May 2008
3 Stocks That Can Make You Rich
05/25/08 Categories: Stock Investing and
Investments
Everyone wonders what will happen to
their portfolio during these uncertain times. Should I sell off and
sit on the sidelines with cash? Should I start buying stocks now
for when the economy picks back up? Or should I wait it out and
see?
The latter is probably only a good idea when you are focused on a longer term horizon. Waiting and holding will almost always payoff if you are looking 15 to 20 years into the future. Sitting on the sidelines with cash is a safe but cautious approach. Many investors are doing just this and are completely fine with no return.
100% Free Stock Trade. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community.
If you want returns, and substantial returns at that, you must seek out the best investments for the near to mid-term future. These stocks you want to hold for 2-5 years, and you can hold them for longer if they are still fundamentally strong after 5 years.
Here are 3 Stocks That Can Make You Rich:
1. General Electric (GE)- GE recently posted lower than expected earnings which Jeff Immelt mostly blamed on the current economic status and troubles with GE's financial business segments. This is more than likely a cyclical price decline, and the stock could realistically bring you 15% returns by the end of 2008. Also, CEO Jeff Immelt is under the gun for the next couple of quarters to perform or he could be ousted. Either way, if Immelt improves the company improves, and if he gets fired then the new CEO has a good chance of bringing more to GE's bottom line. Another great part of GE is the alternative energy pipeline, a part of the Eco-magination realm. GE has invested billions into alternative energy production including wind turbines, which will become increasingly significant for energy independence and sustainablility. It's a win-win.
2. Merrill Lynch (MER)- Although the financials will probably not come back to 2006-2007 values until well into 2009, that allows for a lot of buying up of financial stocks for you and institutional investors. Merrill Lynch is fundamentally sound. They will probably come up as a top performer in the next 2-3 years allowing the stock to double or more. Mother Merrill won't fail you, especially if you are looking further than just 2008.
3. PetroBras (PBR)- CNBC has been talking about PetroBras a lot lately and about the massive oil field discovery they had recently. PBR has been an emerging market favorite for years. William Landers' Blackrock Latin America Fund (MDLTX), which I discussed in The Five Best Mutual Funds, has taken a large share of the Brazilian oil company. It is now the 5th largest company in the world, and they could also be sitting on the world's largest oil field. The great thing about PBR as an investment is that it will continue to highly perform for the next 5+ years. The reason for this is while they are currently producing a large portion of world oil, it will probably take 5 or more years to fully utilize the recent discovery. This ensures future profits for PetroBras.
Why Invest in Stocks?Find Out On Zecco.com Free Blogs, Forums & Trade.
www.zecco.com
Browse Travel by Destination at Luxury Link
The latter is probably only a good idea when you are focused on a longer term horizon. Waiting and holding will almost always payoff if you are looking 15 to 20 years into the future. Sitting on the sidelines with cash is a safe but cautious approach. Many investors are doing just this and are completely fine with no return.
100% Free Stock Trade. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community.
If you want returns, and substantial returns at that, you must seek out the best investments for the near to mid-term future. These stocks you want to hold for 2-5 years, and you can hold them for longer if they are still fundamentally strong after 5 years.
Here are 3 Stocks That Can Make You Rich:
1. General Electric (GE)- GE recently posted lower than expected earnings which Jeff Immelt mostly blamed on the current economic status and troubles with GE's financial business segments. This is more than likely a cyclical price decline, and the stock could realistically bring you 15% returns by the end of 2008. Also, CEO Jeff Immelt is under the gun for the next couple of quarters to perform or he could be ousted. Either way, if Immelt improves the company improves, and if he gets fired then the new CEO has a good chance of bringing more to GE's bottom line. Another great part of GE is the alternative energy pipeline, a part of the Eco-magination realm. GE has invested billions into alternative energy production including wind turbines, which will become increasingly significant for energy independence and sustainablility. It's a win-win.
2. Merrill Lynch (MER)- Although the financials will probably not come back to 2006-2007 values until well into 2009, that allows for a lot of buying up of financial stocks for you and institutional investors. Merrill Lynch is fundamentally sound. They will probably come up as a top performer in the next 2-3 years allowing the stock to double or more. Mother Merrill won't fail you, especially if you are looking further than just 2008.
