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Hot Stocks

Three Stocks to Buy to Beat Warren Buffett's Gains

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

While many look to Warren Buffett's holdings to find the best stocks to buy, it turns out his holdings' rivals could be the better picks.

Buffett is known not only for value investing, but also buying shares only of companies that operate in prosaic, easy-to-understand businesses. That's why the holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) are spectacular.

But in this look at how to find more stocks to buy that deliver – and even beat – the gains of Buffett's most popular holdings, some of the best bets could be companies that share a market with Berkshire's big winners.

Take a look.

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This Gold Slam is a Massive Wealth Transfer from Our Pockets to the Banks

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

I am very disappointed by, but not surprised at, the latest transfer of weath to the bankers from everyone else. The most recent gold bear raid has vastly enriched the bullion bankers, once again, at the expense of everyone trying to protect their wealth from global central bank money printing.

The central plank of Bernanke's magic recovery plan has been to get everybody back borrowing, spending, and "investing" in stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. But not equally so – he has been instrumental in distorting the landscape towards risk assets and away from safe harbors.

Hot Stocks

How to Find the Best Dividend Stocks

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning - • Print | Email

It's only April, but it appears dividend payouts this year will soar past 2012's tally – meaning all investors need to know how to find the best dividend stocks or risk missing out on record-high yield.

Barron's reports that in Q1, 944 of approximately 10,000 U.S. companies boosted payouts, either by increases, extras or resumption. That was up a hefty 39.4% from 677 companies a year ago.

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Precious Metals

If You're Worried About Gold Prices, You Need to Read This

By , Executive Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

When stocks fall by 20% or more from their peak, it's labeled as a "bear market."

With gold prices down 26% from their record close back in August 2011, the "yellow metal" has entered a bear market of its own.

It took an especially ugly day on Monday to get us to that point.

Two days ago, gold prices plunged as much as 9.7% – the biggest decline since 1980 – and continued a sell-off that saw the yellow metal fall by 4.7% last week, including a 4.1% drop on Friday.

The metal has now fallen 26% from its Aug. 22, 2011 settlement record of $1,888.70.

To get some expert insights on this sell-off, I telephoned Peter Krauth, our resident natural resources expert and editor of our Real Asset Returns research service. Peter based himself in Canada to be closer to the miners and natural-resources companies he covers for his subscribers.

I asked Peter for insights on the following three questions:

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Precious Metals

Why Gold Really Crashed and What You Can Do About It

By , Chief Investment Strategist, Money Map Report - • Print | Email

The news is great at telling us what's happening. But knowing what's happening is a lot different than understanding what happened – and that's what makes the difference between an average investor and truly great investors.

Gold's crash Monday is a perfect example. The media was falling all over itself as one pundit after the other came on TV to talk about how gold was falling and how far off its highs it was. Few tied the devastating slide to real economic events — let alone made the connection to actual trading.

But that's my bread and butter. Today I'm going to tell you what really happened and why – from a market insider's perspective. Then I'm going to tell you what to expect next and, most importantly, how you can use the situation to your advantage.

There are three fundamental things going on – all of which are at a very high level and all of which are completely transparent to most investors:

Hot Stocks

Stocks to Buy: This Defense Winner is in a Class of Its Own

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

If you think the sequester has taken all defense companies off the "stocks to buy" list, think again.

Indeed, there has been a cloud over defense stocks for some time thanks to the automatic spending cuts. The Department of Defense has to reduce its budget by $47 billion by the end of the summer.

That is in addition to almost $500 billion of cuts over the next decade that was passed back in 2011. All of the budget proposals currently circling Capitol Hill include additional cuts to defense spending.

Companies that work with the military and other defense agencies are feeling the pinch and many of their stock prices have reflected that.

But the truth is, while cuts will be made to some of the bigger, flashier programs, the military will still be in the business of protecting the country. Not all companies will slow spending.

And any industry that sees the type of investor distaste that has swept over defense frequently sees a wave of consolidation and takeover activity that lifts the valuation of companies in the sector.

That means it's time to go hunting for some undervalued stocks in defense.

Here's one we like.

Buy, Sell or Hold

Buy, Sell or Hold: Is it Time for Investors to TAP into Molson Coors?

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

Almost everyone has overindulged in a beer or three. And while that occasionally turns out to be something of a big mistake, the thirst for beer is hard to quench.

That's one of the reasons why I'm bullish about Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: TAP).

Formed by the merger of Molson of Canada and Coors of the United States in 2005, this marriage joined two companies that have seen it all in the beer business–even to the point where their product was illegal during the days of prohibition.

Even still, both companies managed to not only survive but thrive.

Today, the descendants of the original founders still greatly influence Molson Coors and have a vested interest in the company's profitability and the incentive to keep the family legacies alive and well for future generations.

But that's only a small piece of why I like this company. The better reason is its ability to grow sales.

IPOs

IPO Performance of 2013: Check Out Winners and Losers

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

2013 has been a strong year for IPO performance so far.

About 40 deals have been priced through the second week of April, and 33 of the deals have moved higher in the secondary market with an average gain of more than 20%.

If you missed these profits, don't worry. There is no sign of any slowing in the IPO market, as there are currently nine deals already scheduled for the next two weeks. In fact, IPO dollar volumes for the year so far are nearing the $9 billion mark, on par with the levels seen in 2012.

Let's take a look at the biggest and best IPO performances so far in 2013.

Hot Stocks

Facebook Stock Risk: New Social Media Apps Luring Teens Away

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @DavidGZeiler - • Print | Email

Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) is starting to get a taste of what it means to be the king of the social media hill.

Small and more nimble competitors with novel ideas have sprung up and begun to entice young users away from the No. 1 social media platform – a bad omen for Facebook stock, which 11 months after its IPO still trades 29% below its offer price.

According to Piper Jaffray's annual "Taking Stock of Teens" survey, teens are spending less time with Facebook and more with a vast array of alternatives.

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Investing Tips

How to Find Defensive Stocks to Buy for Portfolio Protection

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

In recent weeks many pundits and gurus have advised investors on which defensive stocks to buy for portfolio protection – but before following their lead, you should do some research as well.

The definition of defensive stocks seems to be a little unclear, but generally the same names keep appearing: large drug stocks, consumer-related issues and utility companies. While those suggestions sound like smart moves, many of these advisors seem to be using a rearview mirror to select which stocks and sectors fir the definition of "defensive."

In fact, during the past year the dividend-paying large cap stocks have had a huge rally as yield-seeking investors have pushed them to new highs. They are exactly the type of stocks that a defensive investor would want to avoid in the current market.

Fortunately for investors there is a method for identifying and selecting truly defensive stocks that has worked for more than 40 years.