It’s one of the most controversial stocks we cover…  And any time we mention it, you can be sure we’ll get a couple of angry emails from readers, questioning our morals or ethics.  While I understand the feelings behind those emails, to put it simply, our job at StreetAuthority is to give you the most timely and profitable investment advice available.  And we wouldn’t be doing our job if we neglected to tell you about it simply because of its “controversy.”  That’s why we’re always careful to point out that, while this stock may not be for everyone, there’s a… Read More

It’s one of the most controversial stocks we cover…  And any time we mention it, you can be sure we’ll get a couple of angry emails from readers, questioning our morals or ethics.  While I understand the feelings behind those emails, to put it simply, our job at StreetAuthority is to give you the most timely and profitable investment advice available.  And we wouldn’t be doing our job if we neglected to tell you about it simply because of its “controversy.”  That’s why we’re always careful to point out that, while this stock may not be for everyone, there’s a reason why we call it “the most shareholder-friendly company on Earth.”  It’s not hard to understand this when you look at the facts. In just six years, the company has raised its dividend 104% and bought back 438 million shares of stock. Its shares have also returned roughly 100% since 2008 — beating the market by nearly double. #-ad_banner-# The stock I’m referring to is Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM).  Now, before I go any further, let me state this again… I understand not everyone likes investing in cigarette manufacturers. And that’s fine.  But when you look at the ways… Read More

Just a few years ago, a select group of companies started doing something extraordinary… They created a “Dividend Vault” with billions of dollars inside it — one of the largest cash stockpiles on earth. They did it because these companies have seen the same problems you have over the past decade — a mounting debt crisis in America and Europe… gridlock on Capitol Hill… a stock market that plummeted 40% from the housing bubble burst… to name just a few. Facing these challenges and many more, they took action to protect themselves and their shareholders. #-ad_banner-#Now, after years of quietly… Read More

Just a few years ago, a select group of companies started doing something extraordinary… They created a “Dividend Vault” with billions of dollars inside it — one of the largest cash stockpiles on earth. They did it because these companies have seen the same problems you have over the past decade — a mounting debt crisis in America and Europe… gridlock on Capitol Hill… a stock market that plummeted 40% from the housing bubble burst… to name just a few. Facing these challenges and many more, they took action to protect themselves and their shareholders. #-ad_banner-#Now, after years of quietly socking away billions of dollars, U.S. companies have an incredible $1.925 trillion held within the “Dividend Vault,” or enough money to give every retiree in America a check for $112,264. (To read my previous article on the “Dividend Vault,” go here.) And now, with few other options for growth, many of these companies have finally started opening the “Dividend Vault” to pay investors directly in the form of dividends.  Today I’d like to tell you about one company that holds an exceptionally large share of the “Dividend Vault”… This well-known tech giant is one of the world’s largest Internet equipment… Read More

Right now corporate America has a huge problem on its hands. I’m not talking about another banking crisis, real estate crash, or hedge fund manager running a Ponzi scheme… And I’m not talking about any sort of ominous regulations being handed down by the U.S. government, either. I’m not even talking about the growing levels of debt being accumulated by Uncle Sam each and every day — not to mention the lack of progress from our leaders in Washington in finding a solution to fix it. Actually, the “problem” I’m about to tell you about is really a once-in-a-lifetime investing… Read More

Right now corporate America has a huge problem on its hands. I’m not talking about another banking crisis, real estate crash, or hedge fund manager running a Ponzi scheme… And I’m not talking about any sort of ominous regulations being handed down by the U.S. government, either. I’m not even talking about the growing levels of debt being accumulated by Uncle Sam each and every day — not to mention the lack of progress from our leaders in Washington in finding a solution to fix it. Actually, the “problem” I’m about to tell you about is really a once-in-a-lifetime investing opportunity. The problem? #-ad_banner-#Corporate America has spent the last few years hoarding money like it was going out of style, effectively creating what I call a “Dividend Vault.” Why?  Companies have seen the same problems you and I have over the years — a mounting debt crisis, gridlock in Washington, a dot-com bubble burst from the early 2000s, a devastating real estate bubble burst a few years later, two recessions…  They continued to face these challenges year after year. But instead of sitting still with future uncertainties, they took action. That’s why for the past 12 years, they’ve been adding… Read More

If you read StreetAuthority Daily on a regular basis, you know that we’ve been talking a lot about what we call “Legacy Assets” lately. We’ve shown you what they are, what they can do for your portfolio — and even shared a couple of our favorite Legacy Assets with you. Today, I want to tell you why they matter. #-ad_banner-#Warren Buffett, widely considered the greatest investor of all time and one of the world’s richest men, has said of his legacy: When you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the… Read More

