I’ve never been much for making predictions about the coming year.
That’s not to say I don’t make them.
It’s just more that instead of saying what I think is going to happen, I’ve always given out the stocks I think are going to perform best.
And I’ve done pretty well. I’ve been giving out a top dividend stocks list for the past few years.
I use the S&P 400 Dividend Aristocrats as the benchmark for comparison.
And every year I’ve been giving out those picks, my average has bested the benchmark.
Maybe I’m that good. Maybe I just need better competition.
Either way, it’s working out well for the members of my investing community, The Wealth Advisory, where I share those picks each December.
I’ve actually got my list of top dividend stocks scheduled to go out to the members next week.
The numbers aren’t official yet, but so far my stocks for 2021 are averaging a 35% gain, while the Aristocrats are up about 15% as a group.
But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.
I’m here because those picks have done well enough that the powers that be (the folks I lovingly call “the management”) have asked that I give some legit predictions for the year ahead.
So I’m going to use this article and the one I’ll send out on Monday to do my very best to channel my inner Carnac the Magnificent and tell you what’s in the envelope marked “2022”…
Amazon Will Pay Out $2 BILLION in 2022!
How’s that for a bold prediction?
The company recently got hit with a $1.28 billion fine from the Italian government for being anti-competitive. And I’m positive that won’t be the last payment Amazon’s forced to make.
In fact, I know the company is going to be paying out at least $1.8 billion to a particular group in 2022. I’m predicting that the total that group gets will be even bigger.
It costs a ton of money to keep Amazon’s businesses going. Of course, the company could come up with ways to avoid paying, but sometimes it’s worth it to just shell out the cash and move on.
And that’s exactly what that $1.8 billion guaranteed payout is all about. Amazon’s meteoric growth throughout the pandemic is why I think the payout will be $200 million more.
Now, the reason I know there’s at least $1.8 billion coming to that group in 2022 is because the members of The Wealth Advisory are also members of that group.
And they just got the final payment in 2021 of their share of this year’s $1.8 billion jackpot.
This is the fifth year they’ve been collecting. And every year the overall payout has gotten bigger.
So my prediction of a $2 BILLION payout might even be on the conservative side.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you could join this group and get your share of the payout in 2022, check out this presentation and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.
There Will Be a GLOBAL Food Shortage
Look, I’d love to make all my predictions through rose-tinted lenses, but the world isn’t always a happy place. And one thing that makes people more miserable than anything else is a scarcity of food.
It can lead to unrest. It can lead to revolts. It can lead to outright revolutions. And it’s something that could become a reality in 2022.
It all started with COVID and the world’s response of shutting down everything. Farmers had to plow crops under and cull herds they’d never be able to get to market. Without those profits to reinvest this year, they’re producing less.
Plus there’s the supply chain. We’re a global economy, whether we like it or not. And shutting down a factory in Taiwan affects shoppers in Rhode Island.
We shut down a lot of stuff that’s not operated by switches that can just be flipped back on.
So now there’s a fertilizer shortage compounding the problems for the world’s farmers. Not only do they now have less to invest in the crop, but it’s more expensive to grow crops this year.
Those problems are only getting worse as they compound each other. Countries like China and Russia have cut off exports of fertilizers and the inputs used to make them.
Others will follow suit. And investors who zero in on companies that can keep supplies coming to farmers in places like the United States will do very well.
You can get started building your food scarcity portfolio with this company that recently uncovered a massive domestic deposit of one of the three key ingredients in every fertilizer on the market.
COVID Variants Cycle Through to Omega
We’ve already made it to omicron, the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet. Granted we skipped a few…
Didn’t use “nu” because it sounds too much like “new” and our leaders think people aren’t that smart.
Skipped over “xi” because that might have upset a certain dictator in a certain country where a certain virus originated (perhaps in a lab).
But here we are at omicron. That leaves nine variations of the virus until we hit the final letter, omega.
I guess we move to the next empire and use Roman numerals after that. But that’s not the point.
The point is that COVID will be around for a while. It might even be around forever. That stinks. But it is what it is.
And thankfully, we’re humans and we don’t give up, no matter how unattainable our goals may seem.
So we’ve got brilliant scientists developing incredible treatments like this that will help us battle whatever variations COVID or any other viruses throw our way.
Side note: The companies making the treatments are likely to make investors pretty happy, too.
