While many folks are busy making their shopping lists for the holiday season, my readers and I have been busy making a different type of shopping list. You see, each month I update my readers on what companies are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special dividends on the horizon, as well as for potential dividend hikes over the next four to six weeks. I give special attention to outsized double-digit increases and reliable dividend-payers that have been steadily growing payouts for a decade or more. I flag these stocks first… Read More

While many folks are busy making their shopping lists for the holiday season, my readers and I have been busy making a different type of shopping list. You see, each month I update my readers on what companies are likely to announce a dividend hike in the coming month. I scan the market for noteworthy special dividends on the horizon, as well as for potential dividend hikes over the next four to six weeks. I give special attention to outsized double-digit increases and reliable dividend-payers that have been steadily growing payouts for a decade or more. I flag these stocks first for readers of my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing. Then, I share them with the public.  So without further delay, here are three potential dividend hikes I’m looking at right now… 1. Kimberly Clark (NYSE: KMB) – Kimberly Clark is one of the world’s leading suppliers of diapers and feminine products. The company owns five different billion-dollar brands, with products on the shelves in more than 175 countries worldwide. It has been estimated that one-fourth of the world’s population uses KMB products on a daily basis. And that steady demand generates $18+ billion in annual sales. Despite rising commodity prices and… Read More

Most semiconductor stocks have rallied nicely in recent months on the expectation that global demand would pick up in the fourth quarter. But Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) recently threw some cold water on that outlook. #-ad_banner-#The company reported third-quarter revenues of $3.8 billion and earnings of $1.49 per share, which were roughly in-line with estimates. But its fourth-quarter forecast was bleak. The company is expecting revenues of $3.2 billion, a sequential decline of $600 million (16%) from this past quarter. Management flatly stated that the downturn could persist into the first half of next year. Like many companies with a… Read More

Most semiconductor stocks have rallied nicely in recent months on the expectation that global demand would pick up in the fourth quarter. But Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) recently threw some cold water on that outlook. #-ad_banner-#The company reported third-quarter revenues of $3.8 billion and earnings of $1.49 per share, which were roughly in-line with estimates. But its fourth-quarter forecast was bleak. The company is expecting revenues of $3.2 billion, a sequential decline of $600 million (16%) from this past quarter. Management flatly stated that the downturn could persist into the first half of next year. Like many companies with a global presence, Texas Instruments cited the negative impact of the ongoing trade war with China. The White House ban on U.S. companies conducting business with telecom equipment maker Huawei has been particularly problematic. Texas Instruments is a key supplier, and Huawei typically accounts for about 3% to 4% of overall sales. That’s a big reason why revenue in the communications sector is expected to drop by 20% next quarter. But the weakness is broad, from automotive to electronics. CFO Rafael Lizardi explained the situation using a colorful analogy. “We are at the very end of a long supply chain, and… Read More

They say that the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. That quip is widely attributed to famous economist John Maynard Keynes, who was nearly wiped out in the 1920s with leveraged foreign currency trades that went the wrong way. A great many investors have learned this lesson the hard way, ruined not necessarily because they were wrong and the market was right, but because they ran out of cash before the market corrected its mistake. This often happens within asset bubbles. Prices may be overinflated, yet they continue to rise. Those gains lure more buyers, who… Read More

They say that the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. That quip is widely attributed to famous economist John Maynard Keynes, who was nearly wiped out in the 1920s with leveraged foreign currency trades that went the wrong way. A great many investors have learned this lesson the hard way, ruined not necessarily because they were wrong and the market was right, but because they ran out of cash before the market corrected its mistake. This often happens within asset bubbles. Prices may be overinflated, yet they continue to rise. Those gains lure more buyers, who propel prices even higher, which leads to even more rampant speculation. Much like a pyramid scheme, successful investing in such conditions only requires one fool to find an even bigger fool willing to pay a higher price. That’s the nature of momentum investing — it works until it stops working. And then it gets ugly. But going against the herd with short sales carries its own risks. As Mr. Keynes found out, you can run out of money long before the bubble finally pops. But it’s the other half of the equation that I want to talk about today.  When… Read More

Days after college graduation, a newly-minted Finance/Investment Management degree in hand, I found myself combing through the newspaper want-ads looking for work. Yes, I said newspaper. This was the dawn of the internet era, long before job seekers began uploading their resumes to sites like Indeed.com and visiting professional networking portals such as LinkedIn. Fortunately, everything worked out. Needless to say, it’s a different world for today’s job seekers. The average job hunt is filled with digital pathways to make connections. If you’re an electrician looking for a job in the Chicago area, for example, a quick search of CareerBuilder.com… Read More

