Futurist Ray Kurzweil is one of the world's busiest people.
And that's no surprise. A best-selling author and subject of a major documentary, Kurzweil has an unmatched talent for explaining how cutting-edge technology is going to change our lives.
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To the complete shock of several analysts, the Eurozone managed to make it through 2012 without breaking up. However, 2013 is another story.
Now that Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti has resigned, there's a good chance that Italy will be in the forefront of a new Eurozone crisis.
That means 2013 doesn't look to be a good year for the euro, either-especially with new Italian elections likely to take place in February.
Of course, the EU establishment hopes that Monti can remain in office, but with four very different candidates now jockeying for position, Italy is one of the continent's great question marks.
Here's why…
The leading candidates in this crucial contest include:
Of these four, only Monti and Bersani would represent the continuation of the status quo.
Meanwhile, the return of Berlusconi, whom the establishment forced out in 2011, would be a nightmare for the euro. That goes for the ascension of Grillo as well.
In the balance of this pivotal contest could be the fate of the Eurozone itself.
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by David Zeiler
Following the dizzying ups and downs of 2012, investors may be hoping for a little less drama from Apple stock in 2013.
While 2013 figures to be a very different year for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), don't plan on the ride getting much smoother.
With 2012 annual revenue at $156.5 billion and annual profit at almost $42 billion, Apple's biggest challenge heading into 2013 is figuring out how to add meaningful growth.
For example, when Apple reports earnings on Jan. 24, you won't see a repeat of last year's incredible December quarter year-over-year revenue growth of 73% and profit growth of 118%.
Numbers like that helped launch Apple stock on a tear from just over $400 at the start of the year to $544 by March 1.
But this January Apple would need quarterly revenue of $80 billion and profits of $28.5 billion to duplicate that rate of growth. Not even Apple can do that.
If Apple meets current analyst expectations for its Q1 2013, it will have revenue growth of 18% and a 4% decline in profit. That's not the sort of year-over year performance that lights a fire under a stock.
Indeed, Apple stock throughout 2013 will face difficult year-over-year comparisons as each quarter goes up against 2012's record numbers. AAPL is now officially a victim of its own success.
And any hiccups along the way will surely ding Apple stock in 2013, as we've seen repeatedly over the past three months.
Here's a look at what could go right – and wrong – for Apple stock in 2013.
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by Diane Alter
Fitch Ratings Inc. cautioned today (Wednesday) that it may downgrade the U.S. credit rating – currently AAA, the highest ranking – if Congress doesn't reach a fiscal cliff deal.
The ratings agency said if negotiations on both the fiscal cliff and the debt ceiling extend into 2013, Fitch will review the credit rating which may lead "to a negative rating action."
"Failure to avoid the fiscal cliff…would exacerbate rather than diminish the uncertainty over fiscal policy, and tip the U.S. into an avoidable and unnecessary recession," Fitch wrote in its 2013 global outlook. "That could erode medium-term growth potential and financial stability. In such a scenario, there would be an increased likelihood that the U.S. would lose its AAA status."
Fitch's warning is not merely a threat, and it isn't the only rating downgrade facing the United States.
Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO), which also currently has a AAA rating in place and maintains a negative outlook, advised in September that it was prepared to strip the country of its stellar rating if lawmakers don't come up with a long-term debt reduction plan.
Standard & Poor's has been even less lenient.
It trimmed its U.S. credit rating one notch in 2011 to AA+, alluding to the political stalemates that thwarted an agreement on raising the debt ceiling. The downgrade, a first in U.S. history, was harshly criticized, and stunned Washington.
S&P lectured earlier this year that an additional downgrade was likely sans a debt deal.
Joining S&P in stripping the U.S. of its desirable credit rating was Egan Jones, a much smaller but still well-known rival among the big three credit rating agencies. This September, it slashed its rating to AA- from AA.
A U.S. credit rating downgrade is just one important consideration in the debt ceiling debate.
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Chicago-based market maker and high-frequency trader Getco Holding Co. LLC sweetened its bid for distressed market maker Knight Capital Group Inc. (NYSE: KCG) today (Wednesday), winning a takeover battle with rival Virtu Financial Holdings LLC.
According to CNNMoney, Getco will pay to third-party shareholders either $3.75 per share in cash or one share of common stock in a new holding company that will be the actual acquirer of Knight. (Getco already owns a 23.8% stake in Knight).
Cash payments to large, institutional shareholders, such as Jefferies, which is handling the financing of the $1.4 billion deal, will be restricted.
