Despite the markets’ push to record levels, energy stocks have been locked into a bearish slump for the past two years.  With natural gas plummeting to an all-time low in the summer of 2012 and crude contained by slow economic growth, energy stocks have been big underperformers. That shows up in the sector’s 3% gain in the past five years, 12% gain in the past three and just 7% gain in 2013 against the S&P 500’s 20%.#-ad_banner-# But with natural gas… Read More

Despite the markets’ push to record levels, energy stocks have been locked into a bearish slump for the past two years.  With natural gas plummeting to an all-time low in the summer of 2012 and crude contained by slow economic growth, energy stocks have been big underperformers. That shows up in the sector’s 3% gain in the past five years, 12% gain in the past three and just 7% gain in 2013 against the S&P 500’s 20%.#-ad_banner-# But with natural gas trading well above its multi-year low and crude recently breaking above $100, the stage could be set for a rebound. One of my favorite ways to cash in on the energy trade is with offshore drillers. I’m bullish on the offshore drilling industry because that’s where most of the new oil is being found. In the past decade, more than 40% of all newly discovered oil was found in ultra-deep water, bypassing both onshore and near-shore discoveries. Big finds in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coasts… Read More

The death of cash is one of the hottest trends on the Street. With consumers fleeing cash in favor of the convenience of credit and debit cards, electronic financial transactions… Read More

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a groundbreaking policy change last year that is having a large impact on the biotech industry and creating a big opportunity for investors. To create a faster path to commercialization for potentially life-saving drugs and medicine, the FDA in July introduced a new “breakthrough” status for drugs that show “substantial improvement on existing therapies for clinically significant endpoints.”#-ad_banner-# For an industry that is accustomed to a costly 10-year commercialization process, the breakthrough status is a welcome shift. An accelerated channel to… Read More

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a groundbreaking policy change last year that is having a large impact on the biotech industry and creating a big opportunity for investors. To create a faster path to commercialization for potentially life-saving drugs and medicine, the FDA in July introduced a new “breakthrough” status for drugs that show “substantial improvement on existing therapies for clinically significant endpoints.”#-ad_banner-# For an industry that is accustomed to a costly 10-year commercialization process, the breakthrough status is a welcome shift. An accelerated channel to commercialization could enable drug companies to shave years and billions of dollars from the cumbersome process. But the FDA’s new breakthrough status isn’t just a win for drug companies and the health care industry — it’s also creating an opportunity to invest in the most innovative companies in the world. The companies winning breakthrough status for their drugs are in the hunt for the next billion-dollar blockbuster, something that can send both earnings and shares soaring. And now, just six months… Read More

Grocery stores don’t usually provoke thoughts of big gains from investors. And that’s for a good reason. The domestic grocery market is relatively mature, with analysts projecting annual sales growth of 1% in the next few years. But there is one segment of the domestic grocery market that continues to experience explosive growth. With consumers increasingly prioritizing health and wellness, annual organic food sales are on pace to reach $42 billion in 2014, an… Read More

Grocery stores don’t usually provoke thoughts of big gains from investors. And that’s for a good reason. The domestic grocery market is relatively mature, with analysts projecting annual sales growth of 1% in the next few years. But there is one segment of the domestic grocery market that continues to experience explosive growth. With consumers increasingly prioritizing health and wellness, annual organic food sales are on pace to reach $42 billion in 2014, an increase of 31% from $29 billion in 2010. That bullish trend has been fueling market-beating gains for leading organic grocer Whole Foods Market (NYSE: WFM). Although Whole Foods is a great company that will continue to profit from the bullish trend in organic food, its market cap of $20 billion and status as a large cap means it is probably past peak growth. That’s why… Read More

There’s no question the U.S. unemployment rate remains high by historical standards. But it’s also undeniable that it has continued to improve, holding steady at 7.6% after the July jobs report, which showed the economy adding 195,000 jobs last month. Improving employment trends are a big boost for the economy, fueling both consumer spending and sentiment. While that’s good for every company in the S&P 500, there is one that is really cashing in on the trend. In fact, this little-known business-services company has many of the characteristics… Read More

There’s no question the U.S. unemployment rate remains high by historical standards. But it’s also undeniable that it has continued to improve, holding steady at 7.6% after the July jobs report, which showed the economy adding 195,000 jobs last month. Improving employment trends are a big boost for the economy, fueling both consumer spending and sentiment. While that’s good for every company in the S&P 500, there is one that is really cashing in on the trend. In fact, this little-known business-services company has many of the characteristics of what we call a “Forever Stock” at StreetAuthority: high barriers to entrance, a strong balance sheet, attractive valuation and sustainable growth. Portfolio Recovery Associates (Nasdaq: PRAA) is a $2.5 billion company that purchases, collects and manages portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables in the United States and United Kingdom. As a debt collector, Portfolio Recovery Associates has seen big gains from falling… Read More

If you’d like us to answer one of your investing questions in our weekly Ask The Expert Q&A column, email us at editors@investinganswers.com. (Note: We will not respond to requests for stock picks.) Question: Does being an investing contrarian actually work? Will I make money going against the market? — Jim S., Chicago, IL Contrarian investing carries a special… Read More

