No matter if the day’s headlines are about the Federal Reserve, China, the Presidential debates — I don’t care what it is — chances are, 95% of the time it’s just market noise. It’s important for investors to spend the majority of their efforts looking for market opportunities. I’m not saying this “noise” should be completely ignored, but for most investors it means this should be filtered through a lens that’s focused simply on buying shares of fantastic companies at reasonable prices. #-ad_banner-#This has been on my mind recently during the volatility we’ve experienced during the past few weeks, and… Read More

No matter if the day’s headlines are about the Federal Reserve, China, the Presidential debates — I don’t care what it is — chances are, 95% of the time it’s just market noise. It’s important for investors to spend the majority of their efforts looking for market opportunities. I’m not saying this “noise” should be completely ignored, but for most investors it means this should be filtered through a lens that’s focused simply on buying shares of fantastic companies at reasonable prices. #-ad_banner-#This has been on my mind recently during the volatility we’ve experienced during the past few weeks, and it’s drawn my attention to a sector we don’t often talk about here at StreetAuthority.  On August 4, media entertainment giant Disney (NYSE: DIS) reported quarterly earnings. In its conference call, management said that cable subscriptions to its ESPN network would fall about 1% in 2016. For some reason, this seemed to shock investors, although this was not new news. The so-called “cord-cutting” movement — that is, consumers who choose to drop their cable services in favor of cheaper streaming alternatives like Netflix and Hulu — has been a known factor for some time. Nevertheless, shares of Disney took a dive,… Read More

It’s a simple fact of life: all good things must come to an end. Great books… relaxing tropical vacations… even bull markets have to end at some point. #-ad_banner-#You see, the market has only had two prolonged periods of low (or negative) returns in the past 35 years. But the overall trajectory of the market has been clear: up. It’s easy to see how investors may have become spoiled by this extended period of upward movement. But it could all be coming to an end, which is why it’s critical for… Read More

It’s a simple fact of life: all good things must come to an end. Great books… relaxing tropical vacations… even bull markets have to end at some point. #-ad_banner-#You see, the market has only had two prolonged periods of low (or negative) returns in the past 35 years. But the overall trajectory of the market has been clear: up. It’s easy to see how investors may have become spoiled by this extended period of upward movement. But it could all be coming to an end, which is why it’s critical for you to have a plan. “Bond King” Bill Gross has referred to the last 35 years as a “super cycle” for the market. It’s turned every $10,000 invested back in 1981 into more than $176,000 today. To understand what he’s talking about, take a look at this chart.   Investing gurus like Stanley Druckenmiller, George Soros, Ray Dalio and Jeremy Grantham have been warning investors to expect lower returns from the market in the coming years. And the “Bond King” shares this sentiment. When you consider the accumulation… Read More

There’s a dangerous idea in the world of finance that’s been floating around for years. The man who coined this idea won a Nobel Prize for his work, but even he has stated that there are “threats” to his theory. #-ad_banner-#Today, I’m going to tell you about one of those “threats,” and why it’s time to put this dangerous idea to bed for good. Because if you buy into it, you could miss out on some of the greatest opportunities the market has to offer. To frame our discussion, I’d like you to… Read More

There’s a dangerous idea in the world of finance that’s been floating around for years. The man who coined this idea won a Nobel Prize for his work, but even he has stated that there are “threats” to his theory. #-ad_banner-#Today, I’m going to tell you about one of those “threats,” and why it’s time to put this dangerous idea to bed for good. Because if you buy into it, you could miss out on some of the greatest opportunities the market has to offer. To frame our discussion, I’d like you to consider one thing: When an investor buys shares of a stock hoping that its value will rise, the person is often betting against the market — that other investors are wrong (about the stock’s value) and that his valuation is correct. It’s with this idea that theory called the “efficient market hypothesis” becomes important. The man behind the theory — economist Dr. Eugene Fama — is hailed as one of the fathers of modern finance. At its most basic, his hypothesis says that because the public has access to every bit… Read More

Apple is a “no brainer” investment, and it has been for years. The company’s first quarter earnings for 2015 only drive home that point. The firm’s new products and features are wildly popular, the company is growing sales in markets outside the United States and every year Apple sells a greater quantity of devices than it did the year prior. What’s interesting about Apple is that for all the hype surrounding the company and its products, it still remains undervalued. Consider this: analysts expect Apple to earn $8.79 per share in 2015. That’s a 38.6% increase over the prior year. Read More

