Here’s the thing about sin: though ugly, it tends to roll on in any economy. This fact is a huge benefit to companies that deal in vice. When searching for investments in a slow-growth or uncertain economy, investors often look to defensive industries such as healthcare, food and utilities. After all, people still get sick and need to eat and stay warm regardless of the state of the economy. But, it’s seldom mentioned that people consistently do something else in any economy — drink and smoke. In… Read More

Here’s the thing about sin: though ugly, it tends to roll on in any economy. This fact is a huge benefit to companies that deal in vice. When searching for investments in a slow-growth or uncertain economy, investors often look to defensive industries such as healthcare, food and utilities. After all, people still get sick and need to eat and stay warm regardless of the state of the economy. But, it’s seldom mentioned that people consistently do something else in any economy — drink and smoke. In fact, vice just might be the most defensive business of all. Stocks in the cigarette and beer industries seem to keep on making profits and the stocks keep going up regardless of what the market is doing. While the S&P 500 is lower now than it was 10 years ago, Morningstar’s cigarette industry category soared at a remarkable average of more than +21% a year for the past 10 years. The Beverage-Brewer (beer) category returned an average of about +16% per year for the same period. And the outperformance is continuing. Read More

Of the 2,000 stocks that comprise the Russell 2000 Index, 10 of them rose by at least +50% in September. And half of those are the beneficiary of very generous buyout offers (while a sixth name rebuffed an… Read More

Although the energy sector has underperformed in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster, it will likely be a plentiful source of profitable stocks as the economic recovery grinds ahead. While investors ought to do nicely during the next few years with household names like Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM), I’m anticipating much larger returns from some of the sector’s small- and mid-caps. One mid-cap oil and gas producer I’ve found could more than quadruple your money by 2015 or even sooner. Read More

Although the energy sector has underperformed in the wake of the Gulf oil spill disaster, it will likely be a plentiful source of profitable stocks as the economic recovery grinds ahead. While investors ought to do nicely during the next few years with household names like Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Exxon (NYSE: XOM), I’m anticipating much larger returns from some of the sector’s small- and mid-caps. One mid-cap oil and gas producer I’ve found could more than quadruple your money by 2015 or even sooner. Projections call for a share price of $45 to $70 in three to five years from the current price of about $15. Assuming five years, the annual return would be +25% to +35%. At three years, you’d be looking at something more in the +45% to +65% range annually. All told, the stock could jump roughly +200% to +365% from current levels. The company I’m referring to is called Petrohawk (NYSE: HK). Such ambitious return projections for the stock are feasible, mainly because of its plans to keep ramping up production at its… Read More

There’s an old Wall Street adage: “Buy what you know.” It’s not bad advice, as it points investors toward stocks they can reasonably assess. For the year so far, though, sticking with what you know would have kept most investors clear of the market’s best performing industry, as none of… Read More

After a sharp plunge in 2009, many companies are reporting vastly improved results this year. But until the economy is firmly in growth mode, further profit gains may be hard to come by. But a small minority of… Read More

One of the mega growth companies of the past few years is Salesforce.com (NYSE : CRM). Since 2008, sales have spiked from $748.7 million to $1.3 billion. And investors have piled into the stock, which has gone from $34 to nearly $120 since early 2009. Salesforce.com builds… Read More

Gold is on the march. The yellow metal is spiking to a new all time (non inflation-adjusted) highs of nearly $1,300 per ounce on renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve’s next moves will only strengthen the case for higher gold prices down the road. Let’s take a closer look at some key questions to see if gold is set to shine even brighter or eventually lose its luster. Q: What is the Fed concerned about? A: In its most recent statement after Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC)… Read More

Gold is on the march. The yellow metal is spiking to a new all time (non inflation-adjusted) highs of nearly $1,300 per ounce on renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve’s next moves will only strengthen the case for higher gold prices down the road. Let’s take a closer look at some key questions to see if gold is set to shine even brighter or eventually lose its luster. Q: What is the Fed concerned about? A: In its most recent statement after Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, the Fed noted that potential deflation is of increasing concern. (Core annual inflation has been running at 0.9% for five months in a row, its lowest pace since 1966.) Any drop in prices could spell real trouble for the economy and would imperil borrowers that are seeing lower income but constant debt levels. Q: What might the Fed do? A: To help support prices, the Fed can inject money… Read More

I always keep my eyes open for investment opportunities. The best method is to literally keep them open when you are out and about doing your daily business. This is one of the ways I’ve found multi-bagger stocks over the years. Everyday items can certainly provide investors with good returns, but these companies tend to be what Peter Lynch called “stalwarts” — slow growing companies paying a nice dividend that should form the cornerstone of your portfolio. However, it is the companies behind the scenes or right under… Read More

I always keep my eyes open for investment opportunities. The best method is to literally keep them open when you are out and about doing your daily business. This is one of the ways I’ve found multi-bagger stocks over the years. Everyday items can certainly provide investors with good returns, but these companies tend to be what Peter Lynch called “stalwarts” — slow growing companies paying a nice dividend that should form the cornerstone of your portfolio. However, it is the companies behind the scenes or right under your nose that provide the big growth opportunities. Many years ago, I invested in a company called Flextronics (Nasdaq: FLEX). At the time, the company was providing a lot of the parts and electronics that went inside things like cellular phones. While I was in a Subway sandwich store a few weeks ago, I saw the employees rapidly heat up the sandwiches in a TurboChef oven. I thought a super-fast oven was a neat idea, but also dismayed to learn the company had been purchased in 2008 by Middleby Corporation (Nasdaq: MIDD), a company that designs, manufactures… Read More

Investing in China has not been for the faint of heart. Shares of major companies have surged and fallen in repeating cycles during the past few years. But take a step back and note that China’s economic growth has only been going one way… Read More

Large pharmaceutical companies have been ignored by investors for some time now. After decades of gangbuster growth and blockbuster drugs to treat depression, high blood pressure and many other common ailments, many are facing competition from generic drugs as the patents protecting the exclusive… Read More