Top Dog and First Mover

A "Top Dog" is A company that dominates its industry.

A "First Mover" is a company with a technology or product so revolutionary that disrupts an existing industry and create an entire new one.



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Bankruptcy

• BANKRUPTCY ACT - Singapore Statutes Online

• What it means to be trapped in bankruptcy | Singapore Watch

• BANKRUPTCY RULES

• Bankruptcy Laws in Singapore | eHow.com

• DebtReform - Consultant

• Info Search Insolvency Service (.gov.sg)

• Personal Bankruptcy Proceedings in Singapore

S'poreans still value political stability

Tony Tan wins the PE by the narrowest of margins -- a mere 0.34 per cent of total votes. (Yahoo!)

Singaporeans still value political stability and are not quite ready for a President who speaks up more and is an activist, said political analysts Yahoo! Singapore spoke to.

On early Sunday morning, Dr Tony Tan pipped Dr Tan Cheng Bock by slightly over 7,000 votes -- 0.34 per cent -- of total votes in a nationwide poll to become the seventh President of Singapore.

Both candidates were former members of the ruling People's Action Party. Together, the former deputy prime minister and former party backbencher respectively amassed nearly 1.5 million votes out of a possible 2.1 million cast.

Professor Eugene Tan, a lecturer at the Singapore Management University, said it showed that Singaporeans are still not ready to have a President that rocked the boat too much.

"Both Dr Tans were seen as candidates that could work with the Government. Both Dr Tans polled almost 70% of the popular vote.That suggests that the PAP branding for a candidate is not a liability as is widely perceived," he said.

On what were the key factors behind Dr Tan's win, he said, "Dr Tan's experience in public and private sectors and brand recognition from his years as a Cabinet Minister" and the fact that the non-Establishment vote was split between the other three candidates, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Say and Tan Kin Lian.

Dr Tony Tan is Singapore's seventh President. (REUTERS Photo/Tim Chong)

Tan Jee Say, who said he intended to play the role of "auditor and gatekeeper" if he had won, came in with 25 per cent, or 529,732, of votes, while former NTUC chief Tan Kin Lian garnered less than 5 per cent of votes. The latter is set to lose his election deposit of S$48,000.

"Mr Tan Kin Lian's very poor showing suggests that he will have to reconsider if he has political appeal while for Mr Tan Jee Say, the options are plentiful. He is likely to rejoin opposition politics... and we can expect him to run in the next PE in 2017," added Professor Tan.

Professor Tan also said that Dr Tan Cheng Bock's coming out of political retirement demonstrated that his political currency is still strong but age may not be on his side for the next PE as he will be 77 then.

Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, told Channel NewsAsia that there was "not enough strong support" for a president that should speak up more and to initiate discussion of policy issues.

However, another political analyst Dr Reuben Wong cautioned that while Tony Tan's "experience and expertise are valued by voters", he will need to "respond to the concerns of the 60-odd per cent that voted someone else."

Meanwhile, reaction from Singaporean netizens about the results was mixed.

Producer Ben Tan said that he's happy with the result.

"Among the candidates, Tony Tan appears to be the most political savvy although I think that the elections is a bit farcical considering that he or any candidate who wins will have less than 40 per cent of the popular vote," said the 27-year-old.

"I expect him to work closely with the government, ensuring that our past reserves are used only under extraordinary circumstances, and to champion the causes of nation building and integration," Tan added.

26-year-old student Lee Quanta also agreed that Dr Tony Tan deserved to win because "he has been contributing to the nation and you can't deny that he has helped the nation before and is approachable on at international level."

He expects Dr Tan to "uphold the nation and bring changes to the nation and not just be the President for the sake of being one. Be sure to know his stand and what he can do to help the people in the country."

Dr Tan Cheng Bock received loud cheers from his supporters at Jurong East Stadium. (Photo by Nicky Loh/Getty I …

Others online though were upset with the results but still welcomed Dr Tony Tan as the seventh president of Singapore.

"It's indeed sad and unfortunate for Singapore that Dr Tan Cheng Bock did not become our next president. Put nation before politics," User RD commented.

30 something wrote on Yahoo! Singapore's Facebook wall, "The result basically reflects what kind of President Singaporeans want. Half of TCB (Tan Cheng Bock) + Half of TT (Tony Tan). The winner, Tony Tan will have to work towards what TCB portrayed in order to win hearts of voters."

"Regardless of who we voted for, we should stand behind our new President to give him the support he needs to best progress our country," said Sky.

Tan Jee Say won one in four votes and clinched 529,732 votes. (Yahoo! photo/Aeron Chew)

However, a legal secretary who only wanted to be known as Tham, 37, said she is unhappy with the results.

"I want a President that is outspoken and not a puppet" and cited that Tan Jee Say would have been the best choice for President "because he has a humble background and he understands the life led by commoners".

2.27 million Singaporeans were eligible to vote in this year's Presidential Election, the first Presidential Election in 18 years. Total votes received were 2,153,014, inclusive of the 37,826 rejected votes.

Tan Kin Lian conceded defeat at an early stage of counting after visiting three counting centres. (Yahoo! photo/Liyana …

President-elect Tony Tan will be sworn in this Thursday, 1 September. He will replace outgoing SR Nathan and will be Singapore's seventh President.

Sell PUT and CALL

Selling a put obligates investors to buy more stock should the stock price dip below the put's strike price.

If the stock market plunges lower—and two major macro-economic events will occur in the next few weeks—put sellers could be buying stock at sharply lower prices.

Selling call obligates investors to sell their stock should the stock price rise above the call's strike price.

If the stock market plunges, and the stock never rises above the call's strike price, the money received for selling the call is like an extra dividend payment.

In fact, the money received for selling puts or calls and buying stock can be thought of as conditional dividends. If the stock doesn't cross the strike price of the put or call, investors can keep the money.

Another strategy rising in popularity is the "risk reversal." By selling a put with a strike price that is below the stock's price, and buying a call with a strike price above the stock's price, many investors are finding they can get paid by the options market to speculate on stock prices.

If the stock surges higher, moving past the call's strike price, investors can sell the call bought for free at a profit. If the stock price declines below the put's strike price, investors are obligated to buy the stock.

The key in these options strategies is to use them only on stocks you want to own. If the stock pays a dividend, even better.

