The busiest week for earnings so far this quarter delivered several positive surprises, as the broader U.S. market averages finished off the best January performance in three decades.

Industrial and Energy stocks were the big winners for the month, led by an 18% gain in the underlying price of crude oil. On the other hand, Utility and Healthcare names have lagged in the opening weeks of 2019.

FOMC Flinches and Jobs Growth Surprises

There was little belief that Chairman Powell and the Fed would change interest rates on Wednesday, but the tone of their commentary did turn decidedly more dovish this week.… Read more

Money-losing firm India Globalization Capital (IGC) found the magic formula last October. They put two investing buzzwords side-by-side:

1. Cannabis, and
2. Blockchain.

The savvy marketers at IGC then introduced an energy drink infused with hemp, and wow, what a rush!

IGC Jumped 10-Fold on Buzzwords

We rational income investors fortunately avoided this circus. I wrote to you as the blockchain-weed craze was peaking:

We level-headed contrarians should stay away from this circus. In fact, you need to be honest with yourself about the latest weed craze. If you’re tempted at all to buy this junk, it’s better if you change the channel.… Read more

Wondering if it’s too late to cash in on the late-2018 market mayhem?

If so, great news! There are still plenty of bargains to be had. And today I’m going to show you three great funds that are still cheap (though they won’t be for long).

The best part? Each throws off hefty dividends upwards of 7%!

Of course, when discounts like the ones on these three exist, you’re right to ask why. The answer is simple: because these three funds are closed-end funds (CEFs), they’re off most people’s radar. That means they’re slower to snap back from a market decline than, say, a fan favorite like Apple (AAPL).… Read more

For those of you shaking your head at your portfolio’s low yield, you can actually 2X or 3X your portfolio’s yield and improve your upside potential to boot using this strategy. And it’s actually simpler than traditional stock picking.

Many income investors have mistakenly parked their capital in “safe” consumer staples like General Mills (GIS), Kimberly-Clark (KMB) and Procter & Gamble (PG) in search of yield and security. Their money was safe, all right: their cash went nowhere – straight sideways – for the last five years!

They’d have been better off “outsourcing” their dividend decisions to the great Mario Gabelli.… Read more

I get lots of pushback when I post an article panning exchange-traded funds. ETF fanboys (and girls) base their love on two things: ETFs’ cheap management fees and convenience, because they let you jump into an entire sector in one click.

My response? Handle these so-called “set it and forget it” plays with a lot of caution—or risk a big dent in your savings.

Getting What You Pay For

Far too many ETFs (like the four I’ll reveal below) are cheap for a reason: lousy returns! Worse, some aren’t even cheap—like my “second-worst” pick below, which charges an outrageous 2.1% fee and has no one at the helm at all.… Read more

With the market on the rise from its Christmastime lows, it’s natural to wonder if you’ve missed out on the rebound.

Good news: you haven’t—and today I’m going to tell you why we’re still looking at a terrific buying opportunity, even though stocks have gained more than 5% since bottoming in late December:

The Recovery Is Here

The 5.3% jump since the start of 2019 isn’t the result of fundamentals (those haven’t changed), new news (there haven’t been any significant developments) or an end to political gridlock (the shutdown has remained in effect). Instead, it’s been a clearly psychological change: with the new year, the market has a new attitude.… Read more

The broader stock market averages digested recent gains this week, as trading activity was shortened by the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.

Trade talks with China appear to have reached a stalemate, as U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that the two sides were “miles and miles” apart from settling trade issues. Back at home, the Federal government shutdown found a temporary solution on Friday. The deal re-opens government operations through Feb. 15, as Congress and the White House will continue to discuss border security.

Earnings Season in Full Force

Despite the holiday, it was a busy week for earnings.… Read more

Seven point six percent is the average dividend for my 20 favorite stocks and funds today. These payouts provide us with a secure “No Withdrawal” Retirement Portfolio. We never have to sell any shares thanks to our dividend-powered cash flow:

Of course, we prefer upside as well. Why settle for a mere dividend when we can add some price appreciation, too! It’s possible with these high payers, and we typically enjoy gains one (or more) of these ways:

1. Additional dividend growth powers our stocks higher. Other investors see their already-generous yields rising even higher and pay more for our shares.

Many investors hear the word “leverage” and immediately get nervous—but the truth is, borrowed cash is actually vital to big closed-end fund (CEF) returns.

I’ll show you why—and how a huge misunderstanding about leverage will lead to big gains for CEFs this year—in a moment.

Before we get to that, though, we need to understand why this one simple word sends investors into a cold sweat in the first place.

A 90-Year Old Tale

The cloud hanging over leverage stretches back to the crash of 1929, and tales of stockbrokers who borrowed too much cash before the collapse and then leaped out their office windows.… Read more

A crazy stock market is perfect for covered call writers. When volatility is high, so are option premiums, which means this popular income strategy should be a profitable one throughout 2019.

New to covered calls? Here’s how they work:

1. You buy at least 100 shares of a stock or fund. You now own these outright. (Why 100? Because one covered call contract covers 100 shares of underlying stock.)
2. You then sell (“write”) covered calls at a price around or above the stock’s current price for additional income. In doing so, you are agreeing to sell the stock at that price – the “strike” – in exchange for money today.