I drive a 1994 Geo Prizm, rusted and sputtering, that came from a factory near San Francisco that was owned by a GM-Toyota joint venture that eventually flopped.

The car's held up all these years, but other than that, there's not much good to say about it, and the company that built it didn't amount to much, either.

It gives me a laugh to think that these days that very factory - rebuilt with money from the 2009 stimulus, no less - now makes the car that's the toast of Wall Street.

The U.S. government's $465 million loan turned the factory that built my Prizm into the launching pad of Tesla Motors Inc.'s (Nasdaq: TSLA) Model S, the luxury electric sedan Consumer Reports calls one of the best two cars it has ever tested. (The Model S tied the 2007 Lexus LS 460L, receiving 99 of 100 points.)

The plug-in Tesla has surpassed all expectations, but here's what's really extraordinary about the company: It's a government-financed clean-energy project that's actually a great American success story that even some conservatives can love.

Among big fans of Tesla Motors: Charles Payne, a co-host on FOX Business' "Varney & Co." who regularly touts the company and its stock.

With the success of the Model S, TSLA has skyrocketed from its 2010 IPO at $17 a share to $91.97 as of late Thursday and the company's valuation is approaching $10 billion.

One year ago, Facebook stock (Nasdaq: FB) made its trading debut in one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings ever.

While it's okay to offer a congratulatory happy anniversary, it's been anything but a honeymoon for the company and investors.

Some 421 million shares were sold, raising $16 billion, giving Facebook a whopping $104 billion valuation.

Then the disastrous story began: Shares were priced at $38, opened at $40, and then, within 10 market hours after the pricing, Facebook stock flailed. Technical glitches at the Nasdaq caused a delayed open, late executions and reports, and mispriced trades.

Lawsuits are still pending.

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In New York City last week investors from around the country gathered for the Ira Sohn Conference to pitch their lists of the best stocks to buy in 2013.

One of the more interesting presentations this year featured Steve Eisman of Emrys Partners, who gave a presentation that was very bullish on the prospects for the U.S. housing market.

While many investors have proffered opinions of the strength and validity of housing market performance, investors should pay especially close attention to Eisman when he speaks on the subject.

Eisman has shown he knows how to evaluate and profit from this market. He successfully profited from the market top in 2007.

Eisman was featured in Michael Lewis' book on subprime mortgages, "The Big Short," as one of the investors who made huge bets against the housing market at the top of the bubble and raked in billions of profits.

Now, he's picking the bottom. If he's right again, the profits could be just as large on the upside as they were during the collapse.

In his Ira Sohn presentation, Eisman pointed out that monthly payments as a percentage of income for mortgages is at an all-time low of just 14% and inventories of available homes are at a multi-year low. He thinks the growth is just beginning, and aided by very low interest rates we could see strong growth in the industry for several years.

He listed several of the best housing stocks to buy that would allow investors to profit from this continued recovery.

He favors home builders that have substantial land inventory as we go into the recovery. Those builders who have built up their land holdings over the past couple of year should amass substantial profits form reselling land purchased on the cheap.

Here are three housing stocks to buy in 2013, according to Eisman, including what he calls the "most powerful" play in the sector this year.

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Sequester-driven budget cuts to Medicare are threatening to spur massive job cuts in the healthcare industry.

And the pain doesn't stop there - the sequester cuts are already making healthcare harder to obtain for some Medicare patients.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. The longer Congress allows sequestration to continue, the deeper the cuts will go and the more widespread their impact.

When President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in cuts to federal spending before March 30 -- as mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 -- the sequester kicked in.

Medicare providers faced mandatory 2% across-the-board reductions in their reimbursements.

After the cuts went into effect on April 1, hospitals, doctors, insurers, prescription drug plans, and other healthcare providers immediately felt the impact.

In short, the sequester is delivering precisely the kind of broad, damaging and indiscriminate cuts that politicians warned would happen.

And as each day passes, the drastic consequences grow worse.

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In a yield-starved world investors have turned to real estate investment trusts (REITs) as some of the best investments for income.

REITs are structured so that they have to pay out the majority of their income to shareholders in order to retain their favorable tax status. Most of them yield far more than Treasury or corporate bonds so they have attracted attention and dollars over the past few years.

It is not just individual investors who are searching for yield. Large pension and investment funds can no longer meet their required rates of return by investing in traditional fixed income investment. They too have turned to REITs to make up the income shortfall.

However, when these large investors begin to direct billions of dollars towards the sector they are not very selective. Much of the money that flows into REIT funds and exchange-traded instruments is only concerned with gaining exposure to the real estate markets and gaining a yield advantage. This type of buying has helped the price of many of the larger more liquid REITs double and even triple over the past few years. They now trade at substantial premiums to their underlying asset value and earnings power.

The problem facing investors now is that the dollars have flowed into the securities for several years now and pushed prices to what may be unsustainable levels.

Any real estate investor can tell you that buying commercial or residential property in excess of its real value is a recipe for disaster especially if you use leverage.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column shows there is another developing threat to REIT prices. 