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Tanjong Pagar Train Station : 1932 - 2011

New measures from MAS: Customer Knowledge Assessment (CKA)

New measures from MAS: Customer Knowledge Assessment (CKA)

Dear Valued Investor, Our regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, released new measures and enhanced requirements, aimed at safeguarding the interest of investors. These measures apply to unit trusts as well as other financial instruments and will go into full effect starting 1 January 2011. Under the new measures, a customer knowledge assessment (CKA) will be conducted by all distributors in order to assess whether the consumer has the relevant knowledge or experience to understand the risks and features of the product they are buying. If he fails this assessment, then MAS will not allow "execution only" services to be provided. This impacts online distributors like Fundsupermart in a major way due to our business model, which is essentially "self execution only". Online unit trust distributors like Fundsupermart essentially function like online stock brokerages, except we distribute unit trusts instead of stocks. The customer goes online, does the research himself, and executes his own unit trust trades - generally all "self execution only". Now, however, with the new measures, all distributors, including Fundsupermart, will perform customer knowledge assessments on our customers. If you pass the assessment, then well and good, you can proceed with executing the trades yourself. However, when you fail, you will be stopped from "self execution" trades. Distributors are required to stop you from proceeding if you are assessed to have failed. Having said all this, I would like to reassure all investors that Fundsupermart remains committed to the unit trust business and we are in for the long haul. So we are busy modifying our IT systems to take into account these changes, and I assure everyone that we will strive to effectively implement them with as little hassle as possible. We fully support investors receiving a higher degree of protection, as this new set of regulations require. Additionally, we have hired client investment specialists who will be providing investment advice to investors who need it. For now though, it is important to understand the criteria required to pass the CKA, especially for those of you who want to place your own trades unimpeded. To pass, you need to satisfy just any of the following three criteria. Have at least 6 transactions in unit trusts or investment linked products in the last 3 years; Have a diploma or higher qualification in relevant courses like accountancy, actuarial science, business, capital markets, commerce, economics finance, financial engineering, financial planning, computational finance and insurance; Have a minimum of 3 consecutive years of working experience in the past 10 years in the development, structuring, management, sale, trading, or research and analysis of investment products. (Work experience in accountancy, actuarial science, treasury or financial risk management is also considered relevant experience). As you can see, the work experience and educational qualification requirement are rather specific and may not be easy for everyone to meet. Of the three, criteria 1, which is at least 6 transactions in the past 3 years, is the easiest and most straightforward one to meet. We will be putting up a FAQ in due course to explain further specifics of these 3 criteria, as well as other details about this new CKA. We will also aim to launch our modified IT system in due course. Thus, for now, please do not be alarmed about these new regulations. Rest assured, we will make every effort to explain and implement them as efficiently and painlessly as possible to all investors. If you have further questions, feel free to call our hotline or email us. Yours sincerely, General Manager, Fundsupermart

fundsupermart.com - Invest Globally and Profitably

Steve Jobs Steps Down

By Jeff Macke | Breakout – Thu, Aug 25, 2011 7:05 AM EDT

Steve Jobs is one of the greatest business leaders in American history. This isn't merely a function Jobs' unimaginable success at Apple (AAPL) since reclaiming the mantle of the company after a forced hiatus, but his entire body of work.

Among Jobs's other successes is buying Pixar from George Lucas for $10 million in 1986, then selling the company to Disney (DIS) for $7.4 billion in 2006. The transaction made Jobs the largest shareholder in the Mouse House. Not bad for what amounted to a side-gig/ hobby.

Even the man's missteps turned to gold. After leaving Apple in the mid '80's, Jobs founded NeXT Computer. Though technically advanced, NeXT was shunned by the mass market, received a tepid response from corporate users, and sold only 50,000 units. NeXT was widely regarded as a disappointment -- that is, until 1996, when Apple brought Jobs back into the fold by paying him nearly half a billion dollars.

Jobs had, and indeed still has, a preternatural ability to understand the wants and needs of his customers before they know themselves. Such a talent is the defining characteristic of a visionary, and Jobs has few, if any, rivals in that regard.

All of this is true, but it ignores the only question Apple investors should be asking themselves today. Specifically: Where does Jobs's departure leave Apple? What does it mean for Apple? And what does his exit mean for shareholders?

Is this somewhat cold? Yes. Is it the question Jobs himself would be asking were he in the shoes of the average investor? Absolutely. For all of his attributes, Steve Jobs is also known as one of the most ruthless businessmen and intolerant ball-busters in corporate America today.

You want more incentive for taking a gimlet-eyed look at Apple's stock post Steve Jobs? Pull up Microsoft's stock since Bill Gates left day-to-day operations in January of 2000. Microsoft (MSFT) isn't alone. From Henry Ford to Sam Walton to Howard Shultz, the history of companies in the wake of the departure of charismatic long-time leaders tends to be ugly.

In order to help handicap Apple's future, it's useful to break down the company's field position in terms of both leadership and competition -- the most important predictors of a company's success or failure.

Leadership
Current Apple COO Tim Cook is taking over Jobs' CEO role. Cook is a 13-year Apple vet with an intense approach to finding, then killing, inefficiencies. As part of raising his profile for the CEO gig, Cook has been handling conference calls and increasing amounts of press. As part of this effort, Cook was featured in a 2008 slightly less than hard-hitting Fortune magazine cover story entitled "The Genius Behind Steve Jobs." The piece wasn't exactly on par with Watergate coverage, but it did illustrate Apple's nonpareil control of its own image.

Cook presumably has an intimate knowledge of Apple's inner workings. But Apple isn't so much about efficient operations as it is about selling insanely cool stuff in remarkably appealing ways. There is little to no evidence that Cook has Jobs's obsession or ability with design. No one does. Cook also lacks anything even resembling Jobs's charisma -- also true for the rest of the world.
He may deserve to take over for Jobs, but that doesn't make Cook the right man for the task. Lets just say Cook has a lot to prove, and he better start doing so fast.

The Apple Board of Directors
Apple has the exact type of Board of Directors you'd expect Jobs to have assembled when he returned to the company after being fired in favor of a soda-pop executive. In other words, the board is by all available evidence a group of figureheads whose decisions over the past 10 years have related only to saying yes to the Svengali in charge and deciding how many stock options to bestow upon him.
Consider the board's subservience to Jobs in the communications regarding his illness as it developed late last decade. One of a corporate board's key mandates is communication with shareholders regarding material information involving key executives.

Despite this duty, the company announced in 2009 that a visibly ailing Jobs's shocking appearance was the result of a "hormone imbalance." Shortly thereafter, Jobs took a medical leave. In June of that year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jobs had received a liver transplant months earlier. The company confirmed this report only later, coincidentally at the same time as the release of the third generation iPhone.

Was Jobs entitled to privacy during his ailment? Absolutely -- that is, if he hadn't been the face and driving force behind the most important technology company in the world. Jobs was the CEO of a public company and he was going through life-threatening surgery. This was obviously material information known only to select outsiders not in the employment of Apple (hospital workers, among many others). The board's silence may have violated no laws but was a clear violation of their moral duty to shareholders.

Apple's board is, by all appearances, a collection of lapdogs. The jury is very much out as to whether or not they begin working on behalf of their shareholders now that their master is leaving.

Competitive landscape
Google: Google (GOOG) is still a one-trick pony, but they certainly picked a nice time to stick a toe into expanding their Android efforts with the Motorola patent and hardware buyout. If Google can execute -- and that is a HUGE if -- then it could mount a mobile OS challenge to Apple a few years down the road.

Amazon (AMZN): The only online retailer in the world that's better than Apple is up and running with cloud already, presenting a clear and present danger to Apple's cloud ambitions. Both Apple and Amazon are extraordinary operators. This race could get interesting.

Microsoft: Man oh man, would Microsoft love to regain some of the ground they're losing to Apple. Hell, Microsoft would love to just slow their share erosion on the consumer front. And I'd like to be 23 years old, 6'7" tall and have explosive hops. I'll be in the NBA before Microsoft slows apple.

