The S&P 500 is trapped in a nasty earnings recession. Earnings have now declined for five consecutive quarters. The last time that happened was during the financial crisis in 2009. In the elusive quest for earnings growth, more companies are turning to a controversial strategy: replacing humans with robots to help cut costs and increase productivity. #-ad_banner-#For example, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has more than 30,000 Kiva Robots buzzing around its global network of warehouses. According to Dave Clark, Amazon’s SVP of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service, the robots helped reduce operating expenses by 20%. Just five years ago, those tasks… Read More

The S&P 500 is trapped in a nasty earnings recession. Earnings have now declined for five consecutive quarters. The last time that happened was during the financial crisis in 2009. In the elusive quest for earnings growth, more companies are turning to a controversial strategy: replacing humans with robots to help cut costs and increase productivity. #-ad_banner-#For example, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has more than 30,000 Kiva Robots buzzing around its global network of warehouses. According to Dave Clark, Amazon’s SVP of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service, the robots helped reduce operating expenses by 20%. Just five years ago, those tasks were being performed by people. Deutsche Bank estimates that adding a fleet of robots to a new warehouse saves $22 million in fulfillment expenses. Other S&P 500 companies are following Amazon’s lead. Drug store leader CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has replaced cashiers with self-checkout kiosks in most of its stores. Fast food leaders McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) and Pizza Hut are experimenting with replacing human labor with automated machinery in their restaurants. As Amazon, CVS, McDonalds and Pizza Hut demonstrate, robots can have a huge impact on a company’s profitability. Not only do they have the ability to operate 24/7, robots… Read More

U.S. police departments face huge expectations. Aside from all of the performance scrutiny they’ve been under in recent years, they also face the same problems as other parts of our government institutions: they are under great pressure to reduce spending while also achieving strict regulatory targets. One of the best ways for police departments to help with all of these problems? Body cameras. #-ad_banner-#Recent studies  show that when police officers use body cameras it dramatically reduces use of force incidents. Researchers at the University of South Florida recently released the results of a yearlong pilot program with the Orlando Police… Read More

U.S. police departments face huge expectations. Aside from all of the performance scrutiny they’ve been under in recent years, they also face the same problems as other parts of our government institutions: they are under great pressure to reduce spending while also achieving strict regulatory targets. One of the best ways for police departments to help with all of these problems? Body cameras. #-ad_banner-#Recent studies  show that when police officers use body cameras it dramatically reduces use of force incidents. Researchers at the University of South Florida recently released the results of a yearlong pilot program with the Orlando Police Department. The study randomly selected 46 officers to wear body cameras and compared their behavior to 43 officers not equipped with body cameras. The results are telling. In the 12-month period from March 2014 through February 2015, use of force incidents dropped 53% with officers wearing body cameras. Civilian complaints against officers wearing body cameras fell 65%. A study across the Atlantic is even more convincing. The Cambridge University in England conducted a study of 2,000 officers from four UK police departments and two U.S. police departments. The study found a 93% drop in civilian complaints against officers wearing body… Read More

Its value has fallen 98% in the last 113 years. Yet, despite that incredible decline it remains one of the most valuable and sought after assets in the world. I’m talking about the U.S. dollar. #-ad_banner-#Since 1913, the value of the U.S. dollar has fallen more than 98%.  This is the reason gold is delivering its best return in five years and showing signs of a long-term reversal in 2016. After hitting a new all-time high above $1,900 in 2011, gold fell into a nasty bear market. From 2012 to the end of 2015, the price of gold fell almost… Read More

Its value has fallen 98% in the last 113 years. Yet, despite that incredible decline it remains one of the most valuable and sought after assets in the world. I’m talking about the U.S. dollar. #-ad_banner-#Since 1913, the value of the U.S. dollar has fallen more than 98%.  This is the reason gold is delivering its best return in five years and showing signs of a long-term reversal in 2016. After hitting a new all-time high above $1,900 in 2011, gold fell into a nasty bear market. From 2012 to the end of 2015, the price of gold fell almost 50%. In 2016, gold is on the rebound. The price of gold is up 26%, more than a 300% premium to the S&P 500’s 6% return. That puts gold on pace for its best return in more than five years. Gold’s sudden reversal is being driven by the same trend that’s driving the U.S. dollar. After surging in 2014 and 2015, the U.S. dollar is back to its losing ways in 2016, falling 4% on the year. Take a look below at the U.S. dollar’s big surge in 2014 and 2015 and decline in 2016. The… Read More

