This stock has long been one of my favorites but now that it’s back to a moderate price there is plenty of reason to love it. Rowan Companies (RDC) leases offshore drilling platforms to oil companies who use them to bring up from the depths of the sea. With oil prices at a new high, the company has been able to lease some drilling equipment for record amounts of money, some for over $300,000 per day. Continue Reading »
I went long Sony options at $42.50 and was pleasantly surprised with the results after a move to $52 per share. Now that Sony stock has cooled off, a buying opportunity is showing itself yet again. Sony is still moderately priced at $42 per share and there is plenty of reason to love this stock for the next six months.
China released news today that it planned on raising its nationalized gas prices by 18 percent, perfect news for only oil company struggling with maximizing profits due to these set prices: Petrochina. Petrochina is the world’s largest oil company, it’s a nationalized product of China and at its highs had a market value of nearly $1 Trillion. This thing is huge. Continue Reading »
Gaps are often underrated for their ability to decide market direction and show movement in stock prices. Just yesterday I was looking at the market trying to decide how to trade the next days movements. Looking at a short term NASDAQ composite chart I decided that the gap through the 2430 support line was too dangerous to trade today, there was no way I was going to make any money as either the market would open up and I would buy into a top or the market was likely to drop heavily due to overhead resistance. Continue Reading »
We’re talking about some serious money, and I mean in Sirius stock. The merger between Sirius and XM as one satellite radio company might be a complete fallout, but the potential profits from a quick position look great. Continue Reading »
If Steve Jobs announces a new iphone as many expect, the next generation phone should bring some amazing marketshare. The apple way is to produce shiny, exciting products but lapse a bit on core features. The original iPhone was said to be the best smartphone though it lacked features like 3G, email support for business users, GPS, and came with only a modest selection of software because of the monopoly Apple imposes over its devices. Continue Reading »
Trendy brands and teenage products go in and out of fashion in what seems like just a few months. Now the best investment may be against these brands, not because they are going out of style but instead a short against the disposable income of America. When parents are feeling the pain at the grocery and gas pump, its certain that teenage America will be feeling the same squeeze in disposable income. Continue Reading »
Coca-Cola enterprises works alongside The Coca-Cola company to wholesale its products. It buys the product from Coca-Cola (KO) and resells it. Rather than the original company controlling from top to bottom, CCE is able to profit from emerging markets and sell at a discount to the larger manufacturer.
In my opinion, Coca-Cola Enterprises (the distributor) has plenty of exposure to emerging markets which makes Coca-Cola so profitable. While I do like the original manufacturer, I believe that CCE provides a better investment and exposure to the markets around the world. Better yet, CCE is selling at a huge discount from just this January when it topped $27 per share. Though the company is limited in its horizons, particularly due to the fact it must buy from KO to resell to other markets, it maintains hope for growing markets through its wholesale distribution. Continue Reading »
Poor timing, too low price points? No, it appears that Yahoo might be avoiding a Microsoft buyout solely for sentimental reasons. Now that Jerry Yang is the CEO, it appears he’s wanting to hold onto the company he worked so hard to start back in his own college years at Stanford.
Yang owns about 4% of the company that is currently worth $1.5 Billion, his stakes are huge and he’s still drawing the infamous $1 salary that is common with many tech giants. His wealth has been derived in its entirety from the growth and capital gains he’s received as a huge shareholder in Yahoo. As CEO and a founder, it seems that his own unwillingness to sell might lay in a dislike for Microsoft and sentimental views of Microsoft rather than what shareholders want. Continue Reading »
Not just but 2 years ago was Kirk Kerkorian (the Las Vegas real estate billionaire) heavily entangled in the General Motors corporation. Now after Ford’s profitability, the investor is chasing a serious stake in Ford. Kerkorian dumped GM in favor of more investment into his Las Vegas properties, neither of which have proven to be a good investment. GM is still suffering from large pension payments and Las Vegas has cooled with the economy. Continue Reading »
First quarter venture capital for 2008 was off by 5%, the lowest since 2005. While the sure signs of a market contraction aren’t showing themselves fully ( two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth) its looking like investors aren’t finding any investment worthy businesses.
This news is more forward looking than a look back. Venture capital investment usually turns into profitable businesses soon to go IPO. It could be that the slowdown in 2005 affected market slowdown in 2007, although its hard to draw a direct line. Venture capital firms helped start giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft, virtually every large corporation publicly held is the product of large investment dollars from these firms. Its easy to see how a slowdown in venture capital can slow market growth and sputter out the IPO market. Continue Reading »
This next week will give us a great look into how well or how poorly the US tech sector is doing. Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo are set to release earnings. Microsoft’s success might give new hope to a Yahoo buyout, while the earnings report for Yahoo is of much interest to the Microsoft board.
