Dividend Investing

The Good News in Preferred Stocks

The Good News in Preferred Stocks

Last week I was a speaker at the MoneyShow in Las Vegas. Besides speaking, I like to network with a wide range of investment professionals. I was intrigued by one idea concerning preferred stocks from the discussions: that they will allow investors to benefit from the Fed’s interest rate increases. Preferred stock shares can be […]

What’s The Story With Real Estate?

What’s The Story With Real Estate?

Options block trades can be interesting tools to gauge market expectations, even if you don’t know exactly what the purpose of the trade is. For instance, a big put spread traded last week in iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYR). The trade occurred on the same day that lower housing prices were reported across the […]

The Yin and Yang of Energy Midstream Stocks

The Yin and Yang of Energy Midstream Stocks

In these uncertain times for investors, energy midstream stocks offer an island of stability. This sector provides an attractive combination of current yield and dividend growth. However, midstream companies divide into two distinct categories, and the differences are important. Energy midstream covers the movement and storage of energy commodities from the upstream drillers to the […]

Even the Pros Get Market Timing Wrong

Even the Pros Get Market Timing Wrong

Even with professional investors, herd mentality makes successful investing a daunting task. This year, as you see prediction after prediction about a market decline, stocks have confounded the experts with solid gains. My Dividend Hunter strategy shows investors how to not fall into the “buy high, sell low” wealth destruction cycle. Last week, one of […]

Is Amazon Going To Beat Earnings?

Is Amazon Going To Beat Earnings?

Investors never know for sure if a company is going to post better earnings results than expected. That’s why there are always earnings surprises. However, that doesn’t keep traders from making educated guesses. In the case of Amazon (AMZN), a trader recently purchased 17,000 bullish call spreads that expire the day after earnings come out. […]

The Cure for a Directionless Market

The Cure for a Directionless Market

High current yields and growing dividends are the cure for the directionless market. And if we are in for a “lost decade” from the stock market, yield plus growing dividends is one strategy that will still produce positive total returns. The strategy works in any market—bull, bear, or stagnant. Let me show you. Over the […]

Trade of the Week: Metals & Mining

Trade of the Week: Metals & Mining

ETFs can often make for effective covered call trades because the price tends to be more stable than single stocks. In the case of SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME), the stock has been range bound for much of the last six months. From a block trade we saw last week, a trader is […]