Profitable Investing Tips
Are Coal Companies a Good Contrarian Bet?
Despite the conversion of many electric plants to natural gas and away from coal, the USA still consumed 800 million tons of coal in 2015, the last year for which totals are available. We wrote recently about the bleak future of coal.
Electric companies have been switching plants from coal to natural gas and closing coal plants. Big consumers like GM and Toyota insist on clean energy and won’t use coal even if environmental regulations are relaxed. That is the bleak future of coal.
Peabody Energy is the largest coal producer in the USA as well as in Australia. The stock sold […]
Three Potential Black Swans
Despite concerns about stocks being overpriced the markets keep going higher and higher. And that means stocks all over the world are going up. Every time this sort of market euphoria occurs it is eventually followed by a day or reckoning. Market Watch writes that the recent breakout in stocks should not be trusted and cites three potential black swans. Black swans, by the way, are unpredictable or unforeseen events. They discuss this issue after nine global stock indexes have topped out at the same time.
There have been 39 times when each of those nine indexes has closed at multiyear […]
Should You Borrow Money in Order to Invest?
The stock market keeps going up and anyone not invested is losing out. Right? We have commonly preached about having a cash reserve for living expenses and paying off credit cards before investing in the stock market. But interest rates are low and the S&P 500 gas gone up 70% in the last five years. If you simply traded on margin, bought an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 you would have paid around 8% a year on your investment capital. So, should you borrow money in order to invest in stocks? How about other investments like your home?
How to […]
Your Best Bet May Be the Gaming Industry
A lot of attention has been paid to the handful of high tech stocks that have been leading the market higher and higher. But are these really the best places to put your money? Your best bet may be the gaming industry which is up 50 percent this year. Likewise home builders, hotels and resorts, health care and even railroads have done better than the high tech darlings. Part of this appears to be investors rotating out of the high priced tech sector and part is that the economy is not doing all that badly and profits are being spread […]
Should You Invest in Canada?
Warren Buffett just bought stock in a Canadian mortgage underwriter, Home Capital Group. Should you invest in Canada when the Oracle of Omaha does? An article in The New York Times discusses why you should not go where Warren Buffett invests in this case.
When Warren Buffett acts, investors notice. And after he took a roughly $300 million position last month in Home Capital Group, a troubled Canadian mortgage underwriter, some investors saw it as a vote of confidence not only in that company, but also in Canadian stocks over all.
Al Rosen takes a different view. A veteran forensic accountant and […]
Which Retailers Will Survive in the Era of Amazon?
Amazon.com has discovered a formula for success in the world of retail sales. They skip having a whole host of bricks and mortar stores and sell online. The cost of their success has been borne by retailers far and wide. Many have gone out of business and CNBC discusses large department store stocks heading for zero due to losing business to Amazon.com.
Retail could be one of the best contrarian plays out there, as long as investors steer clear of the nation’s department stores.
Eaton Vance chief equity investment officer Eddie Perkin is making that call.
“You have to be careful with the […]
Will the New Mass Market Model Help Tesla?
The new Tesla Model 3 is intended for a mass market unlike previous models. The basic car will be listed at $35,000 although buyers who have already reserved their cars are reporting paying closer to $50,000 for various bells and whistles. Tesla is aiming to produce 240,000 cars a year, up from about 100,000 right now. You will have to take a test drive to see if you like the new model but how about the stock? Will the new mass market model help Tesla?
Will the Stock Go Down?
CNBC is skeptical that Tesla can make a profit mass producing this […]
Why Do People Make Bad Investments?
There are people who invested a few thousand dollars in Microsoft when it went public and saw their investments multiply in value 890 fold. And there are folks who invested millions with Bernie Madoff and lost everything in his Ponzi scheme. Ten thousand dollars in the initial Microsoft IPO would be worth $8.9 million today while ten thousand with Bernie would be long gone. Today we consider why do people make bad investments? Partly it has to do with the suitability of investments. CBNC features comments by Jim Cramer of Mad Money who says suitability is an investment concept critical […]
Is Dr. Doom Right about the Markets?
There are contrarians who continually predict a fall in stock prices. The old joke is that even hypochondriacs get sick once in a while. Thus by analogy we might say that even the perpetual naysayer will be right about the market from time to time. One of these naysayers is Marc Faber also known as Dr. Doom. According to CNBC he predicts that stocks are set to plummet 40% or more.
If the man often hailed as the original “Dr. Doom” is right, the stock market could see another “lurch” higher – at which point investors may want to cash out […]