Recent headlines have reminded us too well of the growing need for protection from terror groups and cybercrimes.  More than 32,000 people were killed in acts of terrorism in 2014, an increase of 80% from 2013. The economic impact of terrorism also reached a record $52.9 billion last year, surging 60% from the previous year and jumping ten-fold since 2000.  Cybercrimes and headlines of major hacking breaches have become regular occurrences, with more than 4,000 cyber-attacks reported every day. IBM estimates that businesses are attacked an average of 16,856 times a year. That’s every business. While the majority of online… Read More

Recent headlines have reminded us too well of the growing need for protection from terror groups and cybercrimes.  More than 32,000 people were killed in acts of terrorism in 2014, an increase of 80% from 2013. The economic impact of terrorism also reached a record $52.9 billion last year, surging 60% from the previous year and jumping ten-fold since 2000.  Cybercrimes and headlines of major hacking breaches have become regular occurrences, with more than 4,000 cyber-attacks reported every day. IBM estimates that businesses are attacked an average of 16,856 times a year. That’s every business. While the majority of online attacks don’t get through first-line defenses, an average of 1.7 per week are successful at breeching corporate networks. Growth in security products, services and cybersecurity is set to be a pervasive theme for the foreseeable future.  An industry report from ASIS International shows private security spending jumped 10.5% to $377 billion over the two years through 2015. That estimate is likely conservative, given that corporate security spending isn’t often separated out from general facilities management budgets. The global market for physical security grew to $120 billion in 2013, an increase of 11% from the previous year. Cyber security continues to… Read More

Large infrastructure projects can mean a boom for the economy and users of the new structures once they’re done but construction can seem to go on forever. Shares of companies that will benefit from the new structures are bid up only to come back down when mega-projects get delayed and run over budget.  One such project has gone nearly two years over schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget. Once a hot subject among investors, this project has faded into the background after more than eight years of construction. But a new progress report shows light at the… Read More

Large infrastructure projects can mean a boom for the economy and users of the new structures once they’re done but construction can seem to go on forever. Shares of companies that will benefit from the new structures are bid up only to come back down when mega-projects get delayed and run over budget.  One such project has gone nearly two years over schedule and more than a billion dollars over budget. Once a hot subject among investors, this project has faded into the background after more than eight years of construction. But a new progress report shows light at the end of the tunnel. The building consortium has given a completion date for early next year. And one company stands to gain on multiple fronts while the project’s completion could touch off a rebound for an unloved industry. An Expanded Panama Canal And A Boom For East Coast Shipping Despite news of leakage in the third lock, representatives of the building consortium insist that the Panama Canal expansion will be completed by April 2016. The project has run over-budget and way past its original October 2014 deadline, but now completion is in sight.  The new canal will support ships… Read More

Consolidation in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets has put the two industries in flux. We’ve seen mega-mergers like the tie-up between AT&T (NYSE: T) and DirectTV approved while others have been thwarted.  A big deal may be coming soon that could translate to strong upside for a beaten-down leader in the pay-TV market over the next few months. Dish Adapting To The Changing TV Landscape Shares of Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) fell this week even though the satellite TV provider reported a better-than-expected 35% jump in Q3 earnings year over year. Sales came in below expectations, though, and… Read More

Consolidation in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets has put the two industries in flux. We’ve seen mega-mergers like the tie-up between AT&T (NYSE: T) and DirectTV approved while others have been thwarted.  A big deal may be coming soon that could translate to strong upside for a beaten-down leader in the pay-TV market over the next few months. Dish Adapting To The Changing TV Landscape Shares of Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) fell this week even though the satellite TV provider reported a better-than-expected 35% jump in Q3 earnings year over year. Sales came in below expectations, though, and subscribers continued to decline. The company reported a net loss of 23,000 subscribers in the quarter — nearly double the loss posted a year ago.  With many viewers “cutting the cord” and shifting to over-the-top Internet-based products, Dish launched its Sling service in February. This Internet-based service offers live streaming of more than 30 premium channels.  While the company doesn’t break out the number of satellite versus Sling subscribers, UBS (NYSE: UBS) analyst John Hodulik said it likely lost 173,000 satellite TV customers in the third quarter while adding 150,000 Sling subscribers. Adapting to the changing TV viewing landscape is… Read More

If you’ve been paying attention to the weather lately, you’ve probably heard something about the El Nino effect. El Nino is the name given to the global weather pattern occurring generally once ever five years where warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific causes a shift in wind patterns and atmospheric pressure.  #-ad_banner-#The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts the odds at 95% that the El Nino weather phenomenon will continue through the rest of 2015 and into the spring of next year. In fact, some meteorologists are starting to see close similarities to the weather pattern that hit back… Read More

