by Shah Gilani
Big banks turned in a pretty stellar first quarter. All but one beat profits expectations. But as I told you last week, I'm now out of these stocks completely.
Do you want the truth about what shape banks are in right now? Sure you can handle it?
I'm sorry; I can't tell you the truth.
Regulators can't tell you the truth.
And the Federal Reserve won't tell you the truth.
No one can tell you the truth. That's because banks don't tell the truth. And neither does the Federal Reserve.
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On Apr 17, we downgraded the world’s largest wine company, Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ), to Neutral following a weak bottom-line performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Moreover, the stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Why Neutral? A fall in the Zacks Consensus Estimate was witnessed after the company reported dismal bottom-line […]
In places where energy supplies face the most pronounced crunch, they need to integrate energy sources in a more seamless manner.
It's a no-brainer and one element in the "new energy balance" that I have discussed over the past year.
This balance is less about finding a silver bullet (a breakthrough technology) than about finding a more efficient way to combine existing sources.
As this balance works itself out – sculptured by necessity, profit, competition, and innovation -more segmented sources of energy, each satisfying a portion of required demand, will come online.
Instead of looking for a replacement for crude oil, we must find a better way to integrate the entire energy spectrum to satisfy this new energy balance.
The most basic part of this is an ability to exchange energy sources, thereby enabling users to offset supply problems or availability considerations by rapidly exchanging sources. Certainly, some bottlenecks will exist in this process, and, in some cases, the balance remains elusive.
But where the process is already underway, there's a great opportunity for investors.
by David Zeiler
While most Americans may feel overworked and underpaid, the steady climb of CEO pay has ensured that chief executives most assuredly are neither. According to data compiled by the AFL-CIO, the average CEO pay at 327 of the nation's biggest companies reached $12.3 million when you include salaries, bonuses, perks, stock awards, stock options and […]
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While many look to Warren Buffett's holdings to find the best stocks to buy, it turns out his holdings' rivals could be the better picks.
Buffett is known not only for value investing, but also buying shares only of companies that operate in prosaic, easy-to-understand businesses. That's why the holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) are spectacular.
But in this look at how to find more stocks to buy that deliver – and even beat – the gains of Buffett's most popular holdings, some of the best bets could be companies that share a market with Berkshire's big winners.
Take a look.
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by Diane Alter
Wondering if now's the time to buy gold and silver? Wonder no more. Let me explain.
As a collector of both precious metals, like many, I planned on loading up in the wake of recent price declines. But guess what? My usual dealers were out of gold and silver.
Thanks to the selloff, a buying frenzy for bullion has crashed websites, jammed phone lines and depleted inventory.
"Our website was overloaded for the first time ever Friday and Monday. Every phone line was lit up. We did seven times our normal volume," Jake Haugen, VP of sales for Texas-based Provident Metals, told Money Morning.
You see, with gold on track to log its fourth weekly decline and silver headed for the worst week in about 19 months, bargain hunting abounded.
Declines in gold and silver prices began last Thursday and accelerated Monday when gold plunged $140.40, or 9.4%, to $1,360.90 an ounce, marking its biggest one-day decline in 30 years. Since its 2011 high of nearly $1,900 an ounce, gold has tumbled 28%.
Silver slumped $2.97, or 11.3%, Monday to $23.36 an ounce, well off its 1980 record high of $49.45.
As recently as last year, investors like me were paying more than $1,700 per ounce for gold and $35 per ounce for silver.
To continue reading, please click here...
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The recent selloff in metals has made some opportunities for investors to scoop up stocks to buy at record discounts, and it's not just in gold and silver-related plays.
Although it is not as heavily traded as the shinier metals or treated as a safe haven asset, copper has also been slipping.
Copper prices recently fell to a 17-month low as more efficient mining practices has increased supply and demand has slowed. According to the Bureau of Metal Statistics copper supply will top demand by 97,000 tons in 2013.
The rise in the dollar has also pressured prices as copper is priced and traded in dollars.
This has caused a price plunge in copper-related stocks, giving some huge upside potential.
In fact, this tumble may be creating a huge opportunity in a special situation stock that is owned by some of the world's most successful investors. It's a chance to own a company with large reserves of copper that are worth far more than the current stock price.
To continue reading, please click here…
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Associated Banc-Corp’s (ASBC) first-quarter 2013 earnings came in at 27 cents per share, marginally surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents. This also compares favorably with the year-ago earnings of 24 cents. On a year-over-year basis, a reduction in top line was more than offset by a fall in operating expenses. Moreover, improved asset […]
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Pool Corp.'s (POOL) first-quarter 2013 earnings per share of 7 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.7% but were 12.5% lower than the year-ago level. The year-over-year decline in the bottom line was mainly due to muted top-line growth and lower gross margin. Net sales in the reported quarter increased only 2% year over year […]
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Alliance Data Systems Corporation (ADS) reported adjusted earnings of $2.55 per share for first quarter 2013, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.43. Results augmented approximately 7% year over year. Including stock compensation expenses of $13 million, amortization of purchased intangibles of $33.3 million, non-cash interest expense of $27.3 million, non-cash mark-to-market gain on […]
