Even giants can fall in the stock market. History is full of companies once thought to be bulletproof that are now relegated to the dustbin of history. Even the great Warren Buffett is not immune to economic forces. Right now, Buffett’s third largest holding, the Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) company is setting up for a sell-off. Despite its size, dividends, past performance, and investor interest, Coca-Cola stock is not beyond entering a downward period. And this could have wide-reaching implications. Not only is Coca-Cola a huge holding for the Oracle of Omaha, but it is also a major part… Read More

Even giants can fall in the stock market. History is full of companies once thought to be bulletproof that are now relegated to the dustbin of history. Even the great Warren Buffett is not immune to economic forces. Right now, Buffett’s third largest holding, the Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) company is setting up for a sell-off. Despite its size, dividends, past performance, and investor interest, Coca-Cola stock is not beyond entering a downward period. And this could have wide-reaching implications. Not only is Coca-Cola a huge holding for the Oracle of Omaha, but it is also a major part of the majority of diversified stock portfolios and a Dow component. This means that many giant index funds and ETFs are heavily invested in the stock. But this is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, savvy investors can use the expected down period to profit handsomely on the short side. How Can I Profit From Coke’s Decline? The coolest thing about active trading is that money can always be made, whether the stock is going up or going down. Unlike the majority of buy-and-hold investors, the active investor does not care what direction the stock moves. The secret… Read More

Powerball and the other assorted government sponsored lotteries are big business. During 2014,  players spent $70 billion on legal lotteries in America alone. Global lottery sales bring in about $300 billion each year. The urge for fast money is so strong that ticket sales on U.S. lottery games average $300 per adult in the 43 states hosting the games. Putting this number into perspective, it’s more money than U.S. citizens in all 50 states spent on movies, recorded music, sports tickets, books and even video games combined! #-ad_banner-#While many players participate in the lottery as a fun diversion, some view… Read More

Powerball and the other assorted government sponsored lotteries are big business. During 2014,  players spent $70 billion on legal lotteries in America alone. Global lottery sales bring in about $300 billion each year. The urge for fast money is so strong that ticket sales on U.S. lottery games average $300 per adult in the 43 states hosting the games. Putting this number into perspective, it’s more money than U.S. citizens in all 50 states spent on movies, recorded music, sports tickets, books and even video games combined! #-ad_banner-#While many players participate in the lottery as a fun diversion, some view it differently. A study published in 2004 revealed a sad truth. Cornell professors, Garrick Blalock, David R. Just, and Daniel H. Simon authored a study called “Hitting the Jackpot or Hitting the Skids.” The research discovered that local lottery ticket sales are higher in areas of low income. However, movie ticket sales decline with poverty levels. Bluntly stated, the lottery is viewed as a possible source of income by the destitute, despite the astronomical  odds against winning. Although the odds of winning the Powerball can be as low as 1 in 258 million, there is a way to significantly improve… Read More

What an incredible time to be a stock market investor. Prices have been surging higher over the past few months, with the popular benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking the 20,000 barrier for the first time in its history. Driven by the new Presidential administration’s anti-regulatory, pro-infrastructure spending, and tax-slashing… Read More

Today’s investors are barraged with technology-driven investment tools. Everything from a standard online trading platform to completely automated, decision-making robo-advisors is at our fingertips. #-ad_banner-#Known collectively as Fintech, these revolutionary changes have deeply altered our relationship with the financial markets. The stock market had grown tremendously since the days when investors had to phone in orders to brokers who in turn called the stock exchange to execute orders. Things are continuing to change and change fast for individual investors. And whenever there is change there are many opportunities for profit. And this is especially true of the fintech revolution, one… Read More

Today’s investors are barraged with technology-driven investment tools. Everything from a standard online trading platform to completely automated, decision-making robo-advisors is at our fingertips. #-ad_banner-#Known collectively as Fintech, these revolutionary changes have deeply altered our relationship with the financial markets. The stock market had grown tremendously since the days when investors had to phone in orders to brokers who in turn called the stock exchange to execute orders. Things are continuing to change and change fast for individual investors. And whenever there is change there are many opportunities for profit. And this is especially true of the fintech revolution, one of many smart stocks to invest in now. Early Fintech Advances Fintech can be traced back to the early 1960s with the advent of the Quotron system on brokers’ desks. Quotron was the first electronic system for distributing stock quotes in real time. In 1966, the global telex network was launched with the goal of creating the backbone for future international financial technology. Later on, the Clearing House Interbank Payments System was founded to allow large global banks the ability to convey and settle payments in greenbacks. While it feels like forever, it has only been since 1983 that… Read More