If you’d like us to answer one of your investing questions in our weekly Ask The Expert Q&A column, email us at editors@investinganswers.com. (Note: We will not respond to requests for stock picks.) Question: Does being an investing contrarian actually work? Will I make money going against the market? — Jim S., Chicago, IL Contrarian investing carries a special attraction for many investors. Not only does being a contrarian frequently present an opportunity to produce outsize gains, it can also be a thrill and big boost to the ego to bet against the masses and go against the grain. Adding greater allure to the attraction of being a contrarian are the escapades of legendary hedge-fund billionaires scoring huge gains executing contrarian strategies. That includes John Paulson’s $12 billion profit in 2007 after bucking popular opinion and making huge bets against housing. Fellow hedge-fund billionaire David Einhorn… Read More

Corporate raiders are economic assassins. They strike fear into the hearts of company executives. And T. Boone Pickens has been one of the best.  The oilman turned corporate raider was one of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout craze of the 1980s, producing huge gains for his investors while becoming one of the richest people in America with a net worth of $1.4 billion. As a legendary oilman, investor… Read More

Corporate raiders are economic assassins. They strike fear into the hearts of company executives. And T. Boone Pickens has been one of the best.  The oilman turned corporate raider was one of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout craze of the 1980s, producing huge gains for his investors while becoming one of the richest people in America with a net worth of $1.4 billion. As a legendary oilman, investor and corporate raider, Pickens has a knack for two things: knowing when to strike and when to play big. #-ad_banner-#T. Boone Pickens’ Biography Pickens showcased his lethal business smarts at an early age. At age 12, he expanded his paper route from 28 to 156 papers. In 1956, after graduating with a degree in geology from Oklahoma A&M and working for Phillips Petroleum for three years, Pickens founded the company that would eventually become Mesa Petroleum. By the early 1980s, Mesa had grown into one of the largest independent gas and oil companies in the world, transforming Pickens into… Read More

Corporate raiders are economic assassins. They strike fear into the hearts of company executives. And T. Boone Pickens has been one of the best.  The oilman turned corporate raider was one of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout craze of the 1980s, producing huge gains for his investors while becoming one of the richest people in America with a net worth of $1.4 billion. As a legendary oilman, investor… Read More

Corporate raiders are economic assassins. They strike fear into the hearts of company executives. And T. Boone Pickens has been one of the best.  The oilman turned corporate raider was one of the pioneers of the leveraged buyout craze of the 1980s, producing huge gains for his investors while becoming one of the richest people in America with a net worth of $1.4 billion. As a legendary oilman, investor and corporate raider, Pickens has a knack for two things: knowing when to strike and when to play big. #-ad_banner-#T. Boone Pickens’ Biography Pickens showcased his lethal business smarts at an early age. At age 12, he expanded his paper route from 28 to 156 papers. In 1956, after graduating with a degree in geology from Oklahoma A&M and working for Phillips Petroleum for three years, Pickens founded the company that would eventually become Mesa Petroleum. By the early 1980s, Mesa had grown into one of the largest independent gas and oil companies in the world, transforming Pickens into… Read More

Making millions and retiring in your 30s is every investor’s dream. But for legendary commodities trader Jim Rogers, it was just the beginning of a career on Wall Street that has spanned six decades and produced a net worth in the hundreds of millions.#-ad_banner-# Rogers’ amazing success was built on his uncanny ability to spot long-term trends well before the masses, earning him a reputation as a contrarian. But now, after “retiring” at 37, scoring huge… Read More

Making millions and retiring in your 30s is every investor’s dream. But for legendary commodities trader Jim Rogers, it was just the beginning of a career on Wall Street that has spanned six decades and produced a net worth in the hundreds of millions.#-ad_banner-# Rogers’ amazing success was built on his uncanny ability to spot long-term trends well before the masses, earning him a reputation as a contrarian. But now, after “retiring” at 37, scoring huge gains in commodities in the early 2000s and correctly predicting the financial and housing crisis, Jim Rogers has his sights set squarely on what he calls one of the greatest opportunities he has ever seen, and now he’s sharing his stock market investing advice, with you! Jim Rogers’ Biography Rogers showed a penchant for business at an early age. His career as an entrepreneur began at age 5 with selling peanuts and picking up empty bottles left behind at baseball games in Alabama. After graduating from Yale University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree… Read More

Making millions and retiring in your 30s is every investor’s dream. But for legendary commodities trader Jim Rogers, it was just the beginning of a career on Wall Street that has spanned six decades and produced a net worth in the hundreds of millions.#-ad_banner-# Rogers’ amazing success was built on his uncanny ability to spot long-term trends well before the masses, earning him a reputation as a contrarian. But now, after “retiring” at 37, scoring… Read More

Making millions and retiring in your 30s is every investor’s dream. But for legendary commodities trader Jim Rogers, it was just the beginning of a career on Wall Street that has spanned six decades and produced a net worth in the hundreds of millions.#-ad_banner-# Rogers’ amazing success was built on his uncanny ability to spot long-term trends well before the masses, earning him a reputation as a contrarian. But now, after “retiring” at 37, scoring huge gains in commodities in the early 2000s and correctly predicting the financial and housing crisis, Jim Rogers has his sights set squarely on what he calls one of the greatest opportunities he has ever seen. Jim Rogers’ Biography Rogers showed a penchant for business at an early age. His career as an entrepreneur began at age 5 with selling peanuts and picking up empty bottles left behind at baseball games in Alabama. After graduating from Yale University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in history, Rogers headed to Wall Street and worked… Read More