Anyone who makes a tablet: Just give up for five years and see if Apple somehow screws up the iPad monopoly.

Phone makers: Ha. No chance whatsoever to take advantage of Jobs's departure. None.
Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL) and anyone else making PCs: Your product is both a commodity and a rapidly dying one at that. You'd be better off making CD-ROMs or slide projectors.

Bottom line
Apple has leadership questions from top to bottom and is losing one of the best -- if not THE best -- CEOs in history. Apple has untold billions in cash, a monster pipeline of cool stuff in the works, thousands of talented designers who learned from the very best and dominant leadership positions in most of the important consumer tech product areas with a growing footprint in enterprise.

Jobs's departure may hit the stock for the near term, and it certainly raises questions for Apple's growth prospects two or three years out, but the company's competitive position gives Tim Cook a good deal of time to develop in his role and further build his bench.

In terms of the stock overall, my take is that there's no reason to panic but Apple shares are no longer a "one decision" buy-and-hold-forever proposition. If the company's product lineup shows signs of faltering as we get into 2012, it will be a sign that Apple's hard-earned title as the best company on earth is nearing an end.


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Be-more-like-buffett-barrons: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Be More Like Buffett: Buy Fear

by Steven M. Sears
Monday, August 22, 2011

 

 

The stock market's volatility has some investors on the sidelines just when the famed investor would tell them to leap in—and options could be a good way to do it.

Everyone likes to quote Warren Buffett. He's rich. He plays bridge with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is even richer. And he has simple, solid ideas about investing.

He buys good stocks. Forever is his favorite holding period. Buy fear. Those are just some of the pearls that Buffett gives away, though he also sells pearls at Borsheim's, a jewelry store that he owns in Omaha, Neb.
As oft-quoted as Buffett is, few people have the guts to actually do what he says. Whenever people have the chance to be greedy when others are fearful, another Buffett bon mot, they tend to be too terrified to do anything.

Now is a Buffett moment. Fear is widespread. Many good stocks can be bought for decent prices, and Buffett has been active. He reportedly bought more Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC - News) stock, and created a new position in Dollar General (NYSE: DG - News). Contrast that with stories of people dumping stocks because they are scared. One woman with a multimillion-dollar stock portfolio recently sold everything, and is sitting in cash, because she has grown tired of the stock market's incessant volatility.

But it is precisely because of volatility that long-term investors should summon their inner Buffett and buy quality stocks, or add to positions in blue-chip stocks, especially those that pay hefty dividends.

The fear of a stock-market decline, or another sharp whip up and down, is so high that the volatility premiums in many bearish puts, and even bullish calls, are unusually high. Investors with long-term horizons can buy stocks and sell puts, or calls.

Selling a put obligates investors to buy more stock should the stock price dip below the put's strike price. If the stock market plunges lower—and two major macro-economic events will occur in the next few weeks—put sellers could be buying stock at sharply lower prices.

The Institute of Supply Management August report is scheduled for release on Sept. 1. The report is widely followed by major investors, who view it as a key factor in determining whether economic growth is accelerating or slowing. And before that looms Ben Bernanke's Aug. 26 speech at the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole retreat.

Selling calls obligates investors to sell their stock should the stock price rise above the call's strike price. If the stock market plunges, and the stock never rises above the call's strike price, the money received for selling the call is like an extra dividend payment. In fact, the money received for selling puts or calls and buying stock can be thought of as conditional dividends. If the stock doesn't cross the strike price of the put or call, investors can keep the money.

Another strategy rising in popularity is the "risk reversal." By selling a put with a strike price that is below the stock's price, and buying a call with a strike price above the stock's price, many investors are finding they can get paid by the options market to speculate on stock prices. If the stock surges higher, moving past the call's strike price, investors can sell the call bought for free at a profit. If the stock price declines below the put's strike price, investors are obligated to buy the stock.

The key in these options strategies is to use them only on stocks you want to own. If the stock pays a dividend, even better.

Some people will criticize all this options legerdemain as unworthy of value investing. They will think that larding up a good stock, trading at or near its intrinsic value, with the clockwork complexity of derivatives is to head down a tortuous path. But the simple fact is that few places let you take advantage of the fear of other investors better than the options market.




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13 dividend paying companies (Motley Fool)

extracted from Motley Fool

 

Buying 13 stocks might seem like a lot... but it's not as daunting as it sounds.

Here's why.
The13 dividend-paying stocks you're about to discover can serve as a complete dividend portfolio -- one that will comfortably let you sleep at night.

Together, these stocks consist of financially sound blue chips, up-and-coming emerging market plays, even a speculative pharmaceutical play. And each and every one of them comes with the safety of a dividend.
Feel free to pick and choose your favorites. But altogether these 13 stocks hand you a wide variety of yields across a wide range of industries, coupled with solid growth potential.

This is important because dividend-paying stocks historically outperform non-payers over the long term.
According to Ned Davis Research, publicly traded companies paying a dividend returned 10.1% compared with just 4.1% for non-dividend companies between 1972 and 2006.

What's more, during periods when the market declined between 1970 and 2000, dividend stocks outperformed non-dividend-paying stocks by a 1.5% margin every month.

It's no wonder that the authors of the book Triumph of the Optimists calculated that over an investor's lifetime, a dividend-reinvesting strategy generates nearly 85 times the value of a portfolio that relies just on stock gains.

So it's easy to see why investing a significant portion of your portfolio in dividend-paying stocks makes sense in an uncertain market.

One Dividend Stock for the Rest of Your Life

Many investors believe Yum! Brands is the best China play that isn't a Chinese company.
As the company behind KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, it's certainly a compelling shot at long-term gains for investors who want some Chinese exposure.
But one other fast-food giant offers the same chance to cash in on the growth of the Chinese consumer, but with a bit more safety. That's because McDonald's [NYSE: MCD] comes with an attractive dividend yield, as well as a handful of less-obvious catalysts.
Let me explain.

High growth vs. high yield

McDonald's operational performance is top notch. That's why it's been able to pay and increase dividends for decades. The restaurant titan just upped its dividend, making for an annual $2.44 per share -- or 2.8% -- more than triple the amount it paid out five years ago.

Of course, historical dividend growth doesn't mean much unless you owned the stock over that period. You also need to consider how your company might increase its payouts in the future.
So consider the following table:

Company	Dividend Yield	5-Year Dividend Growth Rate
McDonald's	2.8%	37%
Procter & Gamble	3.4%	11%
Frontier Communications	10.1%	-5%
Annaly Capital	14.5%	46%

While McDonald's and Procter & Gamble offer lower yields, their strong consumer franchises give them much greater ability than the other two to raise their dividends over time.

On the other hand, both Frontier and Annaly are less able to sustainably deliver dividend growth. While their yields are both sizable, the prospects for future gains are limited.

Frontier operates in the declining fixed-line telecom space, and just cut its payout as it integrates some rural operations recently acquired from Verizon. Meanwhile, Annaly increased its yield because its net interest margin increased as interest rates dredged the bottom.

