Sustainability is back in the news with a vengeance as the new Netflix documentary “Buy Now!” indicts brands over dodgy tactics and waste After nearly three decades of experience in the retail industry, there isn’t much about the questionable practices of some retail brands and merchandisers that catches me off guard. But the makers of a new Netflix documentary have managed to package the global scope and impact of overproduction and consumption in a way that even I found profoundly disturbing. Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy should be required viewing for every corporate executive in retail, especially those in the…

Is it Time to Sell? How to Tell As I go to parties this post-election holiday season, I am often asked, “Is this a stock market bubble?” Unfortunately, many investors fruitlessly search for a magic indicator to pick the top of a bull market or take advice from strangers at a dinner party. As outlined in my latest financial history book, “Investment Atlas III – Creating Wealth Using Historical Trends”, there are several tools stock investors can use to gauge the health of an old bull market similarly to how doctors use various tests during routine physical exams on their…

Key News Asian equities had a strong day despite a very strong US dollar overnight, as Taiwan, the Philippines, and Pakistan outperformed, and South Korea underperformed again, as the KOSPI and growth-focused KOSDAQ are now off -15% and -28% year-to-date. I have not seen any calls for Emerging Markets ex South Korea, though it is giving the FTSE EM index an edge over the MSCI EM index due to the former’s upgrade of South Korea to developed market status. Hong Kong and Mainland China had strong sessions, led by growth stocks following better-than-expected purchasing managers’ indexes, November auto sales, and…

Today we’ll discuss a 5.4% dividend that actually annualizes to 7%. A 5.7% payer that really dishes 12.4%. And even a headline 15% yield that is understated because the company handed out 16.1% last year. Wait. What? These “typos” fool the mainstream financial websites. We are discussing special dividends today. Payouts that are awarded as a bonus to regular quarterly dividends. Only a select few firms dish specials. Sometimes, it’s thanks to a sudden influx of money. Let’s take billboard and transit display giant Outfront Media (OUT) which sold its Canadian business for C$410 million in cash in June. Fast…

Star Bulk Carriers has been named as a Top 10 dividend stock, according the most recent Dividend Channel ”DividendRank” report. The report noted that among the coverage universe, SBLK shares displayed both attractive valuation metrics and strong profitability metrics. For example, the recent SBLK share price of $17.32 represents a price-to-book ratio of 0.8 and an annual dividend yield of 13.86% — by comparison, the average company in Dividend Channel’s coverage universe yields 4.1% and trades at a price-to-book ratio of 2.8. The report also cited the strong quarterly dividend history at Star Bulk Carriers , and favorable long-term multi-year…

Chief executives probably know their companies better than anyone else. So when the boss is buying his own company’s stock, it’s wise to pay attention. Here are four stocks I think deserve a look. In each case, the chief executive officer (CEO) has made a significant purchase in the past few weeks. Two are large-capitalization companies, one a mid-cap, and one a small-cap. Centene Centene Corp. (CNC) is the largest in the bunch, with a market value of $30 billion. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Centene is a managed care company that focuses heavily on Medicaid patients. Medicaid is a…

Stellantis shares dropped just over 8% in Europe after news storied CEO Carlos Tavares had stepped down just over a year before his contract expired. Stellantis shares have lost almost 60% of their value since March, when falling sales in the U.S. and burgeoning stocks shook its financial position. This led to a profit warning in September which included a forecast of a cash burn of up to €10 billion ($10.5 billion) in 2024. Stellantis cautioned shareholders that the profit margin in 2024 would be closer to 5.5 to 7.0%, not 10%. German automakers also issued profit warningsat the same…

A global rush for bauxite, the ore of aluminum, is underway led by Chinese and U.S. companies. In the South American country of Suriname, Chinalco, a state-owned Chinese miner and metal producer, has staked a claim to neglected bauxite deposits in the west of the country. In Australia Alcoa, a big U.S. aluminum producer, is planning to restart bauxite mining in an area abandoned 10 years ago. Driving the revival is a squeeze on the supply of bauxite and alumina, the intermediate product used to make aluminum. Cutbacks in bauxite mining in the African country of Guinea, the world’s biggest…

We are drowning in post-election stock-market predictions, so let me go ahead and throw another one on the pile: This new administration will hurt the returns of folks who simply buy an index fund like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY Principal Shareholder Yield Index ETF SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ) and call it a day. I call SPY “America’s ticker” because, well, most Americans own it. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you do, too. Now, I’m not going to judge (well, maybe I will, but just a little bit!). Suffice it to say, the…

Hedge fund veteran and Wall Street-approved suit Scott Bessent is likely the new Treasury secretary. That’s why this 11% dividend is a big winner. Bessent will advocate for financial deregulation and increased lending. Easier and faster money. Which will be a boon for private equity and business development companies (BDCs). Prior to Bessent’s appointment, the folks in Silicon Valley were already salivating over increased M&A: Big companies tossing money at startups and private firms raising piles of dough to get in on the action itself. That’s the rocket fuel that mints multi-millionaires and even billionaires. This extra cash sloshing around…