Have you ever looked at the world around you and realized that it has changed. No, I mean really looked. For example, for anyone over the age of 50, the idea of streaming television or movies is a big change. When that group was young, television existed as three channels – ABC, CBS, and NBC. To get those channels, you had to live near a city that broadcast those signals, and if your “rabbit ear” antennae could not pluck those signals out of the air, you were out of luck. And get this – if you wanted to change the channel, you had to get up, walk to the TV and crank a knob that sometimes broke off in your hand (just a fun historical aside).
Now, jump ahead 20 years and you still have ABC, NBC, and CBS, but cable TV has entered the game to give viewers a mindboggling array of shows to watch, and now many millions more have access to television. So, where am I going with this? Here is the first place.
Verizon Communications Inc plans to launch a standalone service allowing customers to stream movies and television shows over the Web, in a fresh challenge to Netflix Inc and the traditional cable TV business.
Television has come a long way since its inception, and I can assure you the only folks back then who thought one day you would watch it on your “telephone” were the few dreamers. Nevertheless, that is now the case, and today the world of television is open to anyone who can afford a smartphone and who is within range of a wireless broadcaster. This means billions more now have access to television. Now, let’s go to my second place.
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s top TV brand, said its television sales hit a record 5.7 million units in November, helped by strong U.S. sales during the long Thanksgiving weekend.
The above points to the reality I just mentioned, even though the medium is not the smartphone. Here is my point, and it speaks to what the reader asked me in yesterday’s column. He asked me to point him in “basic direction on ‘where’ to look” for good trades. I suggested he start with understanding the world, then work his way down to the sectors that move with the world, and then to look to best stocks in that sector.
Online sales climbed 15.6 percent in November and are doing well so far in December, as shopping for computers, tablets and mobile phones gain in popularity.
The fact is that technology is changing the world faster than many of us realize, and because of that change, more and more consumers gain access to many more products and services, new markets develop, new companies are born, and both new and old companies make more profit. As I have said many times before, put fear aside, and the market cares about one thing – profit. Opportunity exists in many places today, but the technology sector is one place to scour thoroughly because evolution is happening faster there than anywhere. Electronics and entertainment are two examples.
Aside from Europe (which I happily did not mention today), the economic news is good. I had to work to whittle down my choice for the good news piece of the day, and here it is …
Wholesale businesses boost their stockpiles by the most since May.
Trade in the day – Invest in your life …
