Stocks and Investments
Investment ideas concerning stocks and other investment vehicles.
Barrick Gold Stock: Good Value Now
Back in November, when gold was red hot, I warned investors against making big bets on gold or gold-related assets in the 4th quarter of 2009. I was on target here. During the week of that writing (November 16-20), gold was trading in the $1,130-$1,150/oz. range. It hit a peak of $1217.40 on December... »
Why USEC is Worth Betting On
One of the most important swing states in American politics is Ohio. It’s been almost half a century—when John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960—since anyone became President of the United States without winning the vote in the Buckeye State. 1 In the 2008 election, Ohio cast 20 electoral votes, the seventh highest number of... »
Gold Investing in Q4 2009: Be Careful
Back in 1987, I was working retail for a company that was then a major foreign exchange and precious metals dealer. A non-descript man entered the office with his family. The man, who was wearing a flannel shirt one might use for garden work, asked me what our price to buy gold was. I... »
How to Make Capital Gains or Get 12% Dividends with ING Cumulative Preferred Shares
Life is full of second chances, sometimes even in investing. In that connection, ING’s (ING) cumulative preferred shares plunged with the shares of the broader financial services community when the financial crisis reached its depths. ING’s 6.2 % perpetual debt securities issued in 2003 with a $25 a share denomination (ISP) reached a low... »
Diana Shipping: Will Rise from Growth in Asia
Do you believe that Asian economies like China and India will lead the economic recovery, and you’re looking for a way to make money from that? Take a look at Diana Shipping (DSX). At current prices, Diana is about significant upside and limited downside. The shipping industry, which is characterized by incredible volatility, is... »
Altria: Good to Accumulate for the Long Term
WARNING: If you’re an investor looking for stocks that will soar in the economic recovery (if it happens), look elsewhere. But if you’re a patient investor willing to accumulate and hold a stock for years to get a good return, read on. The basic investment case for Altria Group (MO), the holding company for... »
E*Trade: Steady as She Goes
Last week marked the culmination of a series of events regarding E*Trade that provide clarity for investors on what it will take for E*Trade to execute a successful turnaround: E*Trade raised over $600 million in equity from a larger than expected common stock offering at $1.10 a share and an earlier equity purchase program1 E*Trade exchanged... »
Pfizer
The story that the market sees is all about Liptor, the wildly successful treatment for high cholesterol. The patent for Liptor expires in 2011, and the market is concerned that Pfizer won’t be able to pick up the slack when generics close in on Liptor’s market when the patent expires. A subtext to this... »
E*Trade
The E*Trade story is familiar: a successful company ventures out of its core business and gets burned. E*Trade was doing just fine as one of the top online brokerage platforms in the industry, but it expanded big into mortgages and that’s where the trouble began. Any serious look into E*Trade requires some consideration of numbers—and... »
How to Make Money in the Stock Market using Alexa.com: Amazon
Ever think that if you were able to count all the customers who walked into a store that you might be able to do pretty well investing in its stock? Turns out that you can–sort of. Check out Alexa.com. Alexa is an authoritative web site for Internet traffic ranking. You can go to Alexa and... »