My investment idea for today is a stock that used to be in the portfolio of the Cabot China & Emerging Markets Report before it fell off the earnings wagon. It’s Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLX), a company with headquarters and R&D facilities in California, and manufacturing in China and Malaysia. The company’s specialty is flexible circuits, the kind that connect the two halves of clamshell cell phones. Multi-Fineline’s circuits are also found in hand-held scanners, and an increasing number of small electronic devices. By putting a high density of features on a thin, flexible substrate, the company’s circuits allow devices to become even smaller.
Flash Player 9 or higher is required to view the chart Click here to download Flash Player nowMFLX was a great stock back in 2005, but it started a hard fall in 2006, dropping from 67 in March to 10 in August 2007, as earnings shrank. After a recovery to 29 in mid-2008, the bear stomped on the stock and it plummeted to 7 in November. Since then, the stock has made a stunning recovery, soaring for 10 straight weeks to near 20.
Q3 earnings featured a 467% jump in earnings on just a 28% boost in revenues. Q4 results will come out on February 5, and investors are obviously anticipating good news.
You make a valid point about the differences in living costs. However, I’m not enthusiastic about tax cuts at all. They may not get spent. Only a small portion of the last tax rebate was spent.
How about a national gift card with an expiration date of six months or so? The card would be issued to all regardless of income and spent for any purpose within the time prescribed time limit. The idea was inspired by comments made by Martin Feldstein, although it was not his proposal.