Days after college graduation, a newly-minted Finance/Investment Management degree in hand, I found myself combing through the newspaper want-ads looking for work. Yes, I said newspaper. This was the dawn of the internet era, long before job seekers began uploading their resumes to sites like Indeed.com and visiting professional networking portals such as LinkedIn. Fortunately, everything worked out. Needless to say, it’s a different world for today’s job seekers. The average job hunt is filled with digital pathways to make connections. If you’re an electrician looking for a job in the Chicago area, for example, a quick search of CareerBuilder.com shows 64 available positions. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. A successful job search still depends in large part (aside from the applicant’s qualifications) on the number of businesses hanging out help-wanted signs. The more the better. And they are plentiful right now, to say the least. —Recommended Link—   Most Traders Do THIS Wrong (Hint: They’re paying Wall Street instead of letting Wall Street pay them!) They’re screwing it up… and they’re missing out on the chance to make easy profits every single week without a ton of risk. Read More

Check out this stock chart. This is the part where a financial writer would normally make some kind of half-hearted analogy to a roller coaster ride. It would certainly be fitting in this case, not only because of the stock’s stomach-churning ups and downs, but also because it belongs to none other than Six Flags (NYSE: SIX).  —Recommended Link— A stock that yields 67% a year? Really? If you’re happy with stocks yielding you 4% or 5% a year, you don’t need this. But if you want to see how we built a portfolio that now… Read More

Check out this stock chart. This is the part where a financial writer would normally make some kind of half-hearted analogy to a roller coaster ride. It would certainly be fitting in this case, not only because of the stock’s stomach-churning ups and downs, but also because it belongs to none other than Six Flags (NYSE: SIX).  —Recommended Link— A stock that yields 67% a year? Really? If you’re happy with stocks yielding you 4% or 5% a year, you don’t need this. But if you want to see how we built a portfolio that now pays us a 67% cash on cash return – with no leverage, options, or gimmicks — then go here ASAP. Six Flags knows a thing or two about adrenaline-inducing rides. It has constantly raised the entertainment bar over the years, introducing thrilling attractions such as Goliath, the world’s fastest and steepest wooden coaster, and Zumanjaro, the world’s tallest drop ride (41 stories at 90 mph). It has even just given us the first looping virtual reality coaster.  As the world’s largest regional theme park owner, Six Flags operates 145 roller coasters (925 total rides) that delight… Read More

There’s some much-needed good news to report for shareholders of one of America’s most storied companies. Shortly after sealing the $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat back in July, IBM (NYSE: IBM) predicted the open-source software provider would generate $350 million in revenues in its first full post-merger quarter. The actual number: $371 million. That contribution helped third-quarter revenues from Big Blue’s cloud and cognitive software unit rise 6.4% to $5.3 billion. That’s the good news. For those who may not be familiar, the Red Hat acquisition is one of a number of moves Big Blue has made in… Read More

There’s some much-needed good news to report for shareholders of one of America’s most storied companies. Shortly after sealing the $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat back in July, IBM (NYSE: IBM) predicted the open-source software provider would generate $350 million in revenues in its first full post-merger quarter. The actual number: $371 million. That contribution helped third-quarter revenues from Big Blue’s cloud and cognitive software unit rise 6.4% to $5.3 billion. That’s the good news. For those who may not be familiar, the Red Hat acquisition is one of a number of moves Big Blue has made in recent years to remake itself. The bad news: Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to offset weakness elsewhere, most notably in the core global technology services division. Can Big Blue Finally Turn It Around? Overall sales for the period dipped 4% to $18 billion. That was about $200 million below expectations — and the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. On the positive side, adjusted earnings of $2.68 per share came in ahead of expectations for the 9th straight quarter. But the investment community remains fixated on the persistent top-line slump. This has dogged IBM as the company transitions from legacy mainframe… Read More

Hollywood’s fortunes may rest on the big screen, but one movie theater chain is making an important move to diversify. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is launching a brand new service that will stream video right to your mobile phone or living room. It will be the first movie exhibitor in the U.S. to offer such a platform.  Members of AMC’s premium Stubs loyalty program — 21+ million strong — will soon have the option to rent or buy more than 2,000 feature films and view them on any internet-connected TV or mobile device. The company has already secured licensing… Read More

Hollywood’s fortunes may rest on the big screen, but one movie theater chain is making an important move to diversify. AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) is launching a brand new service that will stream video right to your mobile phone or living room. It will be the first movie exhibitor in the U.S. to offer such a platform.  Members of AMC’s premium Stubs loyalty program — 21+ million strong — will soon have the option to rent or buy more than 2,000 feature films and view them on any internet-connected TV or mobile device. The company has already secured licensing agreements with every major Hollywood studio. They’ll even stream new releases once they are out of theaters. Why Move Into Streaming? You may be wondering why a movie theater chain like AMC would make such a move. This article in The New York Times summarizes the problem thusly: The movie theater industry has long been at odds with online video. Why trek to theaters if thousands of movies are available at the click of a button at home or on your phone? Sure, new films do not arrive on V.O.D. until they have played in… Read More