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Posted
Oct 08 2009, 10:46 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is written by Minyanville's Glenn Curtis
Shares of General Electric (GE) are trading at a fraction of what they were just a few short years ago. However, they're well off their lows, and there are those that say the good times will soon roll again.
So what’s the skinny? And does it make sense to belly up before the earnings?
Here are some of my thoughts: For more on today's earnings, see Upgrades & Downgrades. 1. Here's the aerial view: If someone is bullish on the future opportunities this great country has, General Electric is a clear and logical pick. Sure -- that's simplistic, but at the same, it's true. More people with coin in their pocket equals more want for appliances, engines, light bulbs, demand for entertainment, and all those good things GE offers up.
2. Now, is the road going to be full of potholes? I think so. I think we're going to see fits and starts and I’m skeptical about the near-term outlook for the macro economy, which I’ve said numerous times in recent months. But this economy will be righted, and things will turn around, make no mistake. And when they do, my gut tells me that GE’s shares will soar like Sputnik and there will be legions of people out there kicking themselves and wondering why they didn’t belly up to it when they had the opportunity.
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Posted
Sep 17 2009, 03:14 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
With the major indices trading near new highs, there is evidence that the most recent phase of the advance was fueled by the lowest quality stocks. And it looks like the tide could be turning.
Some of this has been caused by a scramble into the riskiest holdings out on fear of missing out on the rally and a desire to maximize exposure to the broad market. Short covering has played a role too as many of the best performers are among the most heavily shorted names. While this doesn't preclude additional gains, it does call into question the longevity of the rally.
According to Matthew Rothman of Barclays Capital, the end may be upon us. In his words: "Quality continues to underperform sharply, turning in one of the longest losing streaks in the index's nearly sixty year history. Wednesday saw the streak end."
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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 07:26 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is written by Minyanville's Sean Udall
Listening to CNBC yesterday morning I was struck by two key things: First, there are obvious factors/evidence that many are choosing to ignore. Second, we should always be mindful of what may not be obvious and try to skate to where the puck is going to be. However, sometimes the obvious meshes with where the puck is going. I find this especially true during times of great collective doubt. Read Our Marionette Economy for an opposing viewpoint.
Post 1991, it was very popular to doubt the rally. We were at war and the S&L crisis was far from being declared dead. It was an incredible time to believe that stocks deserved to be pushed higher -- especially in light of numerous signs of profound growth in many industries.
Moreover, when I hear that the market price is "unjustified" by "current fundamentals," I simply know we're going higher in the intermediate term and longer.
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Posted
Sep 14 2009, 04:00 PM
by
AllStarPortfolio
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This is my maiden voyage into the world of stock analysis and I thought why not play it safe and write about the best buy in the world. Navios Maritime is a shipping company and probably one of the most conservatively managed shippers of the publicly traded companies. Shipping rates measured by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) are down 65% yoy when the S&P 500 is down 25%. Much of the world is now becoming industrialized as the economies of Brazil, India, Russia, and China are growing and stabilizing and will continue to over the next decade or so, which will increase the consumption of half of the world population. This will increase shipping rates back to rates we have seen in 2008 in the coming years. http://caps.fool.com/player/allstarportfolio.aspx In the meantime, Navios Maritime has charter-out coverage on 99% of their vessel voyages for the rest of 2009. This is by far the highest rate in the industry and thus they have "locked-in" profits for 2009. They are chartered to make $0.67 per
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Posted
Sep 01 2009, 03:51 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Vanity Fair has announced its “New Establishment 100″ list for 2009, basing selections on wealth, influence, and philanthropy, as well as such intangibles as vision and "X factor.”
Topping the list is Goldman Sachs (GS) chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Apparently, the big pay packages that he and his top executives get are not enough to erode his power in the business community. Blankfein was in the No. 2 spot a year ago.
Second on the list is Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple (AAPL). He should arguably be at the top. He is clearly the most influential and powerful chief executive in America, taking a role that Jack Welch of General Electric (GE) once had.
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Posted
Aug 24 2009, 04:02 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Steve Jobs worked at Apple (AAPL) for $1 a year in 2000, just before the launch of the iPod, which completely changed the company’s fortunes and made him astonishingly wealthy. Lee Iaccoca worked for $1 in 1978 when he took charge of crippled Chrysler.