While Annaly is a nice play in disinflationary times, interest rates won't remain low forever, and when they rise, its dividend will likely take a hit.

Of course these criticisms don't mean either company isn't worth owning. But it is a reminder that you need to understand the sustainability of your dividends. Blending high payouts with high dividend growers could make a lot of sense.

McDonald's occupies something of a middle ground, and its recent massive increase in its dividend payout is just the beginning. There are good signs that the company has plenty more in store.

Two hidden dividend sources

McDonald's has indicated that for the future it intends to pay out all its free cash flow. Some of that cash will go to repurchase shares. In September 2009, McDonald's authorized a $10 billion repurchase plan, and the company wasted no time in snapping up shares. It has been buying back billions of dollars worth of its shares.

But the rest of that cash seems earmarked for dividend increases, which could be significant.
McDonald's has at least two other potential opportunities to unlock cash.

First, the company is selling its company-operated stores to franchisors. Right now it operates just 19% of its locations. It's great to see this number continue to come down, because McDonald's realizes a better-than-80% margin on franchised stores. On the other hand, its company-operated stores have less than a 20% operating margin. So by refranchising more stores, McDonald's will increase its margins and free capital tied up in its stores, giving it even more opportunity to raise its dividend.

The second hidden store of value is in McDonald's real estate holdings. Even as the company sells off franchises, it maintains the rights to most of its land and buildings. Some of that real estate is in prime locations and has been sitting on the company's books at cost for decades.

The mechanism that Mickey D's might use to unlock that value is unclear, but the value is certainly there. And since CEO Jim Skinner is pulling out all the stops to make the company a more efficient user of capital, you can expect him to figure out a way to return this value to shareholders.

An apple pie to go

A quick dividend discount valuation suggests that McDonald's is about fairly valued..
But given the company's willingness to return all its free cash flow, I'm willing to bet that McDonald's can achieve -- and likely exceed -- these goals.

5 Screaming Buys for Your Retirement Account

It's smart to consider some broad trends that will develop in the coming decades.

Below are a few that many market watchers believe will play out over that time period, along with 5 ways to profit from them:

1. Buy the essentials that people need.

Whether you think emerging markets will bring the next global boom or are simply overhyped, the rise of billions of people in emerging economies means one thing: More people are going to need more things. In particular, companies that produce the raw materials used for all sorts of necessities will be poised to profit in the decades to come.
For instance, Commercial Metals [NYSE: CMC] recycles, manufactures, and distributes steel and metal. It also boasts a 3.4% dividend.

Similarly, the Vanguard Energy ETF [NYSE: VDE] owns a basket of oil and gas drillers, exploration, and refining companies. It should profit tremendously as demand for oil and gas spikes in these emerging economies.

2. Grow old with your stocks.

An aging population will need more health care, which supports not only obvious picks like high-yielding Merck [NYSE: MRK] but also riskier plays.

For instance, although it doesn't pay a regular dividend yet, there's much speculation that pharmaceutical up and comer Warner Chilcott [Nasdaq: WCRX] will begin to pay a dividend sometime in the next few quarters, after its recent special dividend.

3. Stick with survivors.

Just because you should take some risk doesn't mean you should take too much risk. It makes sense to balance risky plays like the ones above with some more secure picks.

Companies with a long history of paying ever-increasing dividends are a good place to round out your stock portfolio.

Procter & Gamble [NYSE: PG] has raised its dividend each year for the past 50 years. More importantly, it boasts a strong stable of products that people use and rely on. That doesn't mean you can blindly buy and forget about it, but you don't necessarily have to keep an eye on it as much as you might with less established companies.

This isn't the only stock that has raised its dividend over the past 50 years.

5 Dividend Stocks for the Next 50 Years

There's no better indicator of a financially secure company than a long history of paying dividends to shareholders.

Despite the dividend-slashing trend of the past few years, several companies maintained long-standing streaks of rising dividend payments.

Bucking the trend

Many companies with long histories of paying dividends to shareholders broke those streaks during the financial crisis. General Electric cut its dividend for the first time in decades, and many financial stocks, including Citigroup and Bank of America, either eliminated dividend payments or drastically cut them.
But several companies managed not only to maintain their dividends but also to lengthen their track record of annual increases. Just take a look at some of the companies with the longest current streaks of raising their dividend payments every year:

Stock	Current Dividend Yield	Streak of Annual Dividend Increases
Genuine Parts [NYSE: GPC]	3.4%	54 years
Emerson Electric [NYSE: EMR]	2.9%	54 years
3M [NYSE: MMM]	2.6%	52 years
Diebold [NYSE: DBD]	3.8%	57 years
Dover [NYSE: DOV]	1.8%	55 years

Just think about everything these companies endured over the past half-century...

After a booming market in the 1960s, these businesses survived the oil shock and inflationary periods during the 1970s. They made it through a number of recessions, including the stagflationary slowdown in the early 1980s and the technology bust from 2000 to 2002. They watched as what used to be localized economies turned global and adapted to changes in their industries.

Through it all, they've maintained one commitment to investors: They've kept the dividends coming.

Dealing with hiccups

As valuable as dividend stocks are, you shouldn't get the idea that it's been a smooth ride for investors every step of the way. Although shares of companies with long dividend streaks appreciated considerably over the years, shareholders also endured bumps along the way.

As an example, take a look at the haircut that investors took on these stocks during 2008:

Stock	2008 Return
Genuine Parts	-12.6%
Emerson Electric	-33.2%
3M	-29.4%
Diebold	0.4%
Dover	-26.6%

If you're thinking that Diebold was spared from the carnage, think again -- its big loss came a year earlier, as the stock dropped 36% in 2007.

Still -- as big as those losses were, they were less than the S&P 500's 37% drop. That suggests that at some level, investors recognize that these businesses have an above-average chance of making it through economic troubles.

More important, when high-quality stocks run into big share price declines it presents an opportunity for investors to add to their positions. As long as the core business is still intact, price dips are exactly when you want to buy.

Going for the century mark

So given their great past track record, will these companies manage to extend their current streaks to make the 100-year mark? Obviously, a lot can happen in 50 years, as we've seen with these stocks. And certainly, other promising stocks with long histories of increasing dividends have fallen short during tough times.
Yet given the challenges that these companies have successfully dealt with, there's every reason to believe that they can handle any future difficulties efficiently and effectively.

There are obviously many other companies that have several decades of consecutive dividend growth. For 2 more stocks that are official recommendations of Motley Fool co-founders David and Tom Gardner from their market-beating Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter, click below.




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Your credit card may soon be worthless. Here's why...

