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Monthly Archives: February 2009

American Italian Pasta: A Strong Stock Today

February 17, 2009
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American Italian Pasta: A Strong Stock Today

Not all market leaders will have revolutionary products or services. Throughout market history, in fact, one out of every four big winners has been a turnaround story, a firm that fell on hard times but has rebounded in a big way. So in this post, I’m going to write about the largest pasta maker in the U.S. Exciting? No. But is the stock one of the strongest in the market? Absolutely! I’m talking about American Italian Pasta (AIPC), a little-known firm that–believe it or not–has some good reasons to be strong, as I explained in Cabot Top Ten Report...

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25 Investing Rules, Tips and Books

February 16, 2009
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By now you may have heard of the “25 Random Things” phenomenon that has swept Facebook and been written about in The News York Times, CNN and the Wall Street Journal. The idea is not new; it takes a page from the old chain letters that circulated on the Internet in its early days, but it has really taken off. The concept is that your friends write 25 things about themselves that they then send to you in hope of learning 25 things about you. Some have used this as a forum to spill their guts, while others have...

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Get Broad Exposure to the Chinese Market with FXI

February 15, 2009
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Get Broad Exposure to the Chinese Market with FXI

My investment idea today is more of a macro play than I usually recommend.  It’s an exchange-traded fund called iShares FTSI/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI).  The name is a mouthful, so I’ll just keep calling it FXI. Flash Player 9 or higher is required to view the chart Click here to download Flash Player now View the full fxi chart at Wikinvest The FXI follows the Dow Jones Industrial Average of China, representing the performance of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese stocks that trade here in the U.S.  As such, it serves as a snapshot of...

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Markets are Never Wrong; Opinions Are

February 14, 2009
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Well, it’s nearly official–the House and Senate have come together and compromised on a $790 billion stimulus package, one that has plenty of support for state budgets, infrastructure spending, middle-class tax cuts and more (including some pork).  Let’s all hope it can help the economy get back into gear. What do I think of the deal?  Honestly, I’m not overly impressed, the reason relates to a quote I heard from Ed Yardeni, a good economist in my book (is good economist an oxymoron?), one who has a pretty decent history of pointing out longer-term trends.  I remember him being...

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Brinks: Customers For Life

February 13, 2009
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Brinks: Customers For Life

I read a large part of “Fourth Turning” (which I discussed in yesterday’s post) in the St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands airport on Monday afternoon, while waiting for a flight home.  All around me were TV sets showing President Obama speaking to a crowd in Elkhart, Indiana, intruding on my consciousness.  I tuned them out with an iPod and the book.  That same evening Obama spoke again, and I read his words the next morning, reflecting all the while on how exactly his talk of crisis and catastrophe fit into the book’s projections. And now, three days later, as...

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