this. It’s completely legal and it doesn’t use options or leverage strategies. This is your opportunity to change the way you invest forever. The selloff in the stocks I spurned in this piece turned out to be much more devastating than in the market itself (which was horrific on its own). In the weeks between November 26 and December 26, the S&P 500 index declined 8%. During the same period, Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) lost 21.9%, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD) lost 13.2%, Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) dropped 23.5% and Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) lost a whopping 35.4%. #-ad_banner-#I would… Read More