Apple is a “no brainer” investment, and it has been for years. The company’s first quarter earnings for 2015 only drive home that point. The firm’s new products and features are wildly popular, the company is growing sales in markets outside the United States and every year Apple sells a greater quantity of devices than it did the year prior. What’s interesting about Apple is that for all the hype surrounding the company and its products, it still remains undervalued. Consider this: analysts expect Apple to earn $8.79 per share in 2015. That’s a 38.6% increase over the prior year. Putting aside for a moment the fact that analysts consistently underestimate Apple’s earnings potential (the company hasn’t had a consensus “miss” on quarterly earnings since 2012), the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings of 14.6. #-ad_banner-#Companies in the S&P 500 as a whole are expected to grow earnings by 4.2%, giving the broader index a forward multiple of 17.9. So what we have is the largest company by market capitalization expected to outpace the market’s earnings growth this year by more than nine fold, yet it trades at a discount (of more than 18%) to the market. Read More

The first Saturday in May this year will herald an extraordinary annual event — one that we will likely not have the chance to witness on many more occasions in our lifetime. The event is widely celebrated in the financial press, marking a time where investors come together to celebrate, speculate about and witness one of the great masters of investing in the flesh. #-ad_banner-#I’m talking, of course, about Warren Buffett and the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. At 84 years old, this will be one of the remaining few times we’ll have the chance to hear straight from the… Read More

The first Saturday in May this year will herald an extraordinary annual event — one that we will likely not have the chance to witness on many more occasions in our lifetime. The event is widely celebrated in the financial press, marking a time where investors come together to celebrate, speculate about and witness one of the great masters of investing in the flesh. #-ad_banner-#I’m talking, of course, about Warren Buffett and the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting. At 84 years old, this will be one of the remaining few times we’ll have the chance to hear straight from the famous “Oracle of Omaha” about his thoughts on the market, where the U.S. economy is headed, and what it means to be a successful investor. Many of our analysts here at StreetAuthority have had the chance to attend Berkshire meetings over the years. I’ve had conversations with many of them about the spectacle, which seems to grow with each passing year. But one thing has always stuck with me that I think is worth mentioning, and it’s that while the event always makes for good television, what often seems to be lost is what Buffett actually says… or more importantly,… Read More

“Don’t run for the exits just yet…”… Read More

“Don’t run for the exits just yet…” That’s what my colleague Jimmy Butts and I told readers in the most recent issue of our premium newsletter, Maximum Profit. #-ad_banner-#Yet it seems like every day for the past week or so, we’ve seen headlines about the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in June. And depending on how investors… Read More

Normally at StreetAuthority, we focus on the “long” side of the market, but today we’re going to spend some time explaining the other side: shorting stocks. If shorting stocks isn’t already part of your profit strategy, then be prepared to expand your horizons… You see, shorting a stock is as easy as going long a stock — once you understand the basics. And because stocks tend to fall much faster than they rise, there’s a chance to make bigger profits in less time. #-ad_banner-#This is especially true with the types of stocks Dr. Thomas Carr regularly highlights in StreetAuthority’s newest… Read More

Normally at StreetAuthority, we focus on the “long” side of the market, but today we’re going to spend some time explaining the other side: shorting stocks. If shorting stocks isn’t already part of your profit strategy, then be prepared to expand your horizons… You see, shorting a stock is as easy as going long a stock — once you understand the basics. And because stocks tend to fall much faster than they rise, there’s a chance to make bigger profits in less time. #-ad_banner-#This is especially true with the types of stocks Dr. Thomas Carr regularly highlights in StreetAuthority’s newest premium newsletter service, Trader’s Edge. Along with his regular long trades, his system pinpoints the top three stocks in any given week that are poised to fall sharply after achieving unsustainable highs. When you think about it, shorting some stocks, while going long on others, can theoretically double your overall returns. But to be fair, this doesn’t come without risks (more on that in a moment). Plus, shorting can provide a substantial hedge during market downturns. How To Short Stocks When investors go long, it means they’re buying shares of a stock in the belief that the… Read More

