Tag: Christian Hudspeth

How Midterm Elections Could Lead To 17.5% Returns In Less Than A Year

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By: Christian Hudspeth of Street Authority

The most recent election was a good night for Republicans, but possibly even better for investors.

That's not necessarily because Republican wins lead to better stock returns, but because historically the market performs better in the year following midterm elections.

In fact, there's a 66% chance that the market will post positive gains for 2014, according to research by StockTradersAlmanac.com.

Looking at stock market movements from every midterm election from 1970 to 2010, their research found that 66% of the time the stock market ended higher from election day to year's end.

And for all midterms since 1970, the stock market gained an average of 2.1% from election day to the end of year. You can see for yourself in the table below:

If a 2.1% gain possibility over the next two months doesn't sound groundbreaking, then this might.

Holding stocks for a full year after a midterm has historically been very profitable, according to research by Chief Equity Strategist Sam Stovall of SP Capital IQ. Continue reading "How Midterm Elections Could Lead To 17.5% Returns In Less Than A Year" →

The Dirty-Little Secret Behind Corporate America's 'Buyback Frenzy'

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By: Christian Hudspeth of Street Authority

Corporate America's "wealth giveaway" continues.

Ever since America's largest corporations hunkered down and began hoarding unprecedented amounts of cash to protect themselves in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, investors have been hounding companies to put that money to work.

Fortunately for investors, companies have responded. But not in the way you might expect.

You see, rather than putting their cash to work through expanding product lines, opening more stores and investing for growth, many large companies have been rewarding shareholders through record amounts of dividends and share repurchases.

For the most part, this is good news for investors. But there's a hidden element to share about buybacks that you need to be aware of... because behind the scenes some companies are actually using this effective tool to erode shareholder wealth.

Let me explain... Continue reading "The Dirty-Little Secret Behind Corporate America's 'Buyback Frenzy'" →