The trusted investor resource Wired magazine praises for its "sharp, up to the minute financial advice" urges you to get the full story on... The Three Little Letters Your Credit Card Company Doesn't Want You to Know About... Soon, you'll be seeing them everywhere you go. That's because they're about to make the plastic in your wallet obsolete -- and set off the biggest gold rush we've seen since the dot-com days. Google, Apple, Nokia, and Microsoft are all desperately battling to stake their claim -- but YOU could get rich by simply snapping up shares of the little-known company behind this credit-card-killing technology before everyone else does. Everything you need to start cashing in is revealed below... August 9, 2011 Dear Fellow Investor, What the financial media is saying about The Motley Fool: "Solid information and advice for individual investors." -- The Washington Post "Humorous and savvy." -- The Wall Street Journal "Even billionaires get ideas from The Motley Fool." -- Time "Amusing as well as educational." -- Barron's "An ethical oasis." -- The Economist On a frigid February evening in 1949, a New York City businessman named Frank X. McNamara made an embarrassing mistake that would end up forever changing the world... Among other things, this fateful error would ultimately spawn a $2.5 TRILLION industry... redefine the way business was done in nearly every country on Earth... and launch countless Fortune 500 companies. In just a moment, I'll tell you what this mistake was -- but more importantly, I'll tell you everything you need to know about a groundbreaking technology that could bring the 62-year-old industry McNamara unwittingly created to its knees... Not to mention, force thousands of companies all over the world (perhaps even your own) to completely rethink the way they do business... And hand investors who get in early on the company behind this world-changing technology some truly legendary profits. Exactly how much are we talking? Well, over just the year -- as the smart money has begun quietly pouring into this stock -- its shares have shot up as much as 245%... Meaning had you invested along with them you could have already turned $2,500 into a sizeable $8,625 stake... $5,000 into well over $17,250... or $10,000 into $34,500. Granted, I can't guarantee that you'll more than triple your money every nine months going forward... But I can tell you that one of the smartest and most successful investors I've ever met insists this could be among the most lucrative investment opportunities he's ever encountered (I'll give you all of his reasons just ahead). And that's really saying something considering he's uncovered major money-making opportunities like these time and time again... Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Up 938% and counting Universal Display: Up 263% and counting IPG Photonics: Up 377% and counting SXC Health Solutions: Up 508% and counting MercadoLibre: Up 463% and counting Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Up 387% and counting Baidu: Up 1,747% and counting Not to mention that he's on record recommending investors snap up shares of fortune-making stocks like America Online in 1994... Amazon.com in 1997... Starbucks in 1998... and eBay in 1999. But in order to understand why he thinks this stock could hand early investors gains every bit as impressive as the ones generated by these legendary investments, I need to get back to my original story... It all started at a famous eatery next door to the Empire State Building... That's where -- after having finished a fancy dinner with his lawyer and the heir to the Bloomingdale's department store fortune -- Frank McNamara discovered something that horrified him... In his haste to get out of the house that morning, he'd forgotten to put his wallet into his back pocket -- leaving him no way to pay for the lavish meal he had just treated his associates to. Eventually, McNamara was forced to call his wife and have her bring him enough cash to cover the bill. And he was so thoroughly humiliated by the ordeal that he became obsessed with developing a way to never have to worry about carrying cash ever again... At the time, a handful of stores were issuing "charge cards" that allowed their customers to run up a tab and then pay for everything later. But McNamara was determined to take this concept much further... By developing a single, multi-purpose "credit card" that not only could be used in place of cash, but would be also be accepted at a variety of different businesses all over the city. Sure enough, one year later McNamara returned to the exact same restaurant with the exact same friends -- and, yet again, no cash whatsoever. Only this time, rather than having to get his wife to bring him money, he simply paid for the meal with a small piece of cardboard that later became known as a "Diner's Club" card. Initially, McNamara issued about 200 of these cards to friends and business acquaintances -- and, at first, they were accepted at just 14 locations. But soon McNamara's little invention sparked an all out payment revolution... You see, as news of this new, easier way to pay for everything from clothes to groceries spread, more people began wanting to get their hands on the credit card McNamara had created. And before long, things really began to snowball... Because once more and more people started using them, more and more businesses were forced to start accepting them -- or risk losing customers to competitors who did... And, once more and more businesses began accepting them, even more and more people wanted to start using them. And so on... and so on... (As you're about to discover, we're on the verge of seeing the very same thing happen with the technology I'm writing you about today.) In fact, just one year after McNamara paid for dinner with his Diner's Club card, over 42,000 people were using them regularly in major cities all over the country. Two years later, they were being accepted in places as far away as Canada, Cuba, Mexico, and the U.K. -- and by 1955, they had taken hold in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. By 1959, over one million people carried the card McNamara had invented (meaning its usage had grown 5,000-fold in less than a decade)... and by 1967, it was accepted in over 130 countries around the globe. Today, over 10,000 credit card transactions take place every single second -- and the total value of goods and services purchased with them now totals more than $2.5 TRILLION per year. But now three little letters are threatening to put an end to the party -- and make early investors countless millions... Granted, you may not be familiar with the term "NFC" yet -- but mark my words, the technology behind these three letters is about take the world by storm... In fact, Barry McCarthy, President of Mobile Commerce at First Data, says that it will soon be "the way to pay, ultimately eliminating your dependence upon credit and debit cards, checks -- and even cash." And a recent article on CNNMoney.com says the arrival of this technology has started an all out "gold rush on the next e-commerce frontier." From the look of things, that's no exaggeration, either... Earlier this month, Research in Motion announced that NFC will be a prominent feature of its newest Blackberry... Sprint has said its phones will support the technology by the end of this year... And Nokia has publicly stated that it will build NFC capability into all future versions of its smartphones... Meanwhile, Google has already incorporated NFC into its hugely popular Nexus S smartphones, and just last week the company told a developers' conference that we'll see "dozens of [Android-based] NFC phones" released later this year. Given that Google is making a major push into NFC, it probably comes as no surprise that Microsoft is planning to include it in the newest version of its operating system for smartphones -- nor that it now holds 14 patents referencing the technology... It's also no surprise that rather than risk being left behind forever, Visa and MasterCard have now partnered with the likes of Samsung, AT&T, and Verizon to offer their own NFC-enabled devices. But perhaps the most intriguing development of all is that Apple recently hired one of the world's foremost experts in the field -- which is an almost surefire signal that NFC will soon make its way into the tens of millions of iPhones and iPads that are sold each year. Of course, by now you may be wondering what "NFC" stands for -- and what exactly this groundbreaking technology actually does. Well, I'm about to explain that to you... But more importantly, I'm also going to show you the easiest way for you to claim your fair share of the massive fortunes about to be generated by what the investor I'll tell you about in a moment is calling... "The next great payment revolution" Truth be told, not only does this revolution make perfect sense -- but it's actually long overdue... After all, for nearly a decade, we've increasingly been using smartphones (and more recently tablet computers) to do just about everything -- including check the weather... monitor stock quotes... get directions... log on to Facebook... send e-mails... listen to