3. PetroBras (PBR)- CNBC has been talking about PetroBras a lot lately and about the massive oil field discovery they had recently. PBR has been an emerging market favorite for years. William Landers' Blackrock Latin America Fund (MDLTX), which I discussed in The Five Best Mutual Funds, has taken a large share of the Brazilian oil company. It is now the 5th largest company in the world, and they could also be sitting on the world's largest oil field. The great thing about PBR as an investment is that it will continue to highly perform for the next 5+ years. The reason for this is while they are currently producing a large portion of world oil, it will probably take 5 or more years to fully utilize the recent discovery. This ensures future profits for PetroBras.
Why Invest in Stocks?Find Out On Zecco.com Free Blogs, Forums & Trade.
www.zecco.com
Browse Travel by Destination at Luxury Link
When to Buy a House
05/19/08 Categories: Real
Estate
The news channels and newspapers are
always telling us how bad the housing market is. They say it just
keeps getting worse, but the chief economist of the National
Association of Realtors says that the housing market is not going
to get worse. Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief Economist, states that
there are many reasons for people to get into the housing market
and very few reasons not to.
Whether you are an investor or just want to buy a home, Yun makes it clear that most of the fallout in prices is over, and he believes home prices will pickup in the second half of 2008. He says that subprime lending has largely "dried up," and those subprime loans are what sparked this downturn. With the lack of subprime loan originations, current foreclosures, low interest rates, and a high inventory; a perfect investing field has been created.
An ultimate buyer's market has arrived. Yun notes that Cape Coral, FL., Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, FL, and Orlando, FL., Phoenix, and Riverside, CA have had some of the largest price reductions in the country. The reason for this is that these particular cities had large numbers of subprime mortgages. The slashed prices make a great entry point for investing in real estate.
This is a lesson in value investing; the market has undervalued homes, and investors/ home buyers can make a safe investment by getting in while prices are low. It is not much different than buying an undervalued stock. If you could buy Apple (AAPL) at $115 today and you knew that in the next few years it would be at or above $200, would you buy it?
Some deals out there are even more attractive than that. In Orlando, there are $350,000-$500,000 homes that have been reduced $150,000-$200,000! Have your real estate agent find you a good deal; they have the information to tell how good of an investment a certain property may be. Prices may be picking up already in some areas, so if you try to wait it out and see if prices will fall any more, you may miss the best prices for a long, long time.
Whether you are an investor or just want to buy a home, Yun makes it clear that most of the fallout in prices is over, and he believes home prices will pickup in the second half of 2008. He says that subprime lending has largely "dried up," and those subprime loans are what sparked this downturn. With the lack of subprime loan originations, current foreclosures, low interest rates, and a high inventory; a perfect investing field has been created.
An ultimate buyer's market has arrived. Yun notes that Cape Coral, FL., Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, FL, and Orlando, FL., Phoenix, and Riverside, CA have had some of the largest price reductions in the country. The reason for this is that these particular cities had large numbers of subprime mortgages. The slashed prices make a great entry point for investing in real estate.
This is a lesson in value investing; the market has undervalued homes, and investors/ home buyers can make a safe investment by getting in while prices are low. It is not much different than buying an undervalued stock. If you could buy Apple (AAPL) at $115 today and you knew that in the next few years it would be at or above $200, would you buy it?
Some deals out there are even more attractive than that. In Orlando, there are $350,000-$500,000 homes that have been reduced $150,000-$200,000! Have your real estate agent find you a good deal; they have the information to tell how good of an investment a certain property may be. Prices may be picking up already in some areas, so if you try to wait it out and see if prices will fall any more, you may miss the best prices for a long, long time.
Weak Dollar is Good for These Stocks
05/15/08 Categories: Stock Investing and
Investments
Living in Orlando I have noticed
something; there are more Europeans than ever at the tourist
attractions. It's noticeable just by walking around at Universal's
CityWalk and Downtown Disney (both shopping and entertainment areas
when tourists are not at the theme parks). If you have been
following Disney, they just reported very good earnings. That is no
coincidence.
How can you capitalize on the tourist influx? Go to the two main theme park stocks Disney (DIS) and NBC Universal which is owned by General Electric (GE). Both companies have outstanding underlying companies and tend to be less affected by recessions. Although they will both benefit from this tourism effect, Disney will benefit more from it simply because theme park revenue is a much larger percent of company revenue for Disney than it is for GE.
I would recommend buying both of these stocks even if there wasn't a weak-dollar effect, it just makes those stocks look that much more valuable.
Pictures courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.