The dollar-a-year tradition has fallen on hard times. The most recent apostle of the practice was Edward Liddy who took the chief executive’s job at American International Group (AIG) when it was deeply troubled. He had been the head of Allstate (ALL), so he probably did not need to make several million dollars. Liddy took the job as a public service, an action which seems to be both anachronistic and idealistic. Liddy worked hard to restructure the insurance company, but was derided mercilessly by Congress because AIG executives received large pay packages on his watch. The irony of this issue was that Liddy had nothing to do with the compensation agreements. Liddy was replaced by Robert Benmosche, the former chief executive of MetLife (MET). Benmosche presumably is wealthy enough to work for nothing, but insisted on being paid $7 million. The taxpayers who own 85% of AIG are appropriately enraged that AIG let Liddy leave.
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Posted
Aug 20 2009, 12:22 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
With the Obama administration planning to wind down the popular $3 billion cash-for-clunkers auto rebate program, there is already talk of a similar program to encourage the purchase of new appliances.
The "cash-for-washers" program will start late this fall and will provide incentives for buyers of energy efficient appliances, furnaces, and air conditioners. Total funding of $300 million comes from the $787 billion stimulus package passed earlier in the year. Rebates are expected on reach upwards of $200. To quality, purchasers must buy Energy Star certified units; trading in old models won't be necessary. Expect more details sometime in October.
Bing: More on Energy Star
Naturally, this is great news for appliance makers like Whirlpool (WHR) and General Electric (GE), which have struggled as consumers have cut back purchases of high priced items and new-home construction has stalled. But what impact will it have on the economic recovery?
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Posted
Aug 18 2009, 09:03 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Although stocks are tracking higher during trading on Tuesday, they have only retraced half of Monday's losses. To recap, stocks tripped at the opening bell on Monday and laid flat on their face the rest of the day as a global wave of selling that started with declines in Asia and Europe flooded ashore in Manhattan. As a result, the major indices fell out of their August trading ranges.
Technically, the decline happened right on schedule as the market reached the so-called ''Obama high''; which marked the apex of positive political sentiment reached on Election Day last year. Prior to that point, the S&P 500 had slid as low as 850. Then, it reversed and moved over the 1,000 level before finally succumbing to another wave of selling pressure in late November.
Bing: More on Fibonacci Levels
The top last week was 1,014, which was also a picture-perfect 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the October 2007 high to the March 2009 low.
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Posted
Aug 10 2009, 12:21 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
There has been a curious shift in behavior of the U.S. dollar in relation to equities: Both stocks and the dollar rallied hard on Friday. The dollar was up 1.5% vs. the euro on Friday and even more against the yen, the largest one-day gain since early June before the stock market swooned. The dollar is up in Monday trading as well.
This is a reversal from the negative correlation we've seen between these two assets lately as one rises and the other falls. The correlation isn't perfect, but it's noticeable. I have always viewed any analysis of currency movements with great skepticism because of all the cross currents that affect their movements: Trade balances, relative interest rates, monetary policy, and so on.
However, the huge increase in risk appetite among traders over the last few months has clearly driven many U.S. investors to embrace emerging and frontier economies, especially in Asia. We have seen dollar weakness as these investors move their portfolios out of dollars and into foreign currencies. If this pattern is changing ahead of an increase in risk aversion, then we could be seeing big institutional traders hedge their foreign positions by buying dollars to make it easier to repatriate profits and move back into cash. The idea being that if global equities selloff, investors will want to quickly shift capital into more defensive assets such as U.S. Treasuries.
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Posted
Aug 06 2009, 12:28 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article was written by Minyanville's Megan Barnett If you knew that you might only have to pay $1,000 if you got caught committing securities fraud that would net you $100,000, would you do it? What if I said you could pay the grand and not admit guilt? Would you do it then? These may not the precise questions that C-suite executives ask themselves when they decide to travel down that fateful path of securities fraud, but given the example set by the Securities and Exchange Commission, perhaps they should. This week, the SEC reached settlements with two corporate giants: Bank of America (BAC) and General Electric (GE). The congratulatory announcements by the SEC made the regulators seem like tough cops on the beat. Bank of America paid $33 million to settle charges it misled investors about the billions in bonuses it agreed to pay Merrill Lynch employees after acquiring their firm. And General Electric paid out $50 million put an end to the allegations of accounting fraud. (View Slideshow: The Small Price to Pay for Financial Fraud) Now, $83 million sure sounds like a lot, especially in times of empty government coffers and bankrupt municipalities. But in the world of Wall Street and multi-billion dollar corporate conglomerates, it's all about perspective.
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