music... surf the web... play games... and even watch movies. So it only makes sense that we would eventually start using them to pay for things, too -- and thanks to the emergence of Near Field Communication (or "NFC" for short) you can now do just that. In fact, soon your smartphone could end up replacing your wallet altogether. That's because this technology allows two NFC-enabled devices placed within a few inches of each other to wirelessly swap data... Meaning you'll be able to simply touch your NFC smartphone to an NFC reader anytime you need to pay for a sandwich... buy a new set of golf clubs... or even get a can of Coke out of a vending machine. But make no mistake, this isn't just some fad or pie-in-the sky idea... it's the future of money -- and it's going to spark the biggest payment revolution we've seen since Frank McNamara unleashed credit cards on the world. You don't have to take my word for it, though... According to Forrester Research, over 12% of people in the U.S. and 6% of people in Europe have already paid for something using a mobile device... and The Wall Street Journal reports that $32 billion worth of purchases were made using mobile devices last year alone. But get this... Experts at Generator Research predict that number will jump to a whopping $633 BILLION by 2014 -- and that some 490 million people around the globe will be using this technology within two to three years. Do the math, and that means we could see the value of this technology increase nearly 1,900% over just the next couple of years... And right there is your shot to make some serious money! You see, only a handful of highly specialized companies have the state-of-the-art skills, artful know-how, and exclusive patents needed to build the complex components that allow NFC technology to function in the first place. And the company I'm about to introduce you to stands head and shoulders above all the rest... In fact, not only is this company the clear leader in this explosive new industry (analysts conservatively estimate it could control as much as 70% of the market -- not to mention it's the exclusive provider of all NFC components for Nokia-based smartphones)... But it actually helped to invent this world-changing technology -- making it far and way the most trusted and highly regarded company in its field. Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Ericsson, Dell, HP, Cisco, and even Apple are already all top clients -- yet no single client accounts for more than 10% of sales (meaning it has a highly diversified and therefore very-stable revenue stream). In their most recent quarterly conference call, management noted that over the past year, both gross and operating margins have improved significantly... They also reported that the company reduced its debt by $383 million -- leaving it in the best financial shape in its history. And given the explosive growth we're about to see in the NFC market, you can bet that these numbers will only to continue to improve... In a recent interview the company's visionary CEO (who has over three decades of experience with ultra-successful high-tech outfits like Texas Instruments) estimated that roughly 70 million NFC units would ship this year alone... And said that he expects that number to MORE THAN DOUBLE to 150 million units by next year... and soar as high as 300 million units just one year after that -- meaning we could see more than 300% growth in NFC shipments in just over two years (and I'm sure you can imagine what that will do to this company's share price!). Of course, given that this high-flying company operates in this exciting new field of technology, you might assume its just some sort of born-in-a-garage Silicon Valley startup with no real track record of proven business know-how. But that couldn't be further from the truth... In fact, this company actually operated as a division within one of the most well-known electronic companies in the world for over 50 years before being taken over by one of the world's leading private equity firms and then spun out as a stand-alone company... Today it holds nearly 14,000 patents, employs some 28,000 people, and has operations in more than 25 countries -- yet it's still virtually unheard of. But, as I'm sure you're beginning to understand, that's all about to change... Which is why it's so crucial that you begin building a position right away... But given everything I've just told you, you might be wondering if it's too late to get invested... It's a fair question -- and the best way I know to answer it is to let you in on some little-known information... Not only did the highly regarded investor I mentioned earlier just recommend this company in his award-winning financial newsletter... but he's also convinced there's never been a better time to snap up shares. But why should you listen to him? Well, for starters, because he's legendary for leading investors like you to huge winners after all the hotshots on Wall Street have declared it's "too late" to cash in. For instance, back in 2005, he recommended robotic surgery specialist Intuitive Surgical in the very same newsletter I just mentioned. At the time, shares were selling for $44.17. One year prior, shares had sold for $17.46, and a year before that they were selling for just $8.68. You read that right... Intuitive Surgical had risen 500% in the two years before he recommended it -- and that scared lesser investors off. But this visionary investor recognized that Intuitive Surgical was both "top dog" and "first mover" (more on this in just a moment) in a rapidly emerging industry and that it still had plenty of room to run... And as it turns out, he was right on the money! Just five years later, shares were trading as high as $415.19 -- meaning investors who followed his lead were able to turn every $10,000 invested into as much as $93,900. But, this wasn't just some sort of lucky break or fluke... You see, this investor first caught the financial media's attention when he recommended AOL in the summer of 1994 -- after it had quadrupled in just 12 short months. Of course, the story is the same with AOL... he identified it as both a "top dog" and "first mover," and he knew its growth was just getting started -- despite what everyone on Wall Street was saying. Sure enough, just six short years later, AOL was a 100-bagger -- turning every $10,000 invested into a whopping $1 million -- and transforming this growth investor into a living legend. Here are just a few more of the incredible "top dogs" and "first movers" he's led investors to recently: Baidu: Up 1,747% since November 2006 Universal Display: Up 263% since June 2005 MercadoLibre: Up 463% since March 2009 Salesforce.com: Up 446% since February 2009 Chipotle: Up 454% since February 2007 Rackspace Hosting: Up 332% since June 2009 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Up 938% since March 2009 By now, I imagine you're ready to meet this legendary investor and hear more about the incredible "top dog" and "first mover" I've been telling you about today. But first... Please allow me a proper introduction My name is Mark Brooks, and I publish the award-winning financial newsletter that I mentioned a moment ago... It's called Motley Fool Rule Breakers, and it's headed up by the extremely successful stock-picker I've been telling you about today... You may have already guessed that I'm talking about David Gardner -- co-founder of The Motley Fool. David Gardner on CNBC's Worldwide Exchange After all, you've probably seen David on CNBC discussing his favorite growth stocks with some of the nation's other top-tier equity analysts... Or perhaps you've read one of his many best-selling investment books... Or maybe you've just heard about how he's led hard-working, everyday investors like you to fortune-making stocks like America Online in 1994... Amazon.com in 1997... Starbucks in 1998... and eBay in 1999... Or even that his average Rule Breakers stock recommendation is thumping the S&P 500 by a whopping 59%. Regardless, it's not hard to see why Money.com says he's "among the most widely followed stock-pickers in the world." And I'm sure you can understand why any time David Gardner and his Motley Fool Rule Breakers team get excited about an investment opportunity, I immediately stand up and take notice... Well, right now they're extremely excited about NFC, and more importantly, about the fortune-building potential of the company I've been telling you about today. In fact, they just put together a brand-new premium research report that runs down all of the reasons they think it could be one of their biggest winners yet. It's called "The Next Great Payment Revolution: One Stock You Must Snap Up Before Your Credit Card Becomes Obsolete" and it will give you everything you need to make a sound investment decision today. As you've probably guessed these reports are reserved for paying members of our Motley Fool Rule Breakers community, but I'd like to send you a free copy of this special report as a "thank you" for hearing me out today. And I'd also like to give you the chance to sample everything Rule Breakers has to offer without risk or obligation for 30 full days... That way you'll not only have everything you need