Corporate Executive Board Company (CEB) has now delivered 5 straight positive earnings surprises with an average beat of more than 26%. Its third-quarter report from early November also included a raised guidance, which helped send earnings estimates higher for this member-based advisory company. It reached Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) status on November 17. The […]
Archives for December 2012
December 2012 - Page 17 of 17 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
In A Low-Yield Market, Don't Fall For this Common Investment Trap
In an ultra-low-yield market like this one, it's not surprising that we get a lot of questions from folks who are seeking high-yielding – but safe – income investments.
A recent note from Private Briefing subscriber Richard P. is a good example.
"Bill: I own a couple MREIT (Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts) stocks. They typically have very high dividend yields. Both of them are doing well (over 20% gain in core value), on top of the high dividends they pay.
"I have a few questions about them:
- What are the risks in holding these kinds of stocks?
- What economical shifts will affect them down the road?
- How long should we hold onto them?
- They seem too good to be true sometimes … are they?
- Can you recommend particular MREITs based on the particular company's investments/risks/methodology?"
Great questions, Richard – you clearly put a lot of thought into this and we appreciate you sending them our way.
In fact, I suspect that lots of other income-seeking readers have similar questions.
To get you some answers, I turned to our own Martin Hutchinson, editor of the Permanent Wealth Investor, an advisory service that specializes in income-enhancing strategies.
At a recent Money Map Press strategic planning session. we found a quiet corner to talk this through on one of our breaks.
Here's what Martin had to say…
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This Dog-Inspired Nanotech Device Accurately "Sniffs Out" Explosives
When it comes to a sense of smell, it's hard to beat a dog.
Scientists say canine noses are at least 10,000 more powerful than ours. That's tough to quantify, but this might help.
As Alexandra Horowitz, dog-cognition researcher from Barnard College, wrote in "Inside of a Dog," most humans notice if their coffee has a teaspoon of sugar added to it, but "a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or two Olympic-sized pools' worth."
That's why police forces around the world use "sniffer" canines to detect and find explosives, drugs, and even cadavers.
Inspired by that feat of nature, a team at UC Santa Barbara has just developed a nanotech chip that is every bit as accurate as a dog's nose. Only better.
These chips are so powerful, they can "sniff out" the differences between two molecules that to dogs or humans would smell the same. They're capable of distinguishing between certain substances at concentrations as low as one part per billion.
Oh, and they never steal meat off the counter or get sick on your carpet or whine to be taken out for a walk.
According to "Electronics News," the chip uses microfluidic nanotechnology to mimic the biological mechanism behind canine scent receptors.
This new chip packs a lot of punch into a small space (it's about the size of a fingerprint). Microchannels inside the gadget are 20 times smaller than a human hair. Once a tiny laser excites the absorbed molecules, a computer database detects the exact substance in question.
So what does it mean for investors?
Quite a lot, actually.
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Let's Hold Hands and Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff
"I saw my problems and I'll see the light
"We got a lovin' thing, we gotta feed it right
"There ain't no danger we can go too far
"We start believin' now that we can be who we are.
"Grease is the word…"
That's the opening verse of the Bee Gees' title track from the movie "Grease."
They go on to sing "Grease is the way we are feeling." Well, if you change the spelling of the word to "Greece," that's how I'm feeling about America's debt.
Both Greece and the U.S. are on a slippery slope, greased by too much debt.
And, like the song says, we are both in danger of thinking that because we see the problems, we see the light. We are both feeding it right – our debt, that is.
We're similarly deluded in believin' there ain't no danger we can go too far.
But that's wrong. The danger is incredible.
You see, something just happened in Greece – something that is going to happen here and, in fact, is already happening, but doesn't have to. We can still stop it.
In fact, what's brilliant is that Greece is an easy lesson for us.
Do Not Be Fooled By Stocks Under $5 - Weekend Wisdom
Buying stocks under $5 is like buying a lottery ticket. It's the thrill of the "what if". Take a stock like social gaming company Zynga. It went public in December 2011, traded as high as $15.91 in early 2012 before the stock plunged due to disappointing earnings. Recently it traded as low as […]