Microsoft’s (MSFT) stock has gone nowhere for over a decade, trading in the $40-$60 range through 1999 and early 2000, and only occasionally breaking $30 since. Currently trading around $26-$27 ($27.12 on September 16 market close), it’s threatening to pierce $30 again. Several factors support the argument that Microsoft’s stock can achieve sustained value...
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A political question that may influence financial markets is who will win the White House in 2012.  In addressing that, I argued in an earlier post that Mitt Romney is most likely to emerge as the Republican pick based on the Republican Party’s historical preference for candidates who fall short of the nomination after...
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With the S&P 500 down 14% (as of market close on August 26) from its May 2 post-financial crisis peak, now is a humbling time for most people who own equities. As battered investors try to parse out which stocks represent a bargain from those that are fool’s gold, one candidate is Ford (F)....
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Writing last December, I argued that the United States’ Triple-A sovereign credit rating was at risk of a downgrade.  Now, less than eight months later, that prediction has come true, with Standard & Poor’s (owned by McGraw Hill (MHP)) downgrading the U.S. credit rating from Triple-A to AA+. I can remember writing the post...
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Like many people who experience joint pain, I assumed that arthritis was something I wouldn’t need to worry about until old age.  I first noticed symptoms about five years ago in my early forties, when I began to feel pain in my right hand.  The original diagnosis was that my right hand was predisposed...
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When hedge funds want to communicate their views in Washington, they turn to the Managed Funds Association (MFA), “the voice of the global alternative investment community.”  With about $1.9 trillion in assets, this industry no doubt expects the highest standards in advocating its interests.  That’s why it was particularly noteworthy to me as the...
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Now with every passing day that the United States fails to raise its debt ceiling, the likelihood of an eventual downgrade of the U.S. Government’s sovereign credit rating from Triple-A status goes up.  Even if the ceiling is raised – still a seemingly likely outcome – the fact that country proved unable to resolve...
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To better reach readers interested in the content this site offers, I recently submitted Thoughtsworththinking.net for review by JoeAnt.com, one of the most established web site directories on the Internet.  I am pleased to announce that JoeAnt.com has given Thoughtsworththinking.net its two-star “Worth the Trip” rating, reserved for web pages that offer a “Quality...
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Now that the second half of 2011 has begun, investors are asking what sectors to look at.  Here’s a case for looking for looking at two of them:  gold miners and U.S. auto manufacturers. Gold miners Gold has done well so far this year, beginning 2011 at $1424.20 an ounce and now topping $1600,...
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Today, Moody’s Investors Services (MCO) placed the U.S. Government’s bond rating on review for a possible downgrade, substantially increasing the possibility that one of the major credit rating agencies would downgrade the United States’ credit outlook or credit rating, as I warned here on Thoughtsworththinking.net in December 2010.  Neither action has occurred yet, so...
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