The S&P 500 is quietly having a great year. Despite recent volatility, the index has delivered a total return of 6.6% in 2016 – putting it on pace for a 12% return this year. While that looks like great news on the surface, it’s actually creating a problem. The leading index is expensive. Its P/E ratio of 20 is the highest in five years. Take a look below. That higher valuation has a lot of investors searching for a bargain. I’ve got the answer to one of the best pharmaceutical stocks to buy.  Gilead Sciences, Inc. Read More

The S&P 500 is quietly having a great year. Despite recent volatility, the index has delivered a total return of 6.6% in 2016 – putting it on pace for a 12% return this year. While that looks like great news on the surface, it’s actually creating a problem. The leading index is expensive. Its P/E ratio of 20 is the highest in five years. Take a look below. That higher valuation has a lot of investors searching for a bargain. I’ve got the answer to one of the best pharmaceutical stocks to buy.  Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) is one of the largest and well-known pharmaceutical companies in the world. A few years back, Gilead was one of the hottest stocks in the S&P 500 and big pharma industry. Its share price was up more than 500% from 2012 to 2015. But for the last year Gilead’s share price has struggled, falling more than 25% and recently hitting a multi-year low. That decline has been driven by weakness in Gilead’s Hepatitis C drug sales. This suite of drugs is responsible for almost half company revenue. #-ad_banner-#That was great when sales were growing… Read More

Emerging markets were a brutal place to invest in 2014 and 2015. #-ad_banner-#While the S&P 500 gained more than 12% in that time, iShares Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM) fell into a bear market, declining 20%. That weakness was driven by a perfect storm of a strong dollar, falling commodity prices and slower than expected growth in China. Today, emerging markets are showing signs of a long-term reversal. And it is creating a great opportunity for investors who are frustrated with record low yields and dividends in the United States. In 2016, emerging markets have been among the best performing stock… Read More

Emerging markets were a brutal place to invest in 2014 and 2015. #-ad_banner-#While the S&P 500 gained more than 12% in that time, iShares Emerging Markets (NYSE: EEM) fell into a bear market, declining 20%. That weakness was driven by a perfect storm of a strong dollar, falling commodity prices and slower than expected growth in China. Today, emerging markets are showing signs of a long-term reversal. And it is creating a great opportunity for investors who are frustrated with record low yields and dividends in the United States. In 2016, emerging markets have been among the best performing stock markets in the world. In the first eight months of the year, the iShares Emerging Markets is up more than 14%, almost tripling the return of the S&P 500. Take a look at the outperformance below. Despite that impressive rebound, I see two reasons why it’s still a great time to invest in emerging markets — particularly investors looking to pad their dividends. Emerging Markets Are Undervalued After posting big gains over the last two years, the S&P 500 is overvalued compared to historical averages. Its current P/E ratio of 25 times is up from 21… Read More

Bill Gates walks up to you in a bar. He sits down and says he wants you to make an important financial decision. “Would you rather accept a check for one million dollars right now, or a penny today that will double in value every day for the next 30 days?” Without pulling out a calculator, what would you do? #-ad_banner-#According to my own personal survey, most people would take the million dollars. However, this option leaves quite a bit of money on the table. By quite a bit I mean about $4 million. After 30 days, that one penny… Read More

Bill Gates walks up to you in a bar. He sits down and says he wants you to make an important financial decision. “Would you rather accept a check for one million dollars right now, or a penny today that will double in value every day for the next 30 days?” Without pulling out a calculator, what would you do? #-ad_banner-#According to my own personal survey, most people would take the million dollars. However, this option leaves quite a bit of money on the table. By quite a bit I mean about $4 million. After 30 days, that one penny doubling every day would be worth $5 million. This financial brain teaser is the reason the dividend aristocrats are enriching so many investors. Let me explain. The dividend aristocrats is the small group of S&P 500 companies that have raised their dividend every year for 20 years. In 2016, just 53 of the S&P 500 qualified for this elite distinction — a little more than 10% of the index. On the surface, most investors go for the higher yield, just like the lure of taking the $1 million from Bill Gates. I know because as an investment advisor, my clients… Read More

Mark Zuckerberg is worth $60 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. As the founder and CEO of Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), one of the most successful technology companies ever, Zuckerberg is a genius when it comes to technology. #-ad_banner-#But despite Zuckerberg’s financial resources and tech smarts, the young billionaire recently fell prey to hackers. In early June, Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts were hacked. The perpetrators found Zuckerberg’s passwords –“dadada” — in a database of more than 100 million usernames and passwords that were stolen from LinkedIn in 2012. Although Zuckerberg suffered little reputation damage… Read More

