One of the leading home building companies in the United States, KB Home (KBH) unveiled a new community of homes called Stapleton Conservatory Green. Homebuyers caught a glimpse of the model homes in this beautiful community at the grand opening celebration held on Apr 6, 2013. The new community is the fifth community in the […]
Archives for April 2013
April 2013 - Page 16 of 21 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From
How to Double Your Money on "The Next Whole Foods"
There's an incredible new trend brewing right now. And it's incredibly profitable too…
Yes, the markets are pushing a top, earnings are in decline, and consumers are struggling to make ends meet.
But the truth is this particular industry has grown from "only" $3.6 billion a year in 1997 to more than $31.5 billion today.
That's especially impressive when you consider that this growth – all 775% of it – occurred during the greatest sustained economic downturn since the Great Depression.
You see, the industry – and a company that just went public in July – is set up to benefit from an extreme cultural shift that's gaining speed and strength every day.
I'm talking about the movement towards "real" food-not "fake."
Stocks to Buy: We Found Two of the Next Big Growth Stories
When investors discuss growth stocks to buy they are usually talking about the most popular issues of the day. These tend to be the companies that dominate the headlines and have the newest, most exciting products and services.
While stocks like Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and other market darlings have rewarded investors, when they become too popular there is a risk that the valuations become unsustainable and the shares find a new lower level.
Often it can take many years for a broken growth stock to get back on track and allow investors to recover lost gains.
There is another way to approach growth stocks that's more successful than targeting the most talked about companies. The stocks aren't always as well-known – but the returns can be even higher.
It's fairly simple to put together a list of stocks that have been able to grow sales, earnings and dividends at a double-digit rate for at least the last ten years.
As a further qualifier you should limit your list to those that have been able to successfully grow the book, or net asset value, of the company at a high rate. This is an indication that management has been able to generate free-cash flow and reinvest in the business successfully. All too often companies that initially boast strong revenue and profit growth fall victim to high capital expenditures or startup costs that squeeze profits and make the growth unsustainable.
The following companies may not be the most exciting, but they have products and services that are in high demand and have been so for an extended period of time.
This Shifting Balance Will Have a Huge Impact on Energy Investors
I have written several times in Oil & Energy Investor about the shifting energy balance worldwide, stemming from the need to prioritize among both traditional and new sources.
This will have a huge impact on how you invest in the sector.
As the new balance emerges, we will see a realignment of global energy prices, and both the sourcing and use of energy will open up significant opportunities worldwide.
We are already beginning to see the revisions working themselves out among the world's most developed nations.
Yet this time around, the changes will have the most positive effect on those regions usually left out of the picture. These regions have the lowest economic diversification, relying largely on sporadic, inefficient, and ecologically damaging energy sources.
Because of high pricing considerations – prompted by collapsing power generation, rusting refineries, and deteriorating delivery infrastructures – people in developing countries are usually cut off from market expansion taking place elsewhere.
In spite of such problems, these countries will provide major demand increases going forward, resulting in significant changes to the international market landscape.
And a damaging cycle that's been churning for half a century will begin to break down…
Here's Another Troubling Sign America is Circling the Drain
Don't blame yourself if you missed this tidbit last week…
On Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hit the nation's four largest mortgage insurers with a total of $15.4 million in fines for "allegedly" paying kickbacks to lenders to steer business their way.
Of course, they didn't have to admit they did it, and therefore, they didn't do what they were fined for.
Back in the summer of 2009, the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development handed the Justice Department evidence that laid bare a scheme by lenders (the usual suspects: Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Countrywide, and so on) to get kickbacks from mortgage insurers for making borrowers – who had to buy mortgage insurance – purchase coverage from those companies kicking back profits to lenders. In the industry, it's called "forced placement"
Who did what here?
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How Obamacare Navigators Will Waste Your Time and Tax Money
The insurance exchanges mandated by the 2009 health care law will be so utterly baffling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now needs to hire of tens of thousands of "Obamacare navigators" – at a cost to taxpayers of $9 billion or more every year.
Anyone who uses the new exchanges will quickly find out why Obamacare navigators were deemed necessary.
The draft application form for an individual is already up to 15 pages, while the form for a family is at 21 pages. And the instruction book is 61 pages.
"It's a lot of information that consumers are going to have to provide, and that could deter people from signing up," Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, told MarketWatch. "That could be an issue for some people who don't like paperwork. And who likes paperwork?"
The government estimates the form will take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes to complete, but that doesn't count all the information and document-gathering an applicant will need to do before even walking in the door of an exchange.
"If you like IRS forms, you're going to love this one," Ken Hoagland, chairman of conservative advocacy group Restore America's Voice, told MarketWatch. "These are the kinds of things that are going to drive people crazy."
Stock Market Today: Will a Bad Earnings Season Spoil This Year's Gains?
Coming off the worst week of the year, market participants have a cautious stance in the stock market today as earnings season kicks off – and will likely disappoint.
The Dow fell 13.29 points, or 0.09%, to 14,565.25 last week. The S&P shed 15.91, or 1.01%, to end the week at 1,553.28.
Monday, guarded investors kept a wary eye on developments in Eurozone, nuclear tensions in the Korean Peninsula, and Alcoa Inc.'s (NYSE: AA) earnings after the bell-the unofficial kick-off to Q1 earnings reports.
Red flags are waving that companies will report a slowdown in corporate profits. A number of companies have delivered lower guidance, with pre-earnings announcements sloped to the negative side. Companies in the S&P are expected to increase Q1 earnings a measly 1.5% over last year, according to Thomson Reuters.
Weak earnings could push any nervous investors to take gains and bail on markets for a while.
"Right now, projections for earnings in 2013 and the market are based on optimistic assumption," Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst with S&P Dow Jones Indices told Barron's. "We can meet estimates if things move in the right direction. But the economy does not go straight up or down. There are bumps up or down. There are bumps in the road. And investors rarely get everything they need or want."
Here are some upcoming earnings reports to watch, as well as two of the biggest deals moving stocks this week.
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The Secret Behind the Housing Market "Recovery"
U.S. home prices climbed 10.2% in February, the biggest year-over-year gain since March 2006.
The data seemed to support that a housing market recovery is alive and well – or, is it?
Even though buying is up, banks aren't handing out mortgages at a high enough rate to support this climb.
We asked Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani to explain what was behind this major housing market change. You might be surprised to learn who's driving the home buying – and what it means for the housing market recovery.
Watch his interview below for the answer.
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10 of the Best Margaret Thatcher Quotes
Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to serve as Britain's prime minister, passed away Monday, but her wisdom and achievements will live forever in the hearts and minds of fans.
Thatcher earned the nickname "Iron Lady," thanks to her uncompromising politics and leadership style. She served as prime minister for 11 years.
Here are some of her most memorable words delivered during her career.
Margaret Thatcher
(October 13, 1925-April 8, 2013)
Ten of the Best Margaret Thatcher Quotes:
1. "If a Tory does not believe that private property is one of the main bulwarks of individual freedom, then he had better become a socialist and have done with it." Daily Telegraph, 19752. "Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them." Speech, 1976
3. "Pennies don't fall from heaven; they have to be earned here on earth." Speech, 1979
Bull of the Day: Moody's (MCO) - Bull of the Day
While it’s true that headlines can quickly and sometimes violently affect stock prices, they can also create exceptional opportunities; Moody’s (MCO) might just be the perfect example of a positive opportunity. Back in February the Department of Justice filed a civil suit against Standard & Poor’s (MHP) alleging that S&Pengaged in a scheme to defraud investors in structured financial products known as Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) […]