“You can bet your bottom dollar, residential real estate will never go down in value!” The real estate seminar speaker exclaimed. He backed up this proclamation with slides of long-term charts and graphs to the excited wannabe-investor audience hanging on his every word. As a natural contrarian and experienced investor, this overconfidence in the housing market struck me as a possible signal that a crash of untold devastation was in the cards. #-ad_banner-#That was in 2005, and we all know what happened during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Easy money sparked an unsustainable bubble in the residential housing market. Feeling secure… Read More

“You can bet your bottom dollar, residential real estate will never go down in value!” The real estate seminar speaker exclaimed. He backed up this proclamation with slides of long-term charts and graphs to the excited wannabe-investor audience hanging on his every word. As a natural contrarian and experienced investor, this overconfidence in the housing market struck me as a possible signal that a crash of untold devastation was in the cards. #-ad_banner-#That was in 2005, and we all know what happened during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Easy money sparked an unsustainable bubble in the residential housing market. Feeling secure that price appreciation would never end, banks were heavily pushing NINJA (no income, no job, no assets)-type loans. There were stories of low paid retail workers purchasing $500,000-plus McMansions and other tales of incredible financial debauchery. Economists estimate that second mortgages during the bubble years fueled $1.25 trillion in consumer spending from 2002 to 2006. When the bubble burst, consumption collapsed, triggering the Great Recession. Huge numbers of homeowners lost their homes as the housing market was rocked by overleverage and plunging real estate prices. No longer able to sustain the payments by refinancing, many homeowners and investors just walked… Read More

One would think that the company would be making headline news after returning over 360% in the last 52 weeks. However, this high-return stock is not very popular among investors. The majority of today’s stock market players seem to prefer the latest technology or cutting edge pharmaceutical stock to this top performer. In fact, the entire sector has fallen out of favor due to years of underperformance and lackluster returns. But things are changing and changing quickly. Investors who caught this trend early have earned handsome profits, but don’t worry — there are still plenty of profits to be made… Read More

One would think that the company would be making headline news after returning over 360% in the last 52 weeks. However, this high-return stock is not very popular among investors. The majority of today’s stock market players seem to prefer the latest technology or cutting edge pharmaceutical stock to this top performer. In fact, the entire sector has fallen out of favor due to years of underperformance and lackluster returns. But things are changing and changing quickly. Investors who caught this trend early have earned handsome profits, but don’t worry — there are still plenty of profits to be made by risk-embracing investors. #-ad_banner-#Rest assured, I’m not talking about flash-in-the-pan, sky-high-return penny stocks with shady marketing, or questionable biotech stocks with “miracle cures.” This company has existed for over 115 years, and counted many of them as the market-leader. It boasts revenues of nearly $12 billion annually and a market cap of almost $7 billion. I can’t think of many companies further away from the penny stock arena. The company is Pittsburgh-based steel company U.S. Steel (NYSE: X).  Once one of the leading industrial firms in the nation, the company has suffered since the 1980s due to cheap imports. It… Read More

Mario Gabelli is definitely among my stock investing heroes. I consider him to be one of the greatest living stock pickers. His prodigious and unique stock-picking skills landed him a place on Forbes’ billionaire list. And this $1.5 billion fortune is 100% made from the financial markets. His investment company GAMCO manages over $40 billion and earns an average of 12% annually under his guidance. Believe it or not, he talks freely about his research methods and investing philosophy. They are very simple, and any investor can easily apply them to their portfolio. #-ad_banner-#His ideas are built upon theories initially… Read More

Mario Gabelli is definitely among my stock investing heroes. I consider him to be one of the greatest living stock pickers. His prodigious and unique stock-picking skills landed him a place on Forbes’ billionaire list. And this $1.5 billion fortune is 100% made from the financial markets. His investment company GAMCO manages over $40 billion and earns an average of 12% annually under his guidance. Believe it or not, he talks freely about his research methods and investing philosophy. They are very simple, and any investor can easily apply them to their portfolio. #-ad_banner-#His ideas are built upon theories initially popularized in the book Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd way back in 1934. This book is still considered the “Bible” of fundamental analysis. Gabelli adds a twist to the book’s theories by using a value investing approach to screen stocks. He uses Warren Buffett’s idea of buying stocks as if you are buying the company itself. Then he adds his theory of private market value (PMV). Columbia Business School credits him with the creation of the PMV concept. PMV is the value an informed buyer would pay to purchase an asset with similar characteristics. It is calculated… Read More