Mark Zuckerberg is worth $60 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. As the founder and CEO of Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), one of the most successful technology companies ever, Zuckerberg is a genius when it comes to technology. #-ad_banner-#But despite Zuckerberg’s financial resources and tech smarts, the young billionaire recently fell prey to hackers. In early June, Zuckerberg’s Twitter and Pinterest accounts were hacked. The perpetrators found Zuckerberg’s passwords –“dadada” — in a database of more than 100 million usernames and passwords that were stolen from LinkedIn in 2012. Although Zuckerberg suffered little reputation damage from the incident, the hacking was a bit embarrassing. After all, his company warns its users not to use their Facebook passwords anywhere else online. However, the hacking actually places Mark Zuckerberg in good company. Hacking is going viral in 2016. The headlines have been filled with high-profile hackings threatening the most powerful private and public institutions in the world. In May, Myspace was hacked and had 360 million email addresses and passwords stolen. Experts are saying it could be the largest hack ever. Last week Dropbox, one of the world’s largest suppliers of cloud storage, had more than 68… Read More

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” That’s one of my favorite Warren Buffet quotes. It could probably mean lots of things when it comes to investing. But I think it’s a great analogy for earnings seasons. #-ad_banner-#Earnings season is when shareholders and fund managers find out which companies have been connecting and which have been striking out. Right now, it looks like most of the S&P 500 has been swimming naked. America’s largest and most powerful companies are struggling to grow revenue and earnings. According to data from Zacks… Read More

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” That’s one of my favorite Warren Buffet quotes. It could probably mean lots of things when it comes to investing. But I think it’s a great analogy for earnings seasons. #-ad_banner-#Earnings season is when shareholders and fund managers find out which companies have been connecting and which have been striking out. Right now, it looks like most of the S&P 500 has been swimming naked. America’s largest and most powerful companies are struggling to grow revenue and earnings. According to data from Zacks Investment research, with 482 companies from the S&P 500 reporting second-quarter results, revenue is up 0.1% from the same period last year while earnings are down 3.6%.  That marks the fifth consecutive quarter that earnings have contracted compared to the same period last year. The last time that happened was in 2008 and 2009 during the financial crisis. However, despite the slow overall growth, a good investor knows there’s always a bull market somewhere. That includes the S&P 500. Despite earnings recession, there are a handful of companies that are bucking the trend. These companies are reporting record revenue and… Read More

I started working in financial services full time when I was 23. Since then, I’ve seen plenty of volatility in the market. For example, there was the time the Nasdaq stock bubble deflated more than 60% from March 2000 to September 2002, the September 11 terrorist attack that closed the U.S. stock markets for a week (when the S&P 500 opened a week later it fell 11.9% in 11 days), and the housing bubble of 2006 that led to the financial crisis of 2008 (when the S&P 500 fell more than 50% in six months). Read More

I started working in financial services full time when I was 23. Since then, I’ve seen plenty of volatility in the market. For example, there was the time the Nasdaq stock bubble deflated more than 60% from March 2000 to September 2002, the September 11 terrorist attack that closed the U.S. stock markets for a week (when the S&P 500 opened a week later it fell 11.9% in 11 days), and the housing bubble of 2006 that led to the financial crisis of 2008 (when the S&P 500 fell more than 50% in six months). #-ad_banner-#In the short run, all of those events made investors, including me, nervous. It’s scary to think about the global economy falling apart, accompanied by big losses in stocks and bonds. However, in the long run, history has proven that corrections are a normal part of a healthy market and are usually short lived. According to a study from mutual fund company American Funds, from 1900 to December of 2014, a pullback of 10% or more happened about once every year. Bear markets (more than a 20% decline) are rare,… Read More

When I first began my career at the Chicago Board of Trade, I felt like a newly hatched alligator being released into the wild. I was swimming around much bigger and more experienced animals that wanted to turn me into a quick lunch and take me out of the game. In that ultra-cutthroat environment, where I competed against Goldman Sachs and billion-dollar hedge funds every day, I had very little time to develop my trading technique and confidence. #-ad_banner-#When studying my fellow traders and developing my style, I noticed something important right away. Some… Read More

When I first began my career at the Chicago Board of Trade, I felt like a newly hatched alligator being released into the wild. I was swimming around much bigger and more experienced animals that wanted to turn me into a quick lunch and take me out of the game. In that ultra-cutthroat environment, where I competed against Goldman Sachs and billion-dollar hedge funds every day, I had very little time to develop my trading technique and confidence. #-ad_banner-#When studying my fellow traders and developing my style, I noticed something important right away. Some groups of traders would make money when the market was trending in one direction. On the flip side, there were other groups of traders that would make money when the market was range bound. Few traders could switch hats on a day-to-day basis and play both kinds of markets. Those who could were the real masters of trading. Seeing this pattern of different trading styles winning in certain kinds of markets year after year provided a valuable lesson about trading and investing. It taught me that every trader, or trading system,… Read More