Editor's note: Everyone is always looking for an "edge" in the market... High inflation, rising geopolitical tensions, and the threat of a painful recession loom over the economy today. So finding an edge is more important than ever. That brings us to this Masters Series essay from Marc Chaikin... As we explained yesterday, Marc founded our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. He wanted to level the playing field for everyday investors. To that point, Marc believes you can always find opportunities somewhere in the market. This essay was published in the May 3 issue of his Chaikin PowerFeed daily e-letter. In it, he details how you can often spot buying opportunities in the market's most "boring" corners...
Investment Opportunities Hide in 'Boring' Places By Marc Chaikin, founder, Chaikin Analytics The Great Fire of Rome raged for six days. It wiped out 10 of the city's 14 districts... Nearly three-quarters of Rome burned before officials got the blaze under control. If you've ever heard how Emperor Nero "fiddled while Rome burned"... this is that fire. In Nero's time, Rome was the world's biggest city. It housed around 1 million people. And because its buildings were so densely packed, small fires could quickly grow into big ones... In the early 1930s, one University of Illinois scholar investigated Rome's Republic era. (That's the period from roughly 510 B.C.E. to 30 B.C.E.) The researcher found records of 15 big fires in Rome over this period. He classified seven as "widespread conflagrations." And seven others wiped out at least one important building. All these recorded fires likely represent just a fraction of the actual number, too. Fires were so common that Roman writers only recorded the ones that damaged important buildings. Rome is just one example of mankind's history of disastrous fires... The second capital city of the Roman Empire was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). It later became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. And it had the same problem as Rome... The city's history includes so many fires that historians can't keep track of them all. The worst was the Great Fire of 1660. It lasted for more than two days and destroyed two-thirds of Constantinople. In the end, roughly 280,000 homes burned to the ground. London has struggled with many historic fires, too. One blaze destroyed the city's iconic bridge in 1135. Then, in 1212, another massive fire killed an estimated 3,000 people. The biggest disaster happened more than four centuries later... The Great Fire of London broke out on September 2, 1666. It destroyed more than 13,000 houses (about 15% of the city's housing) in four days. And it left 100,000 people homeless. Here in the U.S., we struggled with the same problems as well... New York City suffered its own "great fires" in 1835 and 1845. The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 killed 300 people. And like the London fire, it left about 100,000 folks without homes. These days, we don't appreciate how good we have it...
| Recommended Links: | |  REVEALED: The End of the Bull Market? From the Federal Reserve to the economy and the election, there's a lot of confusion today surrounding the state of America in 2024... and what ripple effects we can expect in the stock market. But on June 26, the man who predicted this latest bull run is stepping forward with a surprising prediction about where the stock market is going next. | |
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Our ancestors spent thousands of years worrying about losing their homes while trying to stay warm. But now, city-destroying fires like the ones in Rome or London don't happen. Houses aren't nearly as combustible anymore. It may not seem exciting, but keep in mind that we developed a couple of incredible building materials in the 20th century... A scientist invented modern fiberglass by accident in the 1930s. And importantly, it didn't take long for homebuilders to realize that it serves as a fantastic thermal insulator... Fiberglass is cheap to make. Even better, it's noncombustible. Unlike a lot of other options, it doesn't need any additional chemical treatments to make it fire-resistant. Spray foam is another modern marvel that's easy to take for granted... It's a type of plastic (specifically, polyurethane) that expands to 100 times its liquid size after mixing different materials. Its popularity surged starting in the 1980s. Since it's sprayable, it's great for sealing a house's nooks and crannies for insulation. It's now one of the best energy savers we have. And it's a lot safer than what early humans were forced to use. Wood is still the main building block for most houses today – like it was thousands of years ago. But thanks to other modern-day building materials, we've taken a huge step forward in making safer homes. Sure, I'll admit that insulation isn't anywhere near as exciting as the gee-whiz tech stories we always hear about nowadays. But my point is simple... Big investment opportunities often hide in these kinds of "boring" corners of the market. That's why I developed the Power Gauge. It helps me spot the best investment opportunities no matter where they are. Good investing, Marc Chaikin
Editor's note: According to Marc, a massive shift is developing in the markets right now... It could soon open the door for life-changing returns. And most folks don't realize it. That's why Marc is hosting a FREE online event on Wednesday, June 26, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. He'll reveal exactly how you can prepare today. Click here to save your spot... | 
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