In return, according to The New York Times, Getco will receive 233 million shares in the new holding company and 57 million Knight shares will be retired.
Getco is the second-largest designated market maker on the New York Stock Exchange, transacting about 20% of the average daily volume traded. Knight Capital is the third-largest designated market maker, accounting for about 10% of average daily volume.
By acquiring Knight Capital Group, Getco will still be the second-largest designated market maker, but with 30% of average daily volume going through the door, it'll be more on a par with No. 1 market maker Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS).
That means Getco now has an unfair advantage in the markets. Here's why.
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No matter what deal is reached on the fiscal cliff, looks like most of us will be paying more taxes in 2013. The 2013 tax changes that could go into effect, depending on a fiscal cliff deal, include higher income taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes… practically every area of our lives could cost us […]
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Depending on the deal Congress makes for the fiscal cliff, middle-class Americans could face a total average tax burden of nearly 50%.
Middle-class Americans already pay an average of 43.12% in taxes, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.
Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald detailed the possible increase in the tax tab, citing data from FOX Business Network's expert on consumer and personal finance, Gerri Willis.
Absent a fiscal cliff deal, the mean middle class federal tax rate would climb from 25% to 28%, as Bush-era tax cuts expire in 2013. Payroll taxes would rise from 13.3% to 15.3%.
"Keep in mind that doesn't include state income tax hikes, city or county taxes, many of which are on the rise no matter where you live, thanks to decades of poor fiscal management," Fitz-Gerald said.
Add in state taxes, which average 4.82%, and the middle-class tax burden would average a whopping 48%.
As Fitz-Gerald put it, the possible tax increases amount to "an assault on the middle class."
The biggest tax increase threatening individuals for the 2012 tax year is a hike in the alternative minimum tax.
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Markets were higher in Europe and the United States yesterday (Tuesday) as progress was made on a fiscal cliff deal as well as on resolving debt ceiling issues before year end.
But then Republican House Speaker John Boehner rattled everyone's cages by proposing his "Plan B," which would make permanent the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers with annual incomes under $1 million.
"Right now we need to do something to get the president's attention," Rep. Frank Lucas, R-OK, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Boehner's approach "might just help," he said.
The Washington Post reported that Plan B legislation was still being drafted late Tuesday but, in addition to making the Bush tax rates permanent for incomes under $1 million, Plan B would create a permanent alternative minimum tax patch and maintain the 35% inheritance tax on estates of more than $5 million.
Plan B does not address the automatic, across the board spending cuts that will go into effect if a fiscal cliff deal fails, nor does it address the looming debt ceiling.
"I believe it's important that we protect as many American taxpayers as we can," Boehner said Tuesday. "And our Plan B would protect American taxpayers who make a million dollars or less and have all of their current rates extended."
Plan B is intended to avoid tax hikes on the vast majority of Americans and to buy time to address spending cuts and other issues in January, following the holiday recess.
Boehner plans a House vote on his Plan B on Thursday.
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V. F. Corporation (VFC) has put together 12 straight quarters with positive earnings surprises and 40 consecutive years with an annual dividend increase. In late October, this Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) apparel and footwear company raised its earnings outlook for the full year after a strong third-quarter performance. Given all these factors, VFC seems to […]
As the ongoing debate between renewables and fossil fuels continues, there is a wrong-headed presumption that there will only be one clear victor.
But recent trends in the wind and solar age tell us that this conclusion just isn't so.
The truth is both types of energy will be required to work in tandem in order to achieve our energy goals in the future.
And – as these developments accelerate – it is in this "new" energy balance that individual investors will find the next big boom.
These days, with oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates unveiling huge renewable energy projects, even some analysts are drawing the wrong conclusions.
But I have to stress, renewable development is not a signal these countries are running out of crude oil anytime soon.
Quite the contrary, countries like Saudi Arabia realize that one side of this energy equation will require the help of the other.
The same holds true in North America, where the surplus of unconventional natural gas has led some to the erroneous conclusion that wind and solar – still requiring significant government subsidies – have been dealt a fatal blow.
Wrong again. This is not a winner-take-all battle. There will be no silver bullet that delivers the next "new age of energy"
Rather, it will be in the integration of all the available energy sources that will lead to the next big development. And that is going to require sourcing from genuinely distinct and dissimilar energy categories-including wind and solar.
In fact, three recent events provide clear indications that this "energy integration boom" is already well underway.
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