According to the article, Japanese investors have been piling into U.S. REITs to take advantage of the extreme yield differentials as that country is using low rates to attempt to stimulate the economy.

In addition to the dividends, however, the Japanese funds are also paying out appreciation, including unrealized gains. If the growth in REIT share prices begins to moderate, these funds will have to start selling shares to maintain their payouts and this could pressure prices as they own billions of U.S. REIT securities.

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Here are two items that will upset you...

First, back in February, Attorney General Eric Holder christened the unofficial official doctrine of "Too Big to Jail."

He told Congress, "The size of some of these institutions [TBTF banks] becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if we do prosecute - if we do bring a criminal charge - it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy."

Of course, it was only the christening of another neat little name.

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Gold investors are just not feeling the love, once again left to wonder why gold prices are going down.

The yellow metal dipped again Thursday, with gold for June delivery ending down $10 at $1,386.10 an ounce. It was the sixth consecutive trading day of declines and marked a four-week low for the metal.

With equity markets continuing to log record highs, and economic data showing some signs of improvement, safe haven gold looks nothing like its moniker.

Fueling gold's recent rout is not one thing; it's a combination of things.

Here's why gold prices are going down this week.

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Business has been good for the federal government when it comes to student loans.

Over the past five years, student loans have generated profits of $120 billion for the Department of Education.

And the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) put the take from student loans for the 2013 fiscal year at $48.6 billion - helped along by a change in 2010 that eliminated the middleman and made the Education Department the direct lender for all government-backed loans.

It means the government will reap more in profits from student loans this year than any of the nation's largest corporations. Last year, for example, the most profitable company was ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), which reported income of $44.9 billion.

The money is rolling in partly because the Education Department has stepped up efforts to collect on delinquent loans, but mostly because the U.S. government can borrow money far more cheaply than the students to whom it is giving the loans.

The government's student loans now carry an interest rate of 3.4%, which has proved plenty lucrative.

But unless Congress acts soon, the interest rate on government student loans will double to 6.8% as of July 1. (The temporary 3.4% rate was supposed to expire last July, but last year Congress extended it for one year.)

Meanwhile, 10-year Treasuries go for about 2%, and 30-year Treasuries for about 3%.

That widening gap in rates could drive government profits even higher, but at the risk of appearing to exploit a struggling and vulnerable segment of the population.

"As the pomp of graduation fades, many college graduates become keenly aware of their financial circumstance: in debt," Ernie Almonte, chairman of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission of the American Institute of CPAs, said in a statement. "They start out with an anchor that slows their progression toward future goals. It's a difficult reality confronting a growing number of people."

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When it comes to healthcare costs, Americans have been left in the dark.

Unlike when booking a hotel or buying a new flat-screen TV, Americans haven't had easy access to cost-comparison measures when deciding where to have their medical procedures done.

Turns out, if we had, some of us could have saved tens of thousands of dollars...

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There's a worldwide race heating up to supply the world with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and right now the U.S. lags far behind.

But that's about to change, with the U.S. expected to go from 0% of global LNG exports today to 9%-12% as early as 2020.

Investors should get ready because certain natural gas stocks will surge along with the exports.

So far, only Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE: LNG) is allowed to export LNG out of the U.S. to both free trade and non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries- it hopes to begin exporting in 2015.

And Cheniere's stock has been on a tear since earning that approval.

When the DOE announced the approval of LNG exports from Sabine Pass on May 20, 2011, Cheniere was trading at $7.69. The stock soared over 30% that day, finishing at $10.04, and today trades nearly 301% higher at $30.82.

Now, investors have another chance to profit from an LNG company.

Once again the catalyst will be approval from the DOE to export LNG to non-FTA countries.
And a non-FTA permit is the key with LNG exports.

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In Silicon Valley, there's a term for products that a company makes bold statements about and always seem on the cusp of launching but never quite materialize - vaporware.

And believe me, over the decades there have been more vaporware companies than real ones.

What's more, it's not uncommon for once-respected names to become vaporware makers over time.

One of the big questions now is, with the death of visionary Steve Jobs, the growing Android base, and the next generation in smartphones, is the "Next Big Thing" for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) nothing more than vaporware?

For investors slammed by the stock's 39% decline from its 2012 high, the question is hardly rhetorical.

Today, I'm going to explore what's in store for the whales of the tech space and tell you where I stand on whether their visions will be actualized or vaporized.

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One of the most successful long-term strategies when hunting for the best stocks to buy is contrarian investing.

It's a rather simple strategy: buy something when it is out of favor and everyone else is selling, which leads to bargain prices. Then wait for sentiment to turn, sell and pocket your profit.

Many contrarian investors are taking a long, hard look at one particular sector: gold miners. This is a sector that has not only been battered by falling prices for the gold they mine hurting profitability, but also a sector plagued by poor management at many companies.

But a closer look shows why some of these miners are among the best stocks to buy now when prices are low and potential is soaring.

