Beware This Tech-Tonic Shift In The Global Technology Sector

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

If you’re betting on a recovery in technology stocks based on third quarter earnings reports from companies such as IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), you’re not alone.

While economists and commentators debate the issue, many investors have already placed large bets on a V-shaped recovery for the tech sector.

They have some good reason to think so too, since the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has risen 70% from its March lows. The problem is, they’re expecting “business as usual” in the industry… meaning they think spending will pick up the way it did in the 1990s.

Kris Gopalakrishman, CEO of Indian tech giant, Infosys (Nasdaq: INFY) – a company in the Xcelerated Profits Report portfolio – sees it differently,

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The Frontline of the Global Recovery

by Robert Williams, Publisher

In an effort to keep a step ahead of the recovery, we’re looking very closely at the emerging markets. Particularly those in Asia.

It’s prudent, of course. Asian policymakers helped the global economy avert a Depression-like tailspin by cutting interest rates to unprecedented lows and doling out more than $950 billion of stimulus measures.

And their course of action is paying off. Data indicates that the region is leading the resurgence.

But all Asian markets are not created equal.

Our “boots on the ground” India expert, Karim Rahemtulla, thinks India holds the most promise when investing in emerging markets. And he’s got three compelling reasons to support his case.

Ahead of the tape,

Robert Williams

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Investing in Emerging Markets: Three Reasons Why You Should Buy India, Not China

by Karim Rahemtulla, Advisory Panelist

India has come a long way since 1997.

The year marked my first trip to the country – and I remember it well, as I headed back to America with a resounding “sell” ringing in my ears with regard to India’s investments.

At that time, the market was clearly manipulated by several large traders. One in particular was Hershad Metha, referred to as the “Big Bull.” And bull is exactly what he fed to the masses, as he borrowed money from the government-owned banks and plowed the cash into the stock market. Result? The mother of all (fake) bull markets, created by a man with a choice word missing from the end of his nickname!

Knowing this, and the precarious position of investing in emerging markets

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Most of the time, we’re no fans of Wall Street analysts. They’re often behind-the curve, biased, and flat out wrong.

But sometimes, we make exceptions – especially when their over-zealous attitude causes a stock to blast higher and hand us triple-digit gains.

I remember one such occurrence in particular with a high-tech company that we own in our Xclerated Profits Report portfolio. Thanks to some giddy CNBC analysts pumping up the price, the stock surged from $6 to $20 and we took half our position off the table for a gain of more than 100%.

The small-cap stock has suffered along with the broader market, but there’s no doubt that its business is viable. It’s leading the way in the field of touch screen and force-feedback technology – otherwise known as “haptics.” In short, this simplifies and enhances human interaction with technology in a variety of ways.

Cellphones… Games… Cars… Healthcare… This

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How To Turn Ordinary Profits Into “Xcelerated” Profits

by Karim Rahemtulla, Advisory Panelist

Most of the time, we’re no fans of Wall Street analysts. They’re often behind-the curve, biased, and flat out wrong.

But sometimes, we make exceptions – especially when their over-zealous attitude causes a stock to blast higher and hand us triple-digit gains.

I remember one such occurrence in particular with a high-tech company that we own in our Xclerated Profits Report portfolio. Thanks to some giddy CNBC analysts pumping up the price, the stock surged from $6 to $20 and we took half our position off the table for a gain of more than 100%.

The small-cap stock has suffered along with the broader market, but there’s no doubt that its business is viable. It’s leading the way in the field of touch screen and force-feedback technology –

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It’s a difficult question to ponder as the state of the world economy is so fragile. Right now, GDP growth stems exclusively from the government’s stimulus package. But once Obama and his cronies are finished fixing the economy, what will the fuel the next leg of the recovery?

In the near term, we think the prospects for job growth look incredibly bleak. Banks aren’t lending. Companies aren’t hiring or investing heavily in R&D, and corporate profits are up only because of cost cutting measures, like layoffs, rather than bottom line revenue growth.

In the long term, however, certain industries look primed to blossom like plastics did in the 70s and semiconductors, personal PCs, and telecom did in the 80s and 90s. Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture points out ten niche industries he thinks will fill in the gaps and push the world economy forward. Here are his top ten (listed in order

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So what’s the better investment – stocks or LEAP options?

As I’ve explained in recent columns, LEAPS are long-term options that expire in one to two years or more. So it’s an effective strategy if your outlook is a couple of years ahead at most.

And the best part is that LEAPS allow you to participate in the moves of the underlying stock (either up or down), for a fraction of what it would cost you to buy the shares outright.

So let’s compare a regular stock investing strategy with LEAP options, using the following guidelines. This is purely as an example…

The Stock Strategy

Here are the initial parameters of the stock strategy example:

Cash to invest: $1,000,000 Stocks to hold: 20 – Buy 1,000 shares of each, priced at $50 a share Timeframe: Two years Stop-loss: 20% Upside target: 30% across the board over two years (from $50 to $65)

Given that we’re looking for

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LEAPS vs. Stocks: An Investment Vehicle Throwdown

by Karim Rahemtulla, Advisory Panelist

So what’s the better investment – stocks or LEAP options?

As I’ve explained in recent columns, LEAPS are long-term options that expire in one to two years or more. So it’s an effective strategy if your outlook is a couple of years ahead at most.

And the best part is that LEAPS allow you to participate in the moves of the underlying stock (either up or down), for a fraction of what it would cost you to buy the shares outright.

So let’s compare a regular stock investing strategy with LEAP options, using the following guidelines. This is purely as an example…

The Stock Strategy

Here are the initial parameters of the stock strategy example:

Cash to invest: $1,000,000 Stocks to hold: 20 – Buy 1,000 shares of each, priced at $50 a ...

How to Supersize Your Profit Potential From 60% to 190%

by Karim Rahemtulla, Advisory Panelist

Investing in options means speculating, right? A hit-and-miss approach to the market?

Sadly, that’s what some options naysayers would like you to believe – and if you do, let me set the record straight…

Investing in anything carries a certain amount of speculation – be it stocks, options, coins, fine art, or any number of other things.

Over the past decade, for example, we’ve seen that even investing in some so-called “safe” blue-chip stocks has proved to be a speculative bet. In fact, it’s carried greater financial risk than investing in LEAP options could ever pose. Over the past year alone, if you had a portfolio of LEAP options in lieu of a stock portfolio, you’d have come out way ahead of the

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Recently, I covered the profitable and simplistic world of LEAP options – a simple way to trade using long-term options that have an expiration date of one to three years.

And it’s this time component that is a critical factor when it comes to valuing the price of a LEAP option and the amount of risk involved.

An option’s price is determined by a computer program – either the Options Pricing Model or the Black-Scholes Model. Black, Scholes and Merton developed the latter model in the 1970s, winning a Nobel Prize for it.

Essentially, both models take the same main factors into account…

The amount of time until expiration. The price of the underlying shares. The volatility of the share price. The risk-free rate of return.

Let’s take a look at these factors, so you know how to pick the right options with the best chance of yielding handsome profits…

Put Time on Your Side With

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