to take advantage of the incredible opportunity I've been telling you about today... But you'll also be able to position yourself to profit from all of the other potential fortune-makers David Gardner and his Rule Breakers team have uncovered -- without having to risk even one dime. I'll explain to you how you can take me up on this unique, limited-time offer in just a moment, but first, let me quickly tell you what I mean by "top dog" and "first mover" and show you why this company is the epitome of a Rule Breaker... Six traits that consistently lead to life-changing profits What investors like you are saying about Rule Breakers... "Best money I spend" "Honestly, paying for your services is the best money I spend, and I extract FAR more value than I am paying in." -- Neil A., Brookline, MA "Absolutely priceless" "The knowledge I am gaining on both the companies and the industries in general is absolutely priceless. I think I am learning more than I did with my MBA." -- M. DiLallo, Oswego, NY "Love the newsletter" "I love the newsletter and the community vibe!" -- R.P., Brooklyn, NY "Four years worth of learning" "I have learned more in the past four months than I learned in the previous four years." -- David M., Atlanta, GA "A one-of-a-kind service" "A winning combination of intellectual stimulation, humor, and a fresh perspective on areas of great growth potential. I can't think of another place where I can get all of that." -- Daniel D., Weserly, RI START NOW It's quite simple really. A "top dog" is a company that absolutely dominates its industry... and a "first mover" is a company with a technology or product so revolutionary that it disrupts an existing industry and creates an entirely new one. And on the rare occasion that you find a company that is both a top dog and a first mover, the chances are pretty good that you've found your next big winner... Just think of eBay in the online auction market... Amazon in the online retail market... or Netflix in the DVD-rental market (David has actually led investors to big gains on all three). These companies redefined the way business was done... launched entirely new industries... and continue to dominate those industries to this day. And you don't need me to tell you how handsomely they've rewarded shareholders along the way. So I'm sure you can see why David Gardner and his Rule Breakers team work around the clock to find companies that are both top dogs and first movers -- just like the one we've been discussing today. But they don't stop there... You see, David discovered long ago that in order to find companies that will deliver truly life-changing investment returns, you have to break the rules and go against much of what passes for "wisdom" on Wall Street. That's why he searches for companies with... A sustainable competitive advantage that can be exploited for years to come (like the exclusive patents and immense technical know-how that make this company the undisputed leader in its field) Strong past price appreciation (like gains of up to 245% in just one year) Excellent management (like a visionary CEO with over three decades of experience with similar cutting-edge firms) Strong consumer appeal (like being the top behind-the-scenes provider of a technology that's about to be used by hundreds of millions of people) And here's the big one... Documented proof that the financial media thinks it's "overvalued" Lately, I've heard this company's valuation being called everything from "frothy" to downright "expensive." But don't forget, many of David Gardner's biggest winners were recommended precisely when they were trading at the kind of lofty multiples most investors want nothing to do with. For proof, just have a look at this remarkable table... Rule Breaker P/E when recommended Return to date Baidu 186 1,747% Intuitive Surgical 66 817% Chipotle 53 454% Rackspace 51 332% As you can see, time and time again, David Gardner has made investors like you huge money by simply ignoring all the Wall Street "experts" who declared it was too late to buy... And instead focusing on finding the best way to profit from what he believes will be the most world-changing products, trends, and technologies we'll see in our lifetimes. And you better believe that the worldwide payment revolution we're about to see is among them... But this opportunity may actually end up being much bigger than anyone even realizes... That's because, thanks to NFC technology, soon our mobile devices could not only replace the cash and cards in our wallet -- but they could actually completely change our day-to-day lives by eliminating the need to carry... Car, house, and office keys (No more lugging heavy rings of keys everywhere you go. Simply tap your NFC phone to an NFC lock and you're in.) Plane, train, and bus tickets (No more fumbling for change when you want to board a bus, or searching for your boarding pass before your flight or train. Simply touch your phone to an NFC sensor and go.) Passports, driver's licenses, and other forms of ID (No more digging through your billfold to find your ID or corporate rewards cards. Just place your smartphone up to the NFC reader and all of your info will transfer automatically). Business cards (Simply tap your phone against a colleague's phone to swap business cards, contact lists, and even resumes.) Tickets to movies, concerts, and sporting events (Download tickets directly to your phone and then simply touch it to the reader at the door.) But those are just a few of the thousands of applications some of the most forward-thinking minds in the world are now working on day and night (including the 3,000 employees this company dedicates solely to research and development in 22 locations around the world.) And, mark my words, the life-changing innovations they are creating are about to start popping up everywhere you look... In fact, Samsung and Visa have announced a plan to have a "massive showcase" of the wide variety of ways to use NFC at next summer's Olympic Games in London. Meanwhile, Juniper Research reports that nearly 100 million people used NFC-enabled mobiles devices to travel on buses, subways, metros, and trains last year alone -- and conservatively estimates that number will soar to 500 million by 2015. And I'm sure you can guess which company is in the perfect position to supply the NFC components needed to power all of these world-changing mini-revolutions... But as exciting a growth opportunity as this is, I certainly wouldn't want you to invest based solely on what I have been able to tell you here today. That's why I'd like to rush you a copy of our just-released special report, "The Next Great Payment Revolution." That way you can get the full story on this incredible investment opportunity straight from David Gardner and his team of top-notch equity analysts. You can download it and print it out right this minute, if you like. And again, I want you to have it with my compliments. All I ask in return is that you accept something else with my compliments... It's a personal invitation to sample everything Rule Breakers has to offer for an entire month -- without having to risk even one dime. That's right... I want you to take a FULL 30 DAYS to have a look around... to read up on all our current and past growth stock recommendations... to dig through all our in-depth stock research... to download all our premium research reports... and to comb through our exclusive members-only discussion boards -- where you'll discover investment insights you simply can't find anywhere else. And if after a month you're not 100% convinced that Rule Breakers can help you grow your hard-earned money into a lasting fortune -- or you just don't feel it's right for you -- simply call our dedicated customer service specialists. They work right down the hall from David and me and will be happy to promptly and courteously refund every last cent -- no questions asked. And should you want to cancel at any point after your first month, that's fine, too. We'll happily refund the full dollar value of the remainder of your membership term. Again, no questions asked. But I must insist on one point... Regardless of how long you're with us, your copy of "The Next Great Payment Revolution"... plus all the valuable research and reports you can access on our members-only website... plus three special bonus reports valued at over $150 (full details just ahead) ARE ALL YOURS TO KEEP -- with our compliments. This is our "keep everything" & "risk nothing" DOUBLE GUARANTEE It's also our way of saying "thank you" for giving David Gardner and Motley Fool Rule Breakers an honest shot at helping you achieve your financial dreams. Of course, this kind of guarantee makes it possible for you to snap up everything we've mentioned today and not pay a single cent. And that's fine with us. That's how confident we are that our hard work and diligence can help make you some serious profits... and how sure we are that once you see everything Rule Breakers has to offer, you'll want to stick around for the long haul. Speaking of which, let's quickly review everything you'll get when you join us at Rule Breakers absolutely risk-free today... The instant you join us I'll send you a copy of "The Next