Browse Travel by Destination at Luxury Link
How can you capitalize on the tourist influx? Go to the two main theme park stocks Disney (DIS) and NBC Universal which is owned by General Electric (GE). Both companies have outstanding underlying companies and tend to be less affected by recessions. Although they will both benefit from this tourism effect, Disney will benefit more from it simply because theme park revenue is a much larger percent of company revenue for Disney than it is for GE.
I would recommend buying both of these stocks even if there wasn't a weak-dollar effect, it just makes those stocks look that much more valuable.
Pictures courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.
Browse Travel by Destination at Luxury Link
A Vital Stock Trading Secret
05/06/08 Categories: Stock Investing and
Investments
If you dabble in trading, or even if
all you do is trade. This is the article for you.
Traders are always trying to find the next big wave or trend, but how can you make money by speculating when and what will boom? Why not just trade something that has certainty? You can make a lot of money on something you are more confident in, and you can lose a lot of money betting on something you have no idea if it will really take off.
The stock discussed here is (CME) the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or more recently the CME Group. The CME is a trade execution and clearing company for mostly derivatives such as options, futures, interest rate futures, real estate, and more. What makes CME special is that the volatility is close to 4.26x the volatility of Proctor and Gamble (PG). In other words it is quite a bit more wild than PG. Why would you want to touch something so volatile though?
The volatility in CME is what will make money. About a week ago I bought CME at $466 and it is now hovering close to $500. That may not sound like a huge gain, but with leverage through margin or options, that can mean a nice chunk of change in your pocket. Without leverage it is a good trade, with leverage it is a great trade. The key is knowing that the stock will move.
For the past 3 months, CME has stayed mostly in the $450-$530 range. Every time it goes down to below $470 is a good time to buy until it goes above $500. It also works on the short side; when CME hits $520 it can definitely be shorted until below $480. Be careful on shorting, because CME has been low compared to the past year and has been given analyst estimates of $631 in 12 months, so don't short it for too long.
On top of the technical-type factors, derivatives are growing in popularity and trading volume. That goes directly to their bottom line. Derivatives exchanges will not slow down or stop any time soon, just as stock exchanges have not slowed or stopped since they began. CME just bought the NYMEX (NMX) which owns the New York Mercantile Exchange. NMX is another clearing and trade execution company that will greatly enhance the value of CME for years to come.
CME will continue being volatile because that is the nature of the CME, so as long as you get in at the right point you can expect some great returns on this stock.
Bottom Line: When you trade a strategy that you are confident in, stick to it, don't deviate from it, and exit when it no longer makes you money.
Why Invest in Stocks?Find Out On Zecco.com Free Blogs, Forums & Trade.
www.zecco.com
Traders are always trying to find the next big wave or trend, but how can you make money by speculating when and what will boom? Why not just trade something that has certainty? You can make a lot of money on something you are more confident in, and you can lose a lot of money betting on something you have no idea if it will really take off.
The stock discussed here is (CME) the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or more recently the CME Group. The CME is a trade execution and clearing company for mostly derivatives such as options, futures, interest rate futures, real estate, and more. What makes CME special is that the volatility is close to 4.26x the volatility of Proctor and Gamble (PG). In other words it is quite a bit more wild than PG. Why would you want to touch something so volatile though?
The volatility in CME is what will make money. About a week ago I bought CME at $466 and it is now hovering close to $500. That may not sound like a huge gain, but with leverage through margin or options, that can mean a nice chunk of change in your pocket. Without leverage it is a good trade, with leverage it is a great trade. The key is knowing that the stock will move.
For the past 3 months, CME has stayed mostly in the $450-$530 range. Every time it goes down to below $470 is a good time to buy until it goes above $500. It also works on the short side; when CME hits $520 it can definitely be shorted until below $480. Be careful on shorting, because CME has been low compared to the past year and has been given analyst estimates of $631 in 12 months, so don't short it for too long.
On top of the technical-type factors, derivatives are growing in popularity and trading volume. That goes directly to their bottom line. Derivatives exchanges will not slow down or stop any time soon, just as stock exchanges have not slowed or stopped since they began. CME just bought the NYMEX (NMX) which owns the New York Mercantile Exchange. NMX is another clearing and trade execution company that will greatly enhance the value of CME for years to come.
CME will continue being volatile because that is the nature of the CME, so as long as you get in at the right point you can expect some great returns on this stock.
Bottom Line: When you trade a strategy that you are confident in, stick to it, don't deviate from it, and exit when it no longer makes you money.
Why Invest in Stocks?Find Out On Zecco.com Free Blogs, Forums & Trade.
www.zecco.com
