Important Updates for Investors
Carla Pasternak's Premiere Issue of High-Yield International Just
Released
Income expert Carla Pasternak's debut issue of High-Yield
International covers a Taiwanese manufacturer yielding 9.5%... a
rare Mexican monopoly yielding 13.4%... and other top-performing
investments yielding up to 19.0%.
Government's Biofuel Timetable Could Spell +15,900% Growth
+15,900% growth might seem far-fetched... but it's not. In fact, it
is mandated by law. And I've identified the ONLY stock positioned to
capture this growth.
The
Silver Lining to a Falling Dollar
Despite the U.S. national debt, there is a silver lining for income
investors. This massive spending, combined with movement out of U.S.
Treasuries, is going to take its toll on the dollar, and
international income investors could reap the rewards in the form of
higher dividends. |
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| Carrying
MasterCard Could be Good for Your Portfolio |
Published: December 18, 2006
Just about every consumer is
familiar with MasterCard (NYSE: MA, $92.90)
-- nearly a third
of all credit cards issued globally carry the MasterCard brand. In fact,
the credit card business is essentially a duopoly, with MasterCard and
Visa dominating the business.
MasterCard's business is simple and highly scaleable. The company
charges merchants a fee for processing credit card transactions. Every
time you use your MasterCard to buy something, the company earns a small
fee for authorizing the payment and transferring the cash. The more
often consumers use their cards globally, the more cash MasterCard rakes
in via processing fees.
And note that all sorts of banks and finance companies offer MasterCard
branded cards. The list includes big banks like Citigroup and Bank of
America, as well as (quite likely) your local bank. Each of these banks
or finance companies pays MasterCard a fee for using its brand name and
logo on the card.
MasterCard's main competitive advantage lies in its brand and its
installed customer base. Many merchants globally accept MasterCard, and
consumers want to hold cards that are widely accepted by merchants.
Because MasterCard is so large and so well-recognized, it would be
extremely difficult for upstart companies to grab a foothold in the
business.
As for growth, there is a clear trend towards greater use of electronic
payments like credit and debit cards. For the past several decades,
consumers in developed markets have gradually reduced their use of
checks and cash in favor of credit or debit cards.
That same trend is now evident in emerging markets. Twenty years ago,
very few Chinese and Indian consumers held cards; most merchants in
these countries only accepted cash. But that's changing rapidly.
The People's Bank of China estimated there were more than 700 million
credit cards issued in China in 2004. However, consumer spending on
cards only accounted for about 3% of the total, and less than 3% of
merchants in China accept card payments. By contrast, in Hong Kong,
cards account for more than one quarter of consumer spending. It's not
hard to imagine Chinese credit card growth of +75% to +100% annualized
over the next few years as Chinese consumer spending on cards rises
towards international norms. That spells years of growth ahead for
MasterCard.
With these points in mind, MA could be an aggressive-growth option to
spice up your portfolio.
Good investing!
-- Paul Tracy
Editor
StreetAuthority
Market Advisor
| To
receive in-depth guidance on today's leading investing
opportunities each month, plus access to five model
portfolios, please subscribe to Paul Tracy's premium investment
newsletter -- the StreetAuthority
Market Advisor. |
Paul Tracy
founded StreetAuthority and became Chief Investment Strategist in 2001. Prior to
that he spent several years as Managing Editor at a multi-million dollar
financial publishing firm with over 150,000 subscribers. In addition to
his role as managing editor and lead financial writer, he was also
responsible for equity research and managing a team of seasoned
professional financial writers, researchers and market commentators.
Paul's previous experience
includes a position at Robert W. Baird & Co.'s full-service
brokerage operations as well as economic research work on a Money and
Banking project funded by the National Bureau of Economic Research. He
has also spent time doing outside consulting and research for the
University of Virginia, has appeared as a guest expert on several
prominent financial radio shows, and has been a featured speaker at
various investment conferences across the U.S.
Paul graduated with a B.S.
in Finance and Management from the McIntire School of Commerce at the
University of Virginia.
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