If you read StreetAuthority Daily on a regular basis, you know that we’ve been talking a lot about what we call “Legacy Assets” lately. We’ve shown you what they are, what they can do for your portfolio — and even shared a couple of our favorite Legacy Assets with you. Today, I want to tell you why they matter. #-ad_banner-#Warren Buffett, widely considered the greatest investor of all time and one of the world’s richest men, has said of his legacy: When you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster. Buffett means what he says. And he backs up his words with action. In 2012, Buffett donated over $3 billion to charity, more than 3 times as… Read More

One of the big advantages here at StreetAuthority is that we have access to each other’s brains. That collective brain consists of a whole slate of investing minds across the StreetAuthority universe — experts who are constantly pulling together critical insights from all over the investing world. It was a recent dispatch from one of our top analysts that jogged my memory on a lesser-known way to invest in the consumer sector — one that I believe has considerable upside, but with much less risk of loss than your average consumer stock if the economy does happen to zig when… Read More

One of the big advantages here at StreetAuthority is that we have access to each other’s brains. That collective brain consists of a whole slate of investing minds across the StreetAuthority universe — experts who are constantly pulling together critical insights from all over the investing world. It was a recent dispatch from one of our top analysts that jogged my memory on a lesser-known way to invest in the consumer sector — one that I believe has considerable upside, but with much less risk of loss than your average consumer stock if the economy does happen to zig when we think it should zag. That dispatch came in the latest edition of Amy Calistri’s The Daily Paycheck. While looking for sectors with big dividend yields — but also below-average risk profiles suitable for income investors — Amy pointed out a very interesting chart, one I haven’t seen any other analysts talking about yet. #-ad_banner-#Her chart shows how there’s a boom underway in a place you might not expect: shipping. As the chart below shows, shipping rates — as measured by the Baltic Capesize Index — were on a tear in the second half in 2013. Amy points… Read More

I love reading emails from subscribers. And in my capacity as Chief Investment Strategist for three of StreetAuthority’s most popular newsletters, I get a lot of them. I try to answer as many as I can, and even make a point to feature some of the best reader questions in my issues. One email recently came to my inbox that I thought was worth sharing with subscribers. I notice that the majority of companies in your portfolio are in the mining sector. Do you also cover oil and gas? — Tom W., Plover, Wis. The answer is an emphatic… Read More

I love reading emails from subscribers. And in my capacity as Chief Investment Strategist for three of StreetAuthority’s most popular newsletters, I get a lot of them. I try to answer as many as I can, and even make a point to feature some of the best reader questions in my issues. One email recently came to my inbox that I thought was worth sharing with subscribers. I notice that the majority of companies in your portfolio are in the mining sector. Do you also cover oil and gas? — Tom W., Plover, Wis. The answer is an emphatic yes. The petroleum sector has treated me very well over the years — one of my first recommendations as an analyst was Russian oil explorer Valkyries Petroleum, which returned 186% in under a year. #-ad_banner-#That said, there’s a well-worn saying among commodities investors: “If you’re not a contrarian, you’re a victim.” Natural resources are notoriously cyclical: When they’re at a low, they’re likely to go higher. And conversely, when a sector is flying high, there may be considerable downside ahead when the inevitable pullback or complete bust comes. The oil and gas sector strikes me more as the latter these… Read More

It’s funny where money is made sometimes. I have a friend who decided a decade ago to buy a bankrupt motel in the middle of the swamp in northern Alberta. Most of the passers-by here were forestry workers, dropouts looking for a place to disappear, or migratory birds.  At the time, it seemed crazy. #-ad_banner-#I saw the same friend a few years after the purchase. The hotel, he told me, was booked solid for the next five years — upward of 300 rooms at $250 per night.  The modest investment paid him millions over the course of the next several… Read More

It’s funny where money is made sometimes. I have a friend who decided a decade ago to buy a bankrupt motel in the middle of the swamp in northern Alberta. Most of the passers-by here were forestry workers, dropouts looking for a place to disappear, or migratory birds.  At the time, it seemed crazy. #-ad_banner-#I saw the same friend a few years after the purchase. The hotel, he told me, was booked solid for the next five years — upward of 300 rooms at $250 per night.  The modest investment paid him millions over the course of the next several months.  This incredible turnaround was spurred by some big changes in the area that were driven by natural resources development. My friend bought the hotel just as the oil industry in that part of the world was on the cusp of commercializing vast deposits of unconventional petroleum lying just below the swamps. Those billion-barrel fields would quickly become such a big story in the petroleum business that the formerly unknown town became a household name on the tongues of politicians, industrialists and investors globally. That place was Fort McMurray — ground zero for the development of the Canadian oil sands. Read More

