Everybody loves a lottery ticket. People will weekly put down their hard-earned money for a 1-in-175 million chance of being rich.#-ad_banner-# And that is the kind of fervor that has driven shares of Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) up more than 450% over the past year. Sure, the automaker is increasing production and profits are increasing, but there is nothing that can explain the surge in the stock price like good old-fashioned irrational exuberance. For investors who got in at the ground floor in 2010, congratulations. For those that have recently bought into the shares and are hoping on another quadrupling,… Read More

Everybody loves a lottery ticket. People will weekly put down their hard-earned money for a 1-in-175 million chance of being rich.#-ad_banner-# And that is the kind of fervor that has driven shares of Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) up more than 450% over the past year. Sure, the automaker is increasing production and profits are increasing, but there is nothing that can explain the surge in the stock price like good old-fashioned irrational exuberance. For investors who got in at the ground floor in 2010, congratulations. For those that have recently bought into the shares and are hoping on another quadrupling, you may want to read on. You thought the car fire was bad Shares of the $19.6 billion company tumbled 10% in the two days after an Oct. 1 video showed a Model S on fire in California. CEO Elon Musk eventually identified the cause of the fire as a loose piece of metal from a passing truck that punctured the car’s battery. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has said it will not investigate the incident, but shares of TSLA still have not recovered to their pre-video high. Worse than the car fire, however,… Read More

Ever wonder how the super-rich manage their investments and retire on that private island with afternoon mojitos? A big part of it is investing in the assets not available to regular people like you and me.#-ad_banner-# I’m talking about private equity. Yes, the same asset class that made Mitt Romney and Carl Icahn mega-superstars of finance. The problem is, unless you have a net worth in excess of seven figures or a salary above $200,000, then you are not allowed to invest in private equity deals.  These investments in… Read More

Ever wonder how the super-rich manage their investments and retire on that private island with afternoon mojitos? A big part of it is investing in the assets not available to regular people like you and me.#-ad_banner-# I’m talking about private equity. Yes, the same asset class that made Mitt Romney and Carl Icahn mega-superstars of finance. The problem is, unless you have a net worth in excess of seven figures or a salary above $200,000, then you are not allowed to invest in private equity deals.  These investments in struggling or new companies can go bust or can produce triple-digit returns in a matter of years, but you and I are not allowed on the playground. An analysis of 146 public pension funds over the past year showed that private equity investments have earned a 10% annualized return over the past decade, well above the 5.8% return the funds made on the general stock market. The pension for Texas’ Teacher Retirement System scored a whopping 15.5% annual rate over the past 10 years. In fact, even the worst quartile of private equity returns outperformed almost all (75%) of manager… Read More

There is little doubt that Hollywood loves 3-D. According to the website BoxOfficeQuant, 3-D movies make an average of $3.69 at the box office for every dollar of production costs. That is almost 50% more than the $2.51 in box office sales for 2-D films.#-ad_banner-#​ But lately it seems that some of 3-D’s luster has worn off. “Pacific Rim” was a flop, and would-be blockbuster “The Lone Ranger” attracted possibly one lone moviegoer. Growth in worldwide 3-D screens slowed to just 27% last year — respectable, but well off 2009’s growth of 255%.  With few real… Read More

There is little doubt that Hollywood loves 3-D. According to the website BoxOfficeQuant, 3-D movies make an average of $3.69 at the box office for every dollar of production costs. That is almost 50% more than the $2.51 in box office sales for 2-D films.#-ad_banner-#​ But lately it seems that some of 3-D’s luster has worn off. “Pacific Rim” was a flop, and would-be blockbuster “The Lone Ranger” attracted possibly one lone moviegoer. Growth in worldwide 3-D screens slowed to just 27% last year — respectable, but well off 2009’s growth of 255%.  With few real blockbusters this year, 3-D or otherwise, cinema operators are looking like a bust. But that is exactly when you should start looking at the sector for the best of breed.  Like Warren Buffett, I like to be greedy when others are fearful. In fact, the best company in the industry is down more than 8% from its 52-week high and almost a quarter off its 2011 peak. After looking through Hollywood stocks like Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) and Cinemark Holdings (NYSE: CNK), I found a company that doesn’t have to stake its future on a blockbuster movie. Nor does… Read More

I’ve heard you need to be something of an egomaniac to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  Sure, the pay is great, but to compensate for the grueling hours and the ultimate stress of being the scapegoat for any corporate failure, you have to take no small amount… Read More

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article first published Aug. 22, 2013. At StreetAuthority, we often look at where Washington’s most powerful men are putting their money. Recently, we learned what not to do from Barack Obama’s portfolio, picked up some tips on diversification from Mitt Romney… Read More

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article first published Aug. 22, 2013. At StreetAuthority, we often look at where Washington’s most powerful men are putting their money. Recently, we learned what not to do from Barack Obama’s portfolio, picked up some tips on diversification from Mitt Romney and revealed Ron Paul’s affinity for gold and silver miners. But none of these men have the potential clout of a woman who may soon become the world’s most powerful economic force.  If you’re thinking of Hillary Clinton, Marissa Mayer or Angela Merkel, you’re wrong.  As the first chairwoman of… Read More

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article first published Aug. 22, 2013. At StreetAuthority, we often look at where Washington’s most powerful men are putting their money. Recently, we learned what not to do from Barack Obama’s portfolio, picked up some tips on diversification from Mitt Romney and revealed Ron Paul’s affinity for gold and silver miners. But none of these men have the potential clout of a woman who may soon become the world’s most powerful economic force.  If you’re thinking of Hillary Clinton, Marissa Mayer or Angela Merkel, you’re wrong.  As the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen would have a deciding role in determining the monetary policy of the world’s largest economy and her portfolio holds some interesting stocks. I know, Yellen has yet to be approved by Congress, but she has some important qualifications:#-ad_banner-# First, Yellen has been on the Fed’s Board of Governors for a full economic cycle, and she’s been there for the discussions on an unprecedented monetary policy. Obama needs that kind of institutional knowledge to help guide policy coming out of this historic period. Second, Yellen is much more dovish than any other possible pick, helping to… Read More

Orphan drugs, those treating rare conditions for small segments of the population, do not normally get much attention compared with the likes of a $12.9 billion Lipitor — but their approval by regulators can still mean huge gains at small biopharmaceutical companies. One company in particular has… Read More

Making a profit in the restaurant business is tough. Of the 153 companies listed in the industry on Yahoo Finance, only 90 are profitable.  Even the success stories have to contend with razor-thin margins and net profits averaging just a dime for every dollar of sales. If you can build… Read More

Even after the tech-craze and bubble of the ’90s, technological leaps still change our lives drastically and offer the most compelling cases for amazing profits.#-ad_banner-# After researching stocks for my recent series on the “Graying of America,” I… Read More

Warren Buffett once summed up his approach to investing as “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Great advice, but with bonds plunging on higher… Read More