Tom Sandford

Forget the airplane tickets and vacation selfies. Family getaways are about to go virtual.

While it's risky, Amazon's Fire Phone could light a spark in your portfolio. The obvious route is to pick up some Amazon shares, but it may be thriftier to consider companies that will benefit from the Fire.

At least 70% of credit cards in the US will have their magstripes replaced with safer microchips by 2015. Savvy investors should place their money on the companies that stand to benefit from the move.