The United States has a big problem. It may seem like a nice problem to have, but it’s a serious problem nonetheless. Our country simply has too much natural gas on its hands. #-ad_banner-#Thanks to the shale gas revolution, tapping into productive new seams has become quite easy for the hundreds of public and private gas producers around the country. But as I remind readers of my newsletter, Scarcity & Real Wealth, just as scarcity creates wealth, abundance creates the opposite effect. Many firms are curtailing their natural gas production plans because prices are just too low, mothballing previously active… Read More

The United States has a big problem. It may seem like a nice problem to have, but it’s a serious problem nonetheless. Our country simply has too much natural gas on its hands. #-ad_banner-#Thanks to the shale gas revolution, tapping into productive new seams has become quite easy for the hundreds of public and private gas producers around the country. But as I remind readers of my newsletter, Scarcity & Real Wealth, just as scarcity creates wealth, abundance creates the opposite effect. Many firms are curtailing their natural gas production plans because prices are just too low, mothballing previously active drilling platforms. Of course, the greatest panacea to flagging prices is higher demand. Industry players are now drawing up plans to utilize natural gas in new ways. In addition to its already-strong presence in the power generation industry, natural gas is also becoming a key player in our nation’s export picture, and can even be found in more trucks that have been retro-fitted to use natural gas a fuel. Yet there’s another potentially huge source of demand that is just now coming into focus. It’s called gas-to-liquids (GTL), and by some estimates could generate so much demand for natural gas… Read More

Many people don’t believe that disconnects like the one I’m about to tell you about can happen. They believe that with all of the eyeballs on Wall Street, someone (and likely many people) would surely spot a rising star like this. But that’s not at all true. And I can prove it to you. #-ad_banner-#Just look at the stats on a stock I’ve uncovered earlier this month in my premium advisory, Top 10 Stocks. This firm is one of the most established companies in the metals business. But it’s not resting on its laurels. In 2009, management set out a… Read More

Many people don’t believe that disconnects like the one I’m about to tell you about can happen. They believe that with all of the eyeballs on Wall Street, someone (and likely many people) would surely spot a rising star like this. But that’s not at all true. And I can prove it to you. #-ad_banner-#Just look at the stats on a stock I’ve uncovered earlier this month in my premium advisory, Top 10 Stocks. This firm is one of the most established companies in the metals business. But it’s not resting on its laurels. In 2009, management set out a program of cost-cutting and efficiency improvements designed to boost this company’s profitability. Since that time, margins have jumped to a projected 21.9% for 2013, up an astonishing 65% from 2009 levels. Growth like this should send stock buyers scrambling to call their brokers. But here’s the incredible thing: Today, you can buy this firm for 45% less than when it started its relentless margin improvements. This sounds too good to be true. Surely there must be something wrong. Perhaps there’s a hidden defect that’s causing investors to drop the stock? The reason for this disconnect has nothing to do with… Read More

Insiders in the natural resource business often talk about “shopping season” this time of year. But they’re not referring to Christmas presents. As I’ve discussed before (see “The Little-Known ‘Glitch’ That Could Lead To 53% Gains), this is the time of year when many natural resource investments can be had at bargain prices.  This is particularly true for the smaller firms that my premium natural resource newsletter, Junior Resource Advisor, was created to focus on — the kind of companies that offer potential for double- or even triple-digit gains through the discovery of major mineral or petroleum deposits. #-ad_banner-#This month’s… Read More

Insiders in the natural resource business often talk about “shopping season” this time of year. But they’re not referring to Christmas presents. As I’ve discussed before (see “The Little-Known ‘Glitch’ That Could Lead To 53% Gains), this is the time of year when many natural resource investments can be had at bargain prices.  This is particularly true for the smaller firms that my premium natural resource newsletter, Junior Resource Advisor, was created to focus on — the kind of companies that offer potential for double- or even triple-digit gains through the discovery of major mineral or petroleum deposits. #-ad_banner-#This month’s buying opportunity is upon us — ironically — because 2013 has been a difficult year for many resource companies. With commodities prices falling, a large number of firms have seen their share prices decline. Sentiment has in fact turned down to such a degree that many of these firms are selling for cash flow multiples lower than we’ve seen in decades. I’ve been purchasing a number of these companies for my portfolio over the past few months. One such company I recently told my Junior Resource Advisor subscribers about is selling for less than twice its after-tax income. The thing… Read More