About a year ago, our colleague Frank Bermea, publisher of StreetAuthority’s sister company, Profitable Trading, met a man named Jared Levy, who knows more about options trading than anyone we’ve ever met. #-ad_banner-#Jared is something of a wunderkind. He began trading options at age 16 and quickly found himself making upward of $600,000 a year. Nowadays, you might find him regularly featured as a guest on financial news programs like CNBC or Fox Business. (In fact, he appeared on Fox Business, to discuss Apple, among other things. You can check out the video at… Read More

About a year ago, our colleague Frank Bermea, publisher of StreetAuthority’s sister company, Profitable Trading, met a man named Jared Levy, who knows more about options trading than anyone we’ve ever met. #-ad_banner-#Jared is something of a wunderkind. He began trading options at age 16 and quickly found himself making upward of $600,000 a year. Nowadays, you might find him regularly featured as a guest on financial news programs like CNBC or Fox Business. (In fact, he appeared on Fox Business, to discuss Apple, among other things. You can check out the video at this link.) If you’ve been a regular reader of StreetAuthority Daily, then you know that we’ve been growing concerned about the possibility of a market correction. No, I’m not saying you should sell all of your investments and run for the hills (yet), but you need to have a plan for when this bull market turns on its head. Jared agrees. In fact, in his second official issue of Profit Amplifier, a new options service launched by our friends at Profitable Trading, Jared warned his readers about… Read More

Less than a year ago, over 35,000 people flocked to the “Woodstock for Capitalists” just for a chance to sit in on a six-hour Q&A with the world’s greatest investor — Warren Buffett. #-ad_banner-#To give you an idea of what kind of spectacle this is, just look at sales for Berkshire-owned Nebraska Furniture Mart located in Omaha where the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting takes place every year. In the week surrounding the prestigious shareholder meeting, Nebraska Furniture Mart did over $40 million in sales… which is typically what they do in one month. The… Read More

Less than a year ago, over 35,000 people flocked to the “Woodstock for Capitalists” just for a chance to sit in on a six-hour Q&A with the world’s greatest investor — Warren Buffett. #-ad_banner-#To give you an idea of what kind of spectacle this is, just look at sales for Berkshire-owned Nebraska Furniture Mart located in Omaha where the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting takes place every year. In the week surrounding the prestigious shareholder meeting, Nebraska Furniture Mart did over $40 million in sales… which is typically what they do in one month. The shareholder meeting is one of the greatest financial-education experiences in the world. Attendees get peppered with useful financial information about not only Berkshire, but investing and the economy as a whole. Here are a few great tips that he shared at his recent shareholder meeting. Using Insurance “Float” For Success “Our investment in the insurance companies reflects a first major step in our efforts to achieve a more diversified base of earning power.” — 1967 Annual Report Insurance is Berkshire’s core operation and the engine that has consistently propelled their… Read More

As Executive Editor of StreetAuthority, I get to have a front-row seat to the analysis made by some of the brightest financial minds in the country. #-ad_banner-#After doing this for many years, it usually takes a lot for something to really stand out and grab my attention. That’s why when I noticed that one of our most conservative analysts recently make a big, bold contrarian call involving the energy sector and a stock currently yielding 14%, I took notice. If he’s right, it could easily become one of the most profitable calls any of… Read More

As Executive Editor of StreetAuthority, I get to have a front-row seat to the analysis made by some of the brightest financial minds in the country. #-ad_banner-#After doing this for many years, it usually takes a lot for something to really stand out and grab my attention. That’s why when I noticed that one of our most conservative analysts recently make a big, bold contrarian call involving the energy sector and a stock currently yielding 14%, I took notice. If he’s right, it could easily become one of the most profitable calls any of our analysts make this year — including myself. Let me explain… Many of you are probably familiar with Nathan Slaughter. As Chief Investment Strategist of our premium newsletter, Total Yield, Nathan is all about two things: dividends and buybacks. It’s this quest to find investments that deliver shareholder value that normally lead him to be one of our most conservative analysts. In fact, Nathan has warned his subscribers in the past about chasing after high yields that may seem too good to be true. After all, what good is a stock… Read More