Research spending is the key to explosive profits in tech stocks

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we choose stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our advisory that covers the U.S. stock markets.

(In a recent Wall Street Stock Forecaster hotline, we updated our buy/sell/hold advice on a technology stock that uses one of our favourite hidden assets to maximum effect. Read on for further details.)

By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly …read more »

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on the fundamentals of successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.

Today’s tip: “Life-long dollar-cost averaging can increase your long-term retirement investing profits”

Dollar-cost averaging involves investing equal amounts of money over a specific period ($200 a month, say). It’s a little like systematic saving, except that …read more »

The Canadian consumer sector is highly competitive. Aside from other domestic retailers, Canadian retailers face rising competition from large U.S. discount retailers, like Wal-Mart and Costco. As well, consumer stocks are more exposed to swings in the overall economy than companies in some other sectors, such as utilities.

That’s especially true when you indulge in aggressive investing in consumer stocks and buy small retailers. They tend to be less well-established than larger companies, such as Canadian Tire. However, aggressive investing in consumer stocks also holds the potential for spectacular gains.

(In …read more »

Here are three easy-to-avoid errors that most investors make when investing money in the stock market. All three can seriously hinder your portfolio’s long-term results.

1. Taking an overly optimistic view of speculative investments: Some investors generally put too high a value on speculative ventures. They want to believe that innovations will succeed, and that they’ll get a fair chance to profit from investing money in these companies. Their innate politeness stops them from asking tough questions of smooth-talking promoters. Excess optimism plus a shortage of information leads them to pay …read more »

Beta ratings are a measure of stock-market volatility. Stocks with a beta of 1.0 have exactly the same degree of volatility as the market they trade in, based on a comparison of fluctuations in the stock and the market index over a period of time, usually five years.

If a stock market investment’s beta is below 1.0, the stock is less volatile than the market. High-beta stocks above 1.0 are generally more volatile than the market. (If a stock has a negative beta, it has an inverse relationship with the …read more »

The price of uranium rose steadily from $7.10 U.S. a pound in December 2000 to as high as $138 U.S. a pound in June 2007.

Prices have moved down from that speculative high to today’s price of about $40.00 a pound. But conditions look favourable for higher long-term uranium demand.

Risks and rewards of Canadian uranium stocks

Many emerging countries, such as China, India and Russia, are increasing their nuclear-power use as they switch from power plants that run on coal and oil. For example, China plans to build at …read more »