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Jordan Wathen

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  • 3 Financial Firms Gobbling up Shares

    By Jordan Wathen - May 21, 2013 | Tickers: AIG, DFS, CB

    This year, companies are gobbling up their own shares by the tens of billions of dollars. Repurchases can create tremendous value when they're properly timed. A company that purchases cheap stock reduces its share count and drives earnings per share growth. A combination of fewer shares and greater earnings is a double whammy for investors.

    Financial firms are part of the buyback spree. Here are three financial firms that more »

  • Where Retirees Can Find High Yields

    By Jordan Wathen - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: BKLN, O, O-E, JNK

    As American demographics change, so does the nation's asset allocation. Over the past few years, the market has supplied a number of high-dividend ETFs to give investors current income. As a result of a low rate environment, stock prices are high and yields are depressed.

    There's still plenty of room to find yield, however.

    REITs for long-term dividends

    Real estate investment trusts have taken in billions of dollars more »

  • This Chart Shows "Physical" and “Paper” Silver are the Same

    By Jordan Wathen - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: SLV, SLW, PSLV

    Silver investors often make noise of the disconnect in pricing between “paper” and “physical” silver. Many believe that the disparity is a sign of market manipulation. Why should physical silver – coins, bullion bars, or scrap silver – trade at a premium to silver on a futures exchange?

    In all reality, some small spread between paper and physical silver is tolerable, if not expected. Physical silver is costlier to store, more expensive more »

  • A Million Bucks isn't Necessary for These Hedge Fund-like Stocks

    By Jordan Wathen - May 20, 2013 | Tickers: BH, CBRL, GLRE

    One of the many disadvantages of a hedge fund is that you have to be wealthy, very wealthy, to invest in one. Not only do hedge funds have client minimums, but SEC regulations also require investors be “accredited,” having more than $200,000 in annual income or a net worth (less primary real estate) of more than $1 million.

    Despite the limitations, there are a few ways around these problems more »

  • A Specialty Retailer the Internet Cannot Kill

    By Jordan Wathen - May 19, 2013 | Tickers: AZO, ODP, OMX, SPLS

    Specialized retailers and category killers make for excellent businesses, but there's a very big difference between good and bad.

    Some are runaway successes; others are businesses in perpetual decline. Whether or not a business will fail or succeed comes down to one variable: the effect of tech.

    Retail vs. the internet.

    Built on the idea that they could deliver office supplies to corporate customers, and offer a range of more »

  • Pandora vs. Google: Why "All Access" Won't Hurt Online Radio

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: GOOG, P

    Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is taking on the music business, launching a new service called Google Play Music All Access to compete with the likes of Pandora (NYSE: P) and popular new start-up Spotify.

    The company is late to the music business, which is seen as one of the last remaining frontiers in online content delivery. For years, Google's YouTube was its only product levered to online music. Google makes more »

  • Marc Andreessen: Regulation Will Crush Your Retirement Expectations

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: FB, IJR, SPY

    Marc Andreessen took to CNBC in an exclusive report to send a simple message: regulation is killing equity returns.

    Since 2000, the number of public companies has dwindled from 6639 to 3,687 companies in the Wilshire 5000 index at the end of 2012. While rampant debt-fueled acquisitions are encouraging the rise of the conglomerate, a regulatory environment keeps upstarts from an early listing on the public markets.

    There's more »

  • A Different Way to Bet on Housing for Speculative Investors

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: F, GM, HD, SBY

    Investors are clamoring for new ways to invest in an emerging bull market in American real estate. Some favorite investments include the likes of Home Depot (NYSE: HD), which is known for robust capital allocation, dividends, and share repurchases.

    Others turn to new emerging REITs, like Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp (NYSE: SBY), which owns more than 3,400 homes across the United States.

    Going directly into housing via home more »

  • Why It's Time to Drop Junk Debt

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: HYG, JNK

    Junk debt sits atop a multi-year run as investors bid down yields and drive up bond prices. Undoubtedly the result of the Fed's non-stop quantitative easing, junk bonds trade at an average that implies a premium to par and a yield less than 5%.

    Never have junk-rated companies found it so easy to raise capital. Investors yearn for some semblance for yield, as corporate debt yields dive in a more »

  • Retail Is Back: Buy the Brokers?

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: SCHW, AMTD

    The retail investor is back in the stock markets, buying stocks, dumping bonds, and generally becoming more active. This is usually a sign of a market top, as “mom and pop” traders tend to be late to the rally and early to a bust.