Yahoo’s stock is still at the post-Microsoft offer price of $28 per share even as the possibility of a merger seems entirely out of the question. For this reason alone, Yahoo has much more to lose from a earnings release than it has to gain. Google posted a 42% increase in revenue, Yahoo is expected to follow. A very good earnings report from Yahoo is unlikely to change the price of the stock, which has been left at the $28-30 level since the Microsoft offer. Continue Reading »
Revenue was up 42% year over year, mostly from the differential between foreign currencies and the US dollar. Marketing on Google Adwords, the main component of Google’s earnings, looks cheap to firms located overseas. Foreign companies now have an advertising advantage against US competition, this works well for Google. International businesses and advertising now accounts for the majority of Google revenue, sitting at a perfect 51%. Continue Reading »
IBM released earning statements showing that earnings jumped 26% due to higher software and services sales. This news comes just a day after Intel produced very good numbers, looks like the tech sector is the one to beat in 2008. Continue Reading »
There is a serious resistance line still in play on the daily Dow chart. After the financial industry got the boot from investors, the market has fared pretty well. We’re back in the 12000s and keeping a reasonable trading range but there is just one trendline still in the way of Dow 13000. Continue Reading »
Bear Stearns issued an earnings report today that showed the company produced a $115 Million dollar profit in the first quarter of 2008. That amounts to annual earnings of $460 Million per year, while BSC is valued currently at $1.38 Billion. With that kind of earning potential, JP Morgan still has a lot of juice to squeeze out of its assets. Continue Reading »
The upward swing in commodity prices has certainly pushed prices up all around. As mentioned last article, oil prices have affected everything that requires delivery.
Kroger has profited heavily from the rise in commodities, as they secure foods on contract long before actual delivery. Unlike giants like WalMart that buy goods at market price hoping to flip them before the price changes, Kroger takes an added step which has added to the bottomline. As egg and sugar prices towered upward, Kroger had a locked in price much lower than the market price. Kroger could either pocket the difference, or use lower prices as a competitive advantage. Its safe to say that it did both, subsidizing prices to near sale-like values and pocketing a little extra on the side. Continue Reading »
Microsoft and Exxon Mobil look like great investments but their market caps are extremely high. There is some benefit here, the price of both of these companies is very stable so you’re less likely to lose your shirt. However, large market cap stocks move less thus produce smaller profits. Its nice to invest in a stock that retains value but you also want to be able to avoid entering a stock with little price action. Continue Reading »
I’d first like to start by saying that any company that can improve the bottom-line by means of cutting costs is a great company indeed. Sure we like to see a company with increased market share and revenue, but cost cutting is a great way to increase profits and show that the company is concerned about waste. There are millions of companies out there that are extremely profitable and would only be more profitable by decreasing expenses. When a company starts to look inside its offices to cut expenses, we’re all happy investors.
Dell has done just that. Continue Reading »
Usually I’m quick to dismiss stocks that have gone up by a figure of 4 in just the last year, but this one looks special.
Cal-Maine Foods produces namely eggs and egg products, from shell eggs to low carb and organic varieties. The company is posting record profits as the price for commodities and food related products, even eggs, soars to new highs. Continue Reading »
The last week in the market has told us a lot. Investors are no longer responding to credit issues by the Federal Reserve and the rapid pullback shows us that a lot of people want out. The next few months ahead look pretty rough, especially considering the technical indicators on the Dow. Continue Reading »
Two very key news announcements were made today. The Bear Stearns buyout by JP Morgan has a new pricetag of $10 per share and the Sirus XM merger will be completed. Continue Reading »
The recent pullback in commodities such as gold, silver and oil really hurt the industries share prices. Gold stocks were down the most just this last week after metals prices lost more than 10%. Silver was down from its highs to 16.85 an ounce, which I believe to be the cheapest we’re going to see for a long while. Continue Reading »
The $155 Billion economic stimulus package checks will start coming out in full swing starting in May. Its time to prepare for record quarterly earnings this year, more specifically this quarter. The industries most likely to benefit are those that are associated with financing and down payments. It is likely that automobile manufacturers, home improvement stores and large appliance vendors will do particularly well. Continue Reading »
After its sharp run up from $7 per share since January, there is still a lot of potential in this high price gold and silver mining company. I took the time to analyze the 2006 annual reports and found that Gammon is a great investment even as the stock nears $10 and the company is just now turning profitable. Continue Reading »
