The stock market today got the third quarter, and second half of the year, off to a strong start with all three benchmarks logging gains right out of the gate. Shortly after the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 104.61, or 0.70%, to 15,014.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 13.57, or 0.84%, […]
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Stocks
Buy, Sell or Hold: Out of Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS)
Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) investors are thrilled as the world's largest office supply company's share price is making new 52-week highs and is up 40% year-to date. Quite remarkable!
Staples shareholders think that the company is making all the right moves toward transforming this big-box retailer into something beyond what the average customer is accustomed to when they think of a Staples store.
In fact, the company has evolved to the point where, unbeknownst to many, it is no longer just a big-box retailer but also the second largest e-retailer behind Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) with internet sales totaling $11 billion in 2012, which currently account for more than half of its business today.
Staples is pushing to downsize operations while moving with some success even further into the e-commerce world. The company faces many headwinds as it struggles with the general economic conditions and small business concerns both in the U.S. and abroad.
Staples could very well be fighting the good fight but is it enough…
Staples Shredding Stores
How to Invest in Hot Travel Stocks this Summer
Ah, summertime, and the virtual traveling is easy.
Indeed, booking your getaway has never been easier: It's just a few clicks away, what with all the travel websites competing for your business.
But there's also money to be made from travel websites if you know how to invest in them.
With fierce competition for U.S. travelers, travel websites have increasingly taken on a more global approach, expanding their businesses or establishing partnerships in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, where eMarketer says online travel sales are expected to increase 15% to $91 billion this year and per-capita consumer spending is expected to increase about 37% in the next seven years.
Internet penetration remains low in Asia compared with Europe and the United States, but is growing rapidly, paving the way for travel sites' push into the region.
How to Invest in Online Travel Stocks
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Stock Market Today: Expect "Insane" Trading as Second Quarter Ends
The stock market today fell more than 50 points in the first 10 minutes of trading, with the Dow dipping below 15,000.
June has been a volatile month for U.S. equities with the Dow experiencing 15 triple-digit moves out of 18 sessions.
As we start the final trading day of the month, which is also the last of the second quarter, expect heavy volume and wild swings.
As Business Insider pointed out yesterday, in the last five seconds of the trading day at the end of the month, or quarter, traders brace for what can best be described as intensely insane trading.
The following chart, with blue diamonds representing the end of the month and red ones representing the end of a quarter, shows the dramatic increase in E-mini trades (S&P futures contracts) that transpire at the close of trading at the end of the month, or quarter, compared to E-mini trades at the close of a regular trading session.
To continue reading, please click here...
The Best Investments for the Next Phase of the U.S. Oil Revolution
The U.S. oil industry has been reborn, with oil flowing from new fields like North Dakota's Bakken at rates not dreamed of just a few years ago – and it has created a new crop of best investments for those hunting for energy profits.
U.S. oil production climbed from a low of 5 million barrels a day in 2008 to 7.2 million barrels per day in February of this year.
The Benefits of Investing in Master Limited Partnerships
Income-oriented investors looking for an alternative to dividend stocks and bonds have a great solution: investing in master limited partnerships. You see, MLPs combine the tax benefits of a traditional limited partnership with the liquidity of a publicly traded company. MLPs have a partnership structure, but they issue units that trade on an exchange like […]
Natural Gas Stocks are About to Reprise an All-Star Performance
Everyone likes a good comeback story where large obstacles are overcome on the way to a favorable outcome.
And we're about to see one in the investment world…
The shale gas boom seemed to be a disaster for the natural gas industry as the price of natural gas plummeted over a five-tear period to reach a multi-year low below $2 per million BTU in April 2012.
How Europe Will Help Gold Shine Again
The Good News: The euro crisis has failed to explode in the last three years, in spite of repeated predictions that it would. Many commentators now rejoice that the problem is solved.
The Bad News: Don't believe it. While a few of the countries have made steps toward recovery, there are still several that haven't, and, by and large, those that haven't are larger than those that have.
As always with European crises, the summer should be a quiet period as everyone puts aside these dire economic issues and goes on holiday. But there will be more fireworks after September's German election, when tough decisions will be made.
And that's why gold (and select emerging markets) remain strategic holdings in smart investors' portfolios.
Europe's Rogues Gallery
Greece is the worst basket case, and will almost certainly need bailing out again.
In spite of a drop in GDP of a full 25% since the start of the crisis, it is STILL expected to run a balance of payments deficit this year. That's worrying.
If you push an economy into a giant recession, you expect it to have trouble balancing its budget because government revenue declines and welfare spending increases. The Economist magazine's panel of forecasters expects Greece to run a budget deficit of 5.3% of GDP this year.
However, the balance of payments works the opposite way – a giant recession means domestic consumers can no longer afford foreign goods, while exporters can cut wages and the cost of supplies and make themselves more competitive.
Break Down of the Stock Market Today
Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald joined CNBC to dissect what happened in the stock market today (Tuesday).
What should investors make of the recent stock market volatility? How does Bernanke play in to the stock market today? Are there good signs in today's trading?
Investors should watch the following for Keith's analysis.
"Secret" Double-Digit Income Stocks
Dividend stocks have been bid up in 2013, and many investors believe the yawn-inducing dividends of 3-4% generally available now aren't worth the risks involved in an overheated income sector.
Many stocks paying higher dividends, in the tantalizing 8-10% range, are paying them out of capital, which is hardly a good thing. A number of companies are paying a fixed dividend where it's mathematically impossible for investors to get their money back just because so many unwary investors are craving big, easy income.