Archives for March 2010

March 2010 - Page 2 of 11 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

Money Morning's Fitz-Gerald to Appear Tomorrow on the Fox's Varney & Co.

Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald will appear as a guest on Fox's Varney & Co. program tomorrow (Tuesday), the second time this week that the well-known investment expert has appeared on the Fox Business Network.

Fitz-Gerald, a best-selling author and noted China expert, is scheduled to appear on Varney & Co. from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. (EDT) tomorrow. He was a guest on the Fox Business early morning show for two hours this morning (Monday).

Read More…

The Bull Market is Intact and On the Move

Bears have been scratching for a vulnerable spot in the bulls' narrative in the past few weeks, but have been coming up empty, as they logged a blistering March.

Sellers tried to sink the market back in February as the long-simmering Greek debt fiasco roared into the headlines, but that didn't work out so hot for them. And early last week they tried again by both highlighting new reports of discord between the European Monetary Union authorities and Greece, and by flogging the news of a Fitch Ratings Inc. downgrade of Portuguese debt.

At some point, portfolio managers outside of Europe may decide that they care about these matters but for now there has been what you might call a Gallic shrug. Tant pis, as the French say.

Read More…

Money Morning Mailbag: A Look at the Past Shows Us the Profit Opportunities Now Headed Our Way

Question: Recently, several readers have questioned the significance of the removal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, the current financial meltdowns and the similarities between now and the short period leading up to the Great Crash of 1929. In my readings a number of years ago, I came upon the testimony of Mr. Robert Kuttner, who appeared before the U.S. Committee on Financial Services on Oct. 2, 2007. Would you consider reviewing that testimony and sharing your thoughts with our readers?

– Michael R. Scott

Answer: Thank you for pointing me to Robert Kuttner's October 2007 testimony (which readers can access by clicking here.)

Read More…

Buy, Sell or Hold: Bank on the Broadband Revolution with EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC)

Major fund managers on Wall Street continue to be very cautious and underestimate certain key trends – one of which they have yet to even catch on to.

In the last few weeks, I recommended you to invest in a number of companies that are linked to this underestimated trend: The broadband explosion.

In fact, we got into Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) before that company unveiled its new "super-router." I also recommended buying other beneficiaries of the broadband trend, including Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) and JDS Uniphase Corp. (Nasdaq: JDSU). Today, we continue diversifying into other beneficiaries with a very strong player: EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC).

Read More…

Indonesia Catching China's Eye

It's an open secret that Indonesia's economy is on the rise. In the spirit of March Madness, it's something of a sleeper.  That's why China, which is always looking for promising new investments, is looking to make inroads there.

Indeed, China's appetite for commodities makes Indonesia – with its close proximity and abundance of natural resources – an ideal partner.

PetroChina Co. Ltd. (NYSE ADR: PTR), Sinopec, Sinosteel, Minmetals and China Investment Corp (CIC) – Beijing's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund – are all aggressively scouring South East Asia's largest economy for takeover targets and joint venture partners, the Live Trading News reported.

Read More…

Money Morning's Fitz-Gerald Set to Appear Twice on Fox Business

Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald is scheduled to make two appearances on the Fox Business Network early next week.

Fitz-Gerald, a best-selling author and noted China expert, is scheduled to appear on the Fox Business early morning show on Monday, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. (EDT).

He is then scheduled to be a guest on Fox's Varney & Co. program on Tuesday, from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. (EDT).

Read More…

Get in on the Ground Floor of This Growing Global Profit Machine

I am enamored with Indonesia.

I've never been there. I've never met anyone from there. And it's not a country we hear much about. But it's the world's third-largest democracy (the current president got more votes than U.S. President Barack Obama). And it's one of the few Muslim countries – along with Turkey – that doesn't hate the United States as a matter of public policy.

And those are just a few of the reasons that it's time to invest in Indonesia.

To see why Indonesia is truly a ground-floor economy, continue reading...

How the Little Guy Will Fix Oil Futures and Get In on the Profits

Sometimes big things come from small meetings.

As an example, consider one particularly contentious 1927 session at the Royal Institute of International Affairs that took place at Chatham House in the center of London's Westminster. It originated an idea now used worldwide – the famous Chatham House Rule. Under its most recent revision (2002), the Rule allows the participants of a meeting to use the information received there, but prohibits them from revealing the identity or affiliation of anyone else present.

The Chatham Rule also governed the meetings I attended at Windsor Castle outside London from a recent Friday through to the early-morning hours of the following Monday. These meetings were the annual consultations of the Queen's Windsor Energy Group, which were meant to be private, high-level, discretionary advisories. This is one of the few "old boys" clubs left in the world where talk can translate directly into action.

Read More…

Healthcare Reform Losers: Companies Providing Retiree Benefits Face Multi-Million Dollar Tax Costs

After sending letters of protest to Congress in the months prior to the healthcare law's approval, U.S. companies are now facing multi-million dollar after-tax hits this year due to a tax provision in the new legislation, labeling them healthcare reform losers instead of winners.

Part of the new healthcare law places a federal income tax on government subsidies given to companies that provide retirees and their spouses with drug benefit plans. The 28% subsidy was created as Medicare Part D, adding a prescription plan for senior citizens to the Medicare Act of 2003. To encourage companies to continue offering retirees a drug plan, the tax-free subsidy reduced companies' costs. Fewer senior citizens then went through Medicare's prescription program – which would have cost taxpayers much more than the subsidy price.

Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) and Deere & Company (NSYE: DE) are just two of the businesses that fought the new stipulations. The manufacturers estimate the tax will cost them $100 million and $150 million this year, respectively. Other companies who will pay handsomely include AK Steel Corp. (NYSE: AKS) with $31 million in charges, and Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) with an estimated fee of $42 million.

Consulting firm Towers Watson & Co. (NYSE: TW) estimates these taxes could cost companies about $233 per person receiving drug benefits – a hefty price tag when a company gives benefits to 40,000 retirees, like Caterpillar.

Overall, more than 3,500 companies offer drug benefits to 6.3 million retirees. Although the tax won't be effective until 2011, accounting practices force companies to recognize the fees in the period in which the law is signed. That means the tax could nab $14 billion from corporate profits in a year when companies were hoping to recover from huge losses during the recession.

Read More…