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Here's something from our list of Obamacare facts we've been examining: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was supposed to make healthcare cheaper for all Americans, even free for some.

Facing constant criticism for his landmark healthcare bill, U.S. President Barack Obama continues to preach that new healthcare will indeed lower costs. Just two weeks ago he went so far as to claim that "for the 85% to 90% of Americans who already have health insurance, they're already experiencing most of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act even if they don't know it."

Unfortunately, it's looking increasingly unlikely that's the case.

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China's "ghost cities" present the West with the shocking images of vast urban areas that sit nearly empty.

In a striking report, shown recently on CBS News' "60 Minutes,"there are rows of high-rise apartment buildings, tracts full of suburban American-sized detached homes and  imposing government edifices in China's western  desert that are empty and utterly devoid of any signs of life.

Their existence has raised more than a few red flags among investors.

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So much for the gas tax savings among drivers of hybrids, electric cars or other fuel-efficient vehicles...

After years of cost savings for fuel-efficient car buyers, the government wants the gasoline-tax revenue that was lost at the pump because the fuel-efficient cars don't have to fill up as much as other vehicles. 

That's why the Obama administration is floating the idea of taxing you per miles driven, or as preliminary legislation puts it, "vehicles miles traveled" (VMT).

Yes, you read that right: A new tax on every mile you drive.

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Talk about looking for best investments in the most unlikely places...

The bad economic news out of Greece has dominated the headlines for several years now. As the country tries to work its way back to prosperity, a solvent banking system is going to be critical to the process. Banks have seen their capital base shrink from bond haircuts, bad loans and depositors withdrawing money to get it outside the beleaguered nation's banking system.

As part of its plan to restore the nation's fiscal health, Greece has told the banks they need to complete a recapitalization plan that raises Tier 1 capital ratios by 9%. This should increase their solvency and allow the nation to receive further bailout funds from the European Union.

Restored capital levels should help the banks regain access to interbank markets and provide the liquidity needed to help push the economy back on track.

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With most of the world's major economies running the printing presses to the point where it's becoming absurd, there's one country out there that is in the catbird seat when it comes to a strong, stable economy, growing export markets and strong stable companies.

And it's only going to get better.

Yes, there's a world of opportunity out there, but for all the good there are some serious risks in the usual investing suspects:

The U.S. stock market is busting out to new highs, but the U.S. economy remains below par and the federal budget deficit remains at staggeringly high levels.

In Japan, the government is doubling down on U.S. policies, with a budget deficit and monetary "stimulus" twice the size of the U.S. figures.

Britain and the EU are locked in recession, with "austerity" apparently not working and close to being abandoned, while monetary policy becomes looser and looser, with interest rates well below inflation.

The opportunity?

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A good doctor will not simply make a diagnosis based on measurements. The symptoms and complaints expressed by the patient are at least as important in making a determination as the data provided by diagnostic tools.

When the data says one thing and the symptoms continuously say another, it makes sense to question the reliability of the instruments.

This would be particularly true if the instruments are furnished by a party with a stake in a favorable diagnosis, say an insurance company on the hook for treatment costs.

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A tool intended to make retirement investing easier may result in many Americans taking an unwitting hit to their portfolios when the bond bubble finally pops.

We're talking about target-date funds, designed to be "set it and forget it"-style retirement vehicles for people who don't want to bother with actively managing a portfolio.

Such funds usually include a combination of stocks and bonds, with the ratio dependent upon the investor's retirement date.

When retirement is 25 years or more in the future, target-date funds typically hold about 90% stocks and only 10% bonds. But as time goes on, target-date funds shift the balance more in favor of bonds, with the intent of reducing exposure to risk and volatility.

By the time retirement is 15 years away, the balance is 75% stocks and 25% bonds. And when that nears to just five years away, bonds generally rise to about 40% of the portfolio.

So as we edge closer and closer to higher interest rates and the negative impact that will have on bonds - the dreaded bond bubble - many workers approaching retirement are slowly adding more and more exposure to it.

What's more, many future retirees may not even know it.

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Aliko Dangote is the richest man you've never heard of.

The 56-year old native of Kano, Nigeria is a self-made business magnate, with a net worth of more than $16 billion.

With boom times ahead for Africa, Dangote is leading the continent's headlong charge into infrastructure building and resource exploration.

A person of vision and drive, he's well suited for the unfolding boom, and all the opportunity it offers.

As the African Century moves into its second decade, Dangote is still very bullish on Africa-- making - and keeping - most of his fortune there.

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From the first rumblings of a new healthcare law, critics have preached that the real Obamacare facts are far worse than the promises.

The real Obamacare facts include higher healthcare costs, diminished treatment quality, hidden taxes and an inflated deficit.  

"Obamacare was a political nightmare for Democrats in the 2010 election. In 2014, it's shaping up to be a political tsunami," Brad Dayspring, a communications strategist for the National Republican Senatorial Committee wrote in a recent email to supporters.

Indeed, President Obama's own party is even having second thoughts.

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