If you’ve been paying attention to the weather lately, you’ve probably heard something about the El Nino effect. El Nino is the name given to the global weather pattern occurring generally once ever five years where warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific causes a shift in wind patterns and atmospheric pressure.  #-ad_banner-#The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts the odds at 95% that the El Nino weather phenomenon will continue through the rest of 2015 and into the spring of next year. In fact, some meteorologists are starting to see close similarities to the weather pattern that hit back in 1997, dubbed “Super El Nino”. While making investment decision based on weather phenomenon is not a guaranteed trade, history shows some clear patterns of which you can take advantage this year. Within the data, winners and losers start to emerge from Mother Nature’s wrath. How El Nino Affects The Weather — And Stock Prices The latest data from the NOAA shows strong similarities between this year’s El Nino and the super patterns experienced globally in 1982 and 1987. Average surface sea temperatures were 1.5 degrees Celsius above normal from July to September, the third highest average on record… Read More

Bill Ackman spent four hours last week defending his position in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) after accusations of fraud more than halved the stock’s price in less than three months.  The activist investor, whose Pershing Square Capital owns a roughly 6% stake in Valeant, made a strong argument in favor of the Canadian pharmaceuticals giant. Evidently, investors weren’t quite convinced, though, as shares sold off another 16% on the day of the presentation.  But while the market can be fickle, especially when it comes to legal uncertainty in the pharmaceutical industry, there is a lot… Read More

Bill Ackman spent four hours last week defending his position in Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) after accusations of fraud more than halved the stock’s price in less than three months.  The activist investor, whose Pershing Square Capital owns a roughly 6% stake in Valeant, made a strong argument in favor of the Canadian pharmaceuticals giant. Evidently, investors weren’t quite convinced, though, as shares sold off another 16% on the day of the presentation.  But while the market can be fickle, especially when it comes to legal uncertainty in the pharmaceutical industry, there is a lot of value in VRX. In fact, traders have a chance to book a quick double-digit return while hedging their risk. Valeant Hit With A Media Firestorm Under the leadership of CEO Michael Pearson and his aggressive acquisition strategy, shares of Valeant surged nearly 25-fold in seven years. By acquiring what he considered to be mispriced drugs and folding them into Valeant’s distribution channel, he kept research and development (R&D) expenses low compared to other drug manufacturers.  The trouble for Valeant began in August. First, presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders publicly requested the company answer for its practice of raising prices on… Read More

Is there any stopping Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and its dominance of the online retail trend? In October, the online e-tailing megalith blew past first quarter estimates to report sales growth of 23% over the same period last year. Amazon captured 36% of all retail growth volume in North America for the year through September and is expecting a very merry holiday shopping season. The company just hired 100,000 seasonal workers in addition to 25,000 new full-time staff. As traditional retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) warn investors of sluggish brick-and-mortar sales, online retail is surging.   Forrester Research estimates that U.S. Read More

Is there any stopping Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and its dominance of the online retail trend? In October, the online e-tailing megalith blew past first quarter estimates to report sales growth of 23% over the same period last year. Amazon captured 36% of all retail growth volume in North America for the year through September and is expecting a very merry holiday shopping season. The company just hired 100,000 seasonal workers in addition to 25,000 new full-time staff. As traditional retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) warn investors of sluggish brick-and-mortar sales, online retail is surging.   Forrester Research estimates that U.S. online retail sales will reach $334 billion this year, growth of 9% from last year, and could grow to $480 billion by 2019. More than half (57%) of Americans bought something online over the last year and e-commerce accounts for 12.7% of total retail. Expected growth in online retail is more than double the 3.7% growth expected at brick-and-mortar stores according to the National Retail Federation. There’s no doubt that Amazon is crushing the retailing competition and will play a very big role in the future of shopping but the short-term risks are just as glaring. Shares have doubled over… Read More

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to its highest close in two weeks Friday when a surprise rate cut by China’s central bank boosted markets and eased demand for safe haven assets. The People’s Bank of China cut its one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points to bolster economic growth. Fears over a rate hike by the Federal Reserve have subsided lately. Little is expected from today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting announcement, and investors put the odds of a rate hike in December at 34%. #-ad_banner-# Yet, even without an… Read More