Shares have soared over 108% in the last 52 weeks, with an over 33% gain in 2017 alone. The company also throws off an annual dividend yield greater than 1.5% and boasts a substantial $45 billion-plus market cap. Sounds like a miracle company, right? I know, when I first heard the above performance stats, I immediately thought this was some under-the-radar, high-tech hardware company quietly taking over its sector. #-ad_banner-#I was shocked to discover that this company is part of the oldest transportation industry in the United States, railroads. Other than hearing some chatter about Warren Buffett investing in the… Read More

Shares have soared over 108% in the last 52 weeks, with an over 33% gain in 2017 alone. The company also throws off an annual dividend yield greater than 1.5% and boasts a substantial $45 billion-plus market cap. Sounds like a miracle company, right? I know, when I first heard the above performance stats, I immediately thought this was some under-the-radar, high-tech hardware company quietly taking over its sector. #-ad_banner-#I was shocked to discover that this company is part of the oldest transportation industry in the United States, railroads. Other than hearing some chatter about Warren Buffett investing in the industry, I believed that railroad companies were simply too old school, slow, and close to dying off. Boy, was I wrong! In the United States, railroads are a $60 billion industry consisting of 140,000 miles of tracks. It is a highly monopolistic industry with nearly insurmountable barriers to entry for additional competitors. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the rail network makes up approximately 40% of U.S. freight moves by ton-miles (the length freight travels) and 16% by tons (the weight of cargo moved). In general, bulk freight, such as grain and coal, ships in rail cars and consumer goods,… Read More

Real estate investing is a time-honored method for building substantial wealth. However, I learned the hard way it’s a long, dirty way to the top for the undercapitalized, do-it-yourself investor. Having voraciously read Robert Allen’s seminal book, Nothing Down, as a college student, I decided to purchase a duplex in what I believed was an up-and-coming part of the city. #-ad_banner-#Following the guidance in the book to the letter, I was able to buy the dilapidated building with little capital of my own, financing the rest. After several weeks of hard, dirty work that I did not enjoy in the… Read More

Real estate investing is a time-honored method for building substantial wealth. However, I learned the hard way it’s a long, dirty way to the top for the undercapitalized, do-it-yourself investor. Having voraciously read Robert Allen’s seminal book, Nothing Down, as a college student, I decided to purchase a duplex in what I believed was an up-and-coming part of the city. #-ad_banner-#Following the guidance in the book to the letter, I was able to buy the dilapidated building with little capital of my own, financing the rest. After several weeks of hard, dirty work that I did not enjoy in the least, it was time to rent out the units. Everything went perfectly for the first several months — until things started breaking in the building. First, it was the water heater, then the electrical system shorted out, and then the furnace blew up! Along with this trouble, both of my tenants lost their jobs and refused to leave their apartments. It turned out that both of the tenants were experts at avoiding eviction. They seemed to know the law better than the attorney I was forced to hire. Months went by with zero income from the building, and I was… Read More

Successful stock market investing over the long term takes skills in several disciplines. First, you need to be able to think outside of the box by looking behind the headline stocks into lesser-known names operating behind the scenes. Now, I am certainly not saying to avoid the headline names. Getting in early on a favorite stock is a sure way to stock market profits. But often, once a stock starts making mainstream news headlines it’s upward price momentum is about to slow or fail altogether. #-ad_banner-#Identifying companies that support one or a combination of headline names yet do not get… Read More

Successful stock market investing over the long term takes skills in several disciplines. First, you need to be able to think outside of the box by looking behind the headline stocks into lesser-known names operating behind the scenes. Now, I am certainly not saying to avoid the headline names. Getting in early on a favorite stock is a sure way to stock market profits. But often, once a stock starts making mainstream news headlines it’s upward price momentum is about to slow or fail altogether. #-ad_banner-#Identifying companies that support one or a combination of headline names yet do not get the same attention as the headliner is a consistent way to locate winning stocks for the long term. Once you locate your behind-the-news stock, it’s time to take a close look at its fundamentals to make certain there is support behind the price move. Are the fundamentals improving over time? Are revenue and sales upward-trending from quarter to quarter? Do the products and services support an overall societal or economic trend? These are the basic questions to answer before making an investing decision. Next, make certain the share price is in an overall upward trend. This means judging whether the… Read More