Great Payment Revolution" so you'll have everything you need to position yourself to profit from the incredible growth opportunity I've told you about today. Plus, as an added bonus I'll throw in two of the most successful and highly sought-after special reports we've ever put together here at Motley Fool Rule Breakers. Have a look... The Ultimate Wireless Winner: One Stock You Must Buy Before iPhone Fever Strikes Again (a $29 value -- yours FREE!): You've probably never even heard of this company. Yet it's so vital to the "smartphone" revolution that its shares have doubled time and time again since they first hit the shelves. And soon millions of people will be racing to get their hands on an iPhone 5 -- which is why David Gardner is convinced it's only a matter of time before this stock takes off again... The 3 Kings of Cloud Computing (a $29 value -- yours FREE!): Reveals David Gardner's top 3 cloud computing plays (including two little-known stocks that are already up 163% and 332% -- yet are poised to soar much higher) and shows you exactly how to position yourself to cash in on this fortune-making investment boom. Of course, you'll also get immediate access to everything on our exclusive password-protected, members-only website, including... Live Interactive Scorecard -- Constantly updated throughout the trading day, so you can see exactly how every Rule Breakers pick is doing relative to the S&P 500. Plus, simply click on any stock to find in-depth research write-ups, updates, discussion boards, and much more. Weekly Updates -- So you'll have all the important information you need, from when to buy and sell to analysis of specific developments that affect your money. And, of course, access to all previous updates is never more than a click away. 24/7 Access to All Back Issues -- So you can easily get the full story on all our past Rule Breakers recommendations -- when it's convenient for you. Lively Discussion Boards -- Where you can get the inside story on a stock directly from the candid experiences of the company's employees, customers, and investors. You can also post questions or talk stocks with other members and the Rule Breakers team at any hour of the day -- all from the comfort of your home. Then, on the fourth Wednesday of every month you're with us, you'll receive an email alerting you that a brand-new issue of Motley Fool Rule Breakers is available online. You can download and print this electronic issue anytime you like -- and, for your convenience, we'll also mail a hard copy directly to your home or office. Each new Rule Breakers issue contains the full story on not one -- but TWO -- breakout growth stocks that can help you lock down some serious profits. And every Rule Breakers recommendation comes with an in-depth research write-up -- including company profile, product descriptions, competitive analysis, risk analysis, and discussion of the company's finances and sales prospects. Some advisory services charge thousands of dollars for access to premium services like this And you might think that we would, too -- especially considering that David Gardner has led Motley Fool Rule Breakers members like you to stocks that have made them 6, 9, 10, and even 18 times richer! Not to mention, that his average Rule Breakers pick is trouncing the S&P 500 by 59%... But believe it or not, you can put David Gardner and the entire Rule Breakers team to work for you for a mere fraction of that. In fact, normally you can join Motley Fool Rule Breakers for just $299 per year. I think you'll agree that's a bargain in itself, considering all the valuable wealth-building tools and fortune-making stock picks you'll have access to. Neil A. of Brookline, MA, certainly seems to think so. He recently wrote us to say: "Paying for your services is the best money I spend, and I extract FAR more value than I am paying in. You can take the profit from any of the big winners I have bought because of you guys and that alone more than covers the cost." But, because I don't want you to risk missing out on your chance to cash in on the opportunity I have told you about today for any reason, I've put together an even better deal for you... One that allows you to sample everything I've told you about today risk-free for 30 full days and lock in the absolute lowest price we can offer for two full years -- SAVING YOU A WHOPPING $250 off the regular membership price. Of course, if you'd rather not take advantage of our absolute best offer, you can also join Rule Breakers for one year for just $149. That's a full 50% LESS than many other investors have gladly paid. And when you do the math, it means you can get in early on rule-breaking, fortune-making stocks like these for just $2.87 per week... Salesforce.com -- Up 446% SXC Health Solutions -- Up 508% MercadoLibre -- Up 463% Intuitive Surgical -- Up 817% Baidu -- Up 1,747% Universal Display -- Up 263% Vertex Pharmaceuticals -- Up 387% Chipotle Mexican Grill -- Up 454% Rackspace Hosting -- Up 332% Plus, as a final bonus, I'll include one of the most comprehensive reports The Motley Fool has ever released (a $99 value) absolutely free when you join us at Rule Breakers today. Have a look... Getting in on the Ground Floor: 10 IPOs You'll Regret Missing Out On -- a $99 value -- yours absolutely FREE With companies like Pandora, Groupon, and Facebook hitting the stock market, you might be thinking of buying some shares... But for every IPO that grabs the headlines -- and along with it, a frothy valuation -- there are countless others that emerge relatively unnoticed signaling opportunity for savvy investors. Here at The Motley Fool we understand that, while IPOs can be lucrative, it's important for investors to find the right IPOs to invest in. That's why our top equity analysts just spent a great deal of time and resources writing our newest research report... Introducing Getting in on the Ground Floor: 10 IPOs You'll Regret Missing Out On... Featuring newly-public (or soon-to-be public) companies poised to outperform the market over the long term. Take a look: A Latin American fast-food chain growing like wildfire. Executives believe it can expand to over 35,000 restaurants from just 1,755 today. (See page 2.) A cutting-edge biotech transforming plant sugars into oil. It's already generating sales from its products, and has deals with industry giants Chevron and Dow Chemical. (See page 14.) An "early mover" in a niche market worth over $85 billion. The industry is fragmented and inefficient, but this emerging leader is on track to become the dominant player with 73% renewal rates and seed capital from Google. (See page 24.) You'll discover these three companies, plus seven more powerful IPO opportunities, the instant you download your FREE copy of Getting in on the Ground Floor: 10 IPOs You'll Regret Missing Out On. This report, jam-packed with the absolute best opportunities to profit from recent (and forthcoming) IPOs carries a $99 value. But as a bonus for new members, this report can be yours completely free. Don't delay! Get your copy of Getting in on the Ground Floor: 10 IPOs You'll Regret Missing Out On right now -- ABSOLUTELY FREE! Add it up and your free special reports and discounts total more than $425 Yet you'll only pay a fraction of that -- and you won't have to risk even one dime. In other words, you have everything to gain -- but absolutely nothing to lose. Of course, there is one catch... "The Motley Fool stands out as an ethical oasis in an area that is fast becoming a home to charlatans." -- The Economist "You can find vast amounts of information and help here -- all written in plain English instead of Wall Street jargon." -- Fortune magazine START NOW I can only guarantee everything I've offered you today if you join us RIGHT NOW THROUGH THIS PRIVATE INVITATION. More importantly, there will never be a better or an easier way to position yourself to cash in on the coming payment revolution. So please don't risk missing out. Simply click the "START NOW" button to the right to begin profiting today! Do it now. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Here's to the next generation of investment millionaires, Mark Brooks Publisher, Motley Fool Rule Breakers P.S. Remember, through this personal invitation you can lock in the lowest price we can possibly offer on Rule Breakers for two full years (a $250 SAVINGS!) -- or, if you'd rather, you can just join for one year at a FULL 50% OFF the regular membership price. To get started, all you have to do is click here. P.P.S. Either way you'll be able to sample Motley Fool Rule Breakers WITHOUT ANY RISK WHATSOEVER. And if after a full 30 days you decide it's simply not right for you, we'll be happy to give you a FULL REFUND -- NO QUESTIONS ASKED. P.P.P.S. Don't forget, this is a unique win-win proposition because you're covered by our special "keep everything and risk nothing" DOUBLE GUARANTEE. The only catch is that to take advantage of this remarkable offer you must join through this personal invitation. So simply click here to get started right now. All official newsletter returns as of July 22, 2011. Unless otherwise noted, all numbers as of August 2, 2011.

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