Economy
Today’s Worst Small Caps Could Be Tomorrow’s as Well - CHSI, UFPI, SKYW
Don’t hear me wrong - all sectors, sizes, and industries stunk today. A few small caps, however, really got whacked. In some cases, I think today’s pounding is parts of a longer-term punishment that’s best left untouched unless you’re looking to short some of these tickers. Here’s today’s bottwom dwellers… the five worst small cap [...]
Recessions Good For Movies and Video Games? Think Again
Don’t jump to conclusions about some industries benefiting from a recession. Some companies are growing just because they always grow, and some are not growing even though they should be because of a tough economy.
Credit Re-Freeze Headed Off at the Pass
The TED Spread and Libor-OIS Spread said we were on the verge of a credit re-freeze. Good thing the highly intelligent and wise Tim Geithner stepped in to save the day……(yes, just kidding - he did very little).
A ‘Perfect Economic Storm’ For Metals, Mining Stocks
I won’t go into all the same detail I did with the Investopedia story, but I do think this is an important enough (and potentially fruitful) idea to merit looking at breifly here. If you want the whole story, click here to read “Metals and Miners Dig Up Ideal Conditions“. Here’s the need-to-know premise…
I think [...]
‘Made in China’ Refers to Money
If Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is only half right, his country will still foster GDP growth of 4%. What a great problem to have.
Finish Line: Strong Retailer, But Guilty by Association
I’m admittedly torn here. In my recent Motley Fool article I presented a relatively bullish case for Finish Line (FINL). The specialty retailer isn’t exactly on fire. In fact they lost money for their Q3 (ending on November 30). Sales were lower too, though that’s par for the course among retailers. Yet, I had to [...]
Microchip Makers Admit Their Faults
There’s no mincing words when it comes to microchip makers right now… revenues and profits are off for the likes of Standard Microsystems (SMSC) and Intel (INTC). How do I know? Because they told us so. As I discussed in my recent article for The Motley Fool (link below), these guys had a pretty low [...]
Hotel Stocks Poised to Outperform in 2009
Just wanted to let everyone know my latest round of ’stock picks’ has been posted live at Investopedia.com’s Community site. None of these picks are going in the actual portfolio - they’re all bigger-picture, thematic ideas, based on the premise that hotel stocks (some, though not all) are likely to be pleasant surprises in 2009.
I [...]
Q1-2009 Small Cap Industry Outlook - Paper and Packaging
This look at the small cap paper/packaging group is another piece of our overall small cap forecast for the first quarter of 2009. If you’d like to review our entire small cap forecast, be sure to see the links below.
After a wave of consolidations, and pain created by sky-rocketing materials costs, paper and packaging stocks [...]
Not Seeing the Secular Forest for the Cyclical Trees?
There’s an old saying used to describe the inability to see the bigger-picture simply because there are too many other nearby distractions….”You can’t see the forest for the trees.” I have to wonder if the recent obsession with determining fundamental values, finding the bottom, and dealing with economic Armageddon has let us lose sight of [...]
