Our Best of 2012

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

This holiday season we decided to give our hard-working editors a break for the week to enjoy some quality time with their families. In today's edition of the Investment U Weekly, we take a look back at some of our most talked about essays of 2012. And in our Weekly Update Video, we look at a compilation of Steve McDonald's Greatest SITF awards for 2012. You can check it out in this video. Sponsored Make a Fortune With This "Worthless" Element (Forget Gold or Silver) It's the world's sixth most abundant element (in fact, there’s likely some sitting on your desk right now). You might even consider it "worthless." Yet as it becomes more popular, it could help turn a $900 stake into over $20,000. That's because it's about to completely revolutionize a $350 billion+ market. Get all the details on this substance that's about to produce fortunes by clicking the arrow. Here are the top stories that were featured in our Investment U Daily this week... Alexander Green Chief Investment Strategist Welcome to the Most Disrespected Bull Market in History Most investors simply don't accept that we're in a bull market. (Or they insist it will end at any moment.) They don't believe the trend is their friend. I hear this from former colleagues on Wall Street all the time. They say investors are still scared to death and sitting on their hands. This is only anecdotal evidence, however. Let's look at something more conclusive, like mutual fund cash flow figures. These numbers show whether mutual fund investors are buying or redeeming shares of equity funds. And they have a strong correlation with stock market performance. Not in the way you might think, however. History shows fund shareholders tend to be heavy buyers near market peaks and heavy redeemers at market bottoms... Click here to read the full story Alexander Green Chief Investment Strategist The Greatest Threat to Your Stock Portfolio Readers often ask how I can maintain an optimistic outlook on stocks in the face of a stagnant economy, high unemployment, over-leveraged consumers, currency troubles in the Eurozone and a looming fiscal crisis here at home. In truth, I am only optimistic about the private sector - not the public one. Companies large and small battle each other every day to provide the highest quality goods and services, with the greatest speed, and at the lowest cost. We all benefit enormously from this. But we face a serious longer-term threat to our future prosperity: an out-of-control public sector, not only in the United States but all around the globe... Click here to read the full story Marc Lichtenfeld Senior Analyst Forget Obama - It's All About the King In an earlier article, I showed you stock market performance under both parties for the last 111 years. It was pretty close to even. Over the long term, the market goes up, no matter who is in office, whether there is war or peace, high taxes or low taxes. Over 100 years of stock market history proves this to be true. So rather than get all riled up over the election, I'm focusing on finding great stocks for the next year... Click here to read the full story Carl Delfeld Senior Analyst Can Cowboy Capitalism Save America? The independent streak in America runs deep. Independent voters now outnumber registered Republicans and Democrats. Independent investors are changing the landscape of financial services. Charter schools are leading innovation. Entrepreneurs form the backbone of our economy. I think it all comes from the cowboy - a powerful symbol I appreciate much more after living in Colorado for more than a decade... Click here to read the full story Dave Fessler Senior Analyst I'm Counting My Blessings This Holiday Season... And One in Particular This holiday season, I have many things to be thankful for: my wonderful family, devoted friends and a rewarding writing career, to name a few. This year in particular, however, I have one blessing that counts more than all the rest. I'll tell you about that in a moment, but first, let me tell you my story. If you've been a regular Investment U reader, you're probably wondering why you haven't heard anything from me for almost a year. It's not because I got tired of writing about energy and infrastructure. Frankly, there are few things in life I enjoy more. The reason I stopped was the result of a freak accident... Click here to read the full story Be sure to check out some of the other investment stories that we've published this week on our website at: www.InvestmentU.com AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO): The Perfect Play for Rising Food Demand? Is Twitter Making the Stock Market Predictable? Under Armour (NYSE: UA): Hype You Should Actually Believe In How Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Will Disrupt the NFC Market in 2013

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