    Some companies make more money on rising asset prices and activity. Let's take a look at two different asset managers and brokerage firms:

    TD Ameritrade more »

  • Earn a “Royalty” on Exploding Home Sales

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: FNF, FAF, XHB

    The annual Value Investing Congress is never short of interesting ideas. This year, Zeke Ashton from Centaur Capital Partners proposed his own play on an improving housing market.

    Why housing?

    American housing is hotter than ever. Prices have risen at the fastest pace since 2006, while record low interest rates compel investors to acquire cash flow positive properties. Meanwhile, homeowners are refinancing their homes while others take advantage of newly-acquired more »

  • McCain's A La Carte Cable Will Make Content Creators Richer

    By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, NFLX, TWX, DIS

    John McCain may be better known for beating war drums, but he's now taking on the cable industry. His complaint? High cost cable services are the direct result of a bundled service. He wants to push the industry to move to an a la carte model where consumers can pick and choose the channels to which they want to subscribe.

    He believes such a solution would result in lower more »

  • Why Not to Fall for This Story Stock

    By Jordan Wathen - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: F, GM, TSLA

    Tesla is a different kind of company. It doesn't advertise. Its workers are non-union, and it seemingly does everything counter to the traditional automobile industry – no dealerships, no real network for repairs...yet.

    Investors rightfully love the story. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is the “tech story” in a very capital-intensive automobile industry. The company's high-priced cars are selling like hot cakes, with the firm reporting production of more than more »

  • An 89% Dividend Yield That Isn't Too Good to be True

    By Jordan Wathen - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: DELL, HPQ

    The decline of the personal computer has been on the minds of investors everywhere. As hardware companies face slower upgrade cycles, lower per-unit prices, and declining sales, few can escape a terminal decline in profits.

    Dell faces the same decline in PCs that other companies face. Rival Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) reported that PC shipments sunk 14% in the first quarter. The company also projected that tablet sales (as a whole more »

  • Ackman's New Favorite Large Cap Stock

    By Jordan Wathen - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: CHD, KO, PG, CLX

    Hedge fund managers meet at the annual Sohn Conference, where they pitch their favorite ideas to raise money for pediatric cancer.

    This year, Bill Ackman brought forth a simple idea, one which won't draw him criticism like his Herbalife short last December.

    Ackman says Procter & Gamble is a top pick

    Pretty boring, right? Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) takes the cake for being a stock for widows and orphans – a more »

  • Sony: Will Unlocking Entertainment Business Create Value?

    By Jordan Wathen - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: EWJ, SNE, DXJ

    Sony's in a world of trouble.It's electronics division is in a world of hurt, losing share to up and coming product lines from Samsung, which commands leadership in smartphones and flat panel TVs.

    Sony (NYSE: SNE) has outperformed a general rising trend in Japanese equities over the last six months, as investors consider the valuable hidden assets which include Sony Entertainment's vast library. Here's Sony more »

  • This Restaurant's Spicy Stock Looks Ready for a Correction

    By Jordan Wathen - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: CMG, DRI, MCD

    Restaurants run hot and cold. In a competitive environment, key input prices can swing margins, and profits, up and down considerably in any given quarter. In the long run, however, restaurants have been some of the world's best performing stocks.

    McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) for example, returned more than 470% from 2003 to 2013, all the while boosting dividends it paid to investors. It did it largely on the more »

  • Why Berkshire Can Beat the Market

    By Jordan Wathen - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: BRK-B, BRK-A

    Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) has humble roots as a textile mill in the early 20th century, but when a dying business was coupled with the world's best investor, it grew quickly. This year, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway appeared at number 5 on the Fortune 500, which ranks companies by revenue.

    Investors fear that the size and scope of Berkshire Hathaway will prevent it from repeating more »

  • Competition in the Cloud Erases all Profits

    By Jordan Wathen - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, MSFT, RAX

    Earlier this year, I wrote about Rackspace's (NYSE: RAX) lack of a competitive moat in a highly-competitive industry: cloud computing. Dissenting comments followed, showcasing how this stock is one of the most controversial tech plays out there.

    Many believe it is Rackspace's “Fanatical Support” that differentiates it in cloud computing. That is, the company's tech support adds value that should allow for higher prices for Rackspace's more »

  • Can Green Mountain and Starbucks Give New Life to the K-Cup?

    By Jordan Wathen - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: GMCR, SBUX

    Few companies attract as much attention as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR). Once on the list of businesses that were “Einhorned,” it will forever remain on the list of the most controversial stocks.

    Recently the company reported its fiscal second-quarter 2013 earnings to much applause from Wall Street. Key highlights included:

    • 14% revenue growth from the prior year quarter
    • Strong free cash flow of $202 million
    • A new agreement more »
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