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to its highest close in two weeks Friday when a surprise rate cut by China’s central bank boosted markets and eased demand for safe haven assets. The People’s Bank of China cut its one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage points to bolster economic growth. Fears over a rate hike by the Federal Reserve have subsided lately. Little is expected from today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting announcement, and investors put the odds of a rate hike in December at 34%. #-ad_banner-# Yet, even without an actual increase in the federal funds rate, several other factors are likely to drive interest rates higher through the end of the year. That’s bad news for bond investors because bond prices fall as interest rates increase. With today’s trade, you could turn their pain into a 79% gain in less than three months. Bonds Could Take A Hit Even If The Fed Does Nothing As the Federal Reserve increases the fed funds rate — the rate banks charge each other on loaned reserves — the rate on all interest products increases. However, that’s not the only thing that could… Read More

Each year, research firm Gartner releases its Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report — it is an interesting look into the innovations that will shape our lives and the fevers that will catch Wall Street.       The “Hype Cycle” maps new tech ideas from an innovation trigger through inflated expectations and eventually to productivity. I find the name an apt description for anyone investing in the markets and the often-times ridiculous valuations around companies involved.  #-ad_banner-#Here’s how the cycle typically works: First an innovation becomes commercialized and companies must rush to go public fast enough to meet… Read More

Each year, research firm Gartner releases its Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies report — it is an interesting look into the innovations that will shape our lives and the fevers that will catch Wall Street.       The “Hype Cycle” maps new tech ideas from an innovation trigger through inflated expectations and eventually to productivity. I find the name an apt description for anyone investing in the markets and the often-times ridiculous valuations around companies involved.  #-ad_banner-#Here’s how the cycle typically works: First an innovation becomes commercialized and companies must rush to go public fast enough to meet the boom in investor expectations. When the market realizes that profitability is still years away, the crash begins. Only those companies with the market share and balance sheet strength to survive make it to profitability.  As with all financial busts, disillusionment can take the good down with the bad and this sentiment often sinks a stock much further than a rational look at the outlook would suggest. Then when the market catches even a glimpse of profitability, the leaders’ stocks boom.  The 2015 Hype Cycle report shows that the 3D printing industry might be ready to take that last step… Read More

The surging dollar has been one of the most pervasive themes in quarterly earnings reports for a year now. Companies have taken a hit in each quarter when translating their foreign sales from weakening currencies into dollars.  It doesn’t look like that trend is going to be broken in the third quarter. Of the 24 companies in the S&P 500 that had reported earnings by October 9, 18 of them cited the stronger dollar as a negative impact on earnings or sales. This was more than all the other reasons for negative earnings impacts combined according to FactSet Research.  As… Read More

The surging dollar has been one of the most pervasive themes in quarterly earnings reports for a year now. Companies have taken a hit in each quarter when translating their foreign sales from weakening currencies into dollars.  It doesn’t look like that trend is going to be broken in the third quarter. Of the 24 companies in the S&P 500 that had reported earnings by October 9, 18 of them cited the stronger dollar as a negative impact on earnings or sales. This was more than all the other reasons for negative earnings impacts combined according to FactSet Research.  As bad as the negative impact has been on U.S. companies with overseas business, the positive impact from a surprise weakening of the dollar may be all the market needs to make new highs.  We may not have to wait long for that surprise turnaround in the dollar — and I’ve found two companies that will benefit more than most. Why The Dollar Isn’t As Strong As You Think After an historic surge from July of last year through March, the dollar has remained relatively flat against a basket of currencies for most of this year. David Bloom, Chief Currency Strategist… Read More

Shares of utility companies have been hit hard this year thanks to worries of an interest rate hike and the drop in energy prices, a key component in what utilities can charge. Companies in the formerly hot renewable energy space have been hit even harder in recent months. There is fear that cheap fossil fuels will hurt sales of alternative fuels while the high cost of developing these assets will eat into cash flows. One of the leading utility and renewable energy companies recently announced a plan to return a massive amount of cash to shareholders and dramatically reshape the… Read More

Shares of utility companies have been hit hard this year thanks to worries of an interest rate hike and the drop in energy prices, a key component in what utilities can charge. Companies in the formerly hot renewable energy space have been hit even harder in recent months. There is fear that cheap fossil fuels will hurt sales of alternative fuels while the high cost of developing these assets will eat into cash flows. One of the leading utility and renewable energy companies recently announced a plan to return a massive amount of cash to shareholders and dramatically reshape the company. Investors got spooked and dumped shares, but I’m buying in with a strategy to put even more cash in my pocket. A Cash Machine In A Protected Market NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) is the largest independent power producer in the United States. It generates over 50 gigawatts of power primarily through oil, coal, gas and nuclear power, which it sells wholesale and to about 3 million residential customers across the country. The company also owns considerable capacity in renewable energy including solar, wind and thermal. Before I tell you more, I want to give you a little background on the… Read More