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Monthly Archives: January 2011

Investing New Years’ Resolutions

January 7, 2011
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Investing New Years’ Resolutions

There are many things I enjoy about the stock market, and one of them is the fact that the slate is wiped clean at the start of every year.  In a way, it’s like a sport-there’s a big scoreboard that, at the end of the day, is how we measure our performance.  Once the game is over, it’s on to the next one.  There’s no carryover effect. In other words, it doesn’t matter how you did last year in the stock market-whether you made 50% or lost 10%, that performance really has no bearing on how you’ll do in...

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Two Staffing Stocks to Consider

January 6, 2011
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For my stock idea in this Wealth Advisory, I’m actually going to go with two ideas, both from the same industry … staffing.    That’s right-despite all the talk of our jobs recession, I think there’s a good shot that the job market is going to pickup in a big way during 2011.  And that view is bolstered by the action of some of the top stocks in the group. In particular, I like both Monster Worldwide (MWW), operator of the Monster.com job search site (it’s become a huge global brand), and Korn/Ferry (KFY), which is more on the executive...

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Oil States International: The Best Stock to Buy Now

January 5, 2011
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Last week’s New York Times had an interesting column by John Tierney, recounting the result of a five-year bet with Mathew R. Simmons, author of the book Twilight in the Desert; The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. In brief, five years ago, Mr. Simmons bet Mr. Tierney that over the course of 2010, oil prices would average at least $200 a barrel in 2005 dollars … up from $65 a barrel in 2005. Mr. Tierney took the other side of the bet, not because he had any particular knowledge of the oil industry, but because he...

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5 Reasons for Optimism

January 4, 2011
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5 Reasons for Optimism

For my first column of the New Year, I want to lead with a quick broad reminder of why, despite all the problems the media bombard you with daily, there are great reasons for optimism. 1. Americans are beginning to understand the enormity of the problem posed by our high levels of debt—a problem recognized is a problem half-solved—and they’re beginning to take steps to solve it. On the individual level, people are saving for major purchases, instead of just buying them on credit. At the state level, even the governors of both New York and Massachusetts—typically tax-and-spend Democrats—are...

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20 Investing Rules for 2011

January 3, 2011
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20 Investing Rules for 2011

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, I’m going to share some of Cabot’s top tips, tricks and tools that you can use in 2011 to become a better investor. These aren’t resolutions exactly, but more like rules and tools to keep in mind when investing. 1. Cut losses short (definitely rule #1 for growth stock investing). 2.  Search for strong sales and earnings growth (especially triple-digit sales growth). 3.  Search for revolutionary products with major benefits. First Solar and Crocs filled the bill in 2007 and were our two biggest winners.  This year we’ve benefited from Green Mountain...

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