CHIQ: Buying the Chinese Consumer in 2010
Back in 2001, Goldman Sachs highlighted the growth potential of emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, or BRIC. Goldman reasoned the combined BRIC economies could outpace the world’s richest economies by 2050. China is beating Goldman’s expectations on the road to 2050. In fact,...
EZPW: Make Cash From A Pawn Shop
When the economy turns for the worse, it’s easy to spot the industries and the stocks that are going to suffer. High-end retailers, consumer discretionary names and the like usually take it on the chin when the going gets tough. Most investors know this. Finding the sectors and stocks that are...
MNRO: Keep Your Portfolio Chugging Along With Monro Muffler Brake
Some experts think the U.S. economy is beginning to show signs of recovery. Possibly, but with so many folks still unemployed and access to credit at its lowest levels in years, consumers and businesses alike are tightening their purse strings. Over the past year, we’ve highlighted frugalpalooza...
TUR: A Legitimate Emerging Markets Play or “Turkey” of an Investment?
International and emerging markets offerings are the coolest kids at the ETF party right now, favored in a big way over traditional long U.S. equity ETFs. International ETFs saw $5 billion in new inflows in November. Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) led all ETFs with $1.3 billion in new investments....
Grab Some Northern Exposure with EWC
Emerging markets are captivating investors again, but tidy profits aren’t always far away. Placing your bets on well-established global markets can also prove rewarding. That’s why we’re looking at Canada. We’ve previously examined Canada as an energy play. That’s still a...
Buying Homemade Italian (AIPC)
U.S. consumers love spending money – or at least they used to. Saving money? Not so much. Think back to the three most recent economic growth periods: The Reagan Boom of the mid-1980s, the Clinton Boom of the mid-1990s and the last easy money, easy credit boom from 2003-2007. All three shared one...
Goldman Sachs Delivers for Shareholders (GS)
Few American companies are as vilified as Goldman Sachs (GS). Formerly an investment bank, Goldman is now a commercial bank, a change that allowed it to take billions in taxpayer assistance during the financial calamity of 2008. Some would debate the usefulness of keeping Goldman in business, saying...
A High-Tech Play On National Defense: HRS
Technology stocks are helping drive the stock market higher, a trend we recently discussed here. Whether it’s old-school companies like International Business Machines (IBM) or high-fliers like Google (GOOG) or Amazon (AMZN), tech has definitely been one of the rally’s leading catalysts....
Dollar General: A Boost to Investors and the IPO Market (DG)
Several high profile initial public offerings are scheduled for the next few weeks. One we’re watching with particular interest is Dollar General. A discount retailer, Dollar General is expected to sell 34 million shares between $21-$23 next Friday, November 13th. The stock will trade on the New...
Big Blue Excites Investors With Green (IBM)
Investors in International Business Machines (IBM), aka “Big Blue,” are anything but “blue” this year. They should be ecstatic. As an old company and member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, investors typically don’t view IBM as a high-flying tech stock. But at its core, IBM is a...
