Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie “Hatari!” The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a recently plowed field rather than take the long way back to the road. The tires made slow and steady progress — Dad’s old Rover is a tank — and after a few minutes and probably five gallons of gasoline, the nose of the vehicle bounced up and the tires bit into the country… Read More

Years ago, my dad and I were driving across his farm in his vintage Land Rover, which looks almost exactly like the one John Wayne used in the movie “Hatari!” The heavy-duty off-road tires were having a hard slog through the mud. Dad had cut across a recently plowed field rather than take the long way back to the road. The tires made slow and steady progress — Dad’s old Rover is a tank — and after a few minutes and probably five gallons of gasoline, the nose of the vehicle bounced up and the tires bit into the country lane that circles the property. #-ad_banner-#Dad, clearly pleased with himself for conquering the field, didn’t take his foot off the gas and we were soon going nearly 70 miles per hour down a country road with grass in the middle of it. He looked over to me and grinned. “That’s what happens, son,” he said, “when the rubber meets the road!” It became a sort of catch phrase between us. Whenever something really took off, one of us would say, “Well, looks like the rubber met the road,” and we’d both… Read More

As spring morphs into summer, many stocks are starting to move sideways. The summer doldrums often spell lackluster demand for stocks — unless they are really deep value plays. Value investors will wade in, even when most other buyers take a break. These folks tend to rummage through the waste basket, looking for discarded stocks that have been tossed out by the crowd. Value investors love to focus on two key points: stocks that are well off of their 52-week high and sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios well below the market… Read More

As spring morphs into summer, many stocks are starting to move sideways. The summer doldrums often spell lackluster demand for stocks — unless they are really deep value plays. Value investors will wade in, even when most other buyers take a break. These folks tend to rummage through the waste basket, looking for discarded stocks that have been tossed out by the crowd. Value investors love to focus on two key points: stocks that are well off of their 52-week high and sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios well below the market average. Many of the names they’ll encounter are in the table below. The table holds four names that I’ve mentioned in the past, each of which looks quite appealing if you can ride out the problems of 2011.   1. Central European Distribution (Nasdaq: CEDC) This purveyor of wine and spirits is glad to be looking ahead and not behind. The last six quarters have been an exercise in frustration as Russian authorities threatened to revoke its licenses, key rivals started price wars, its bonds were downgraded, and wheat, rye and other… Read More

In early 2008, falling home prices and a declining stock market caused consumer spending to plummet. This lasted for about 18 months. But soon consumers started to realize that the economy wasn’t going to remain in freefall forever. Today, the retailing industry has recovered quickly, is on much more solid footing, and certain players are set for a big move forward in terms of sales and earnings. In 2011, higher food, fuel and commodity costs are keeping consumers focused on more basic necessities, including food, gas and… Read More

In early 2008, falling home prices and a declining stock market caused consumer spending to plummet. This lasted for about 18 months. But soon consumers started to realize that the economy wasn’t going to remain in freefall forever. Today, the retailing industry has recovered quickly, is on much more solid footing, and certain players are set for a big move forward in terms of sales and earnings. In 2011, higher food, fuel and commodity costs are keeping consumers focused on more basic necessities, including food, gas and clothing. But the fact that demand has recovered from the recession a couple of years ago means customers are again paying up for more fashionable and pricey merchandise. Near term, gas prices have already moderated recently, and the consumer spending climate is likely to continue to improve in the next couple of years along with the overall economy. With that, below are three retailers that offer a decent combination of fashionable merchandise but also focus on selling products that consumers will need no… Read More

There’s nothing like being punished twice for something, which is sort of what happened to one big technology firm recently. On May 16, the company’s stock fell nearly 5% ahead of a scheduled earnings report, thanks to a leaked internal memo from the CEO forewarning of a tough third quarter. The CEO’s concerns officially became public the following day, and the stock resumed its slide for a total loss of about 10% since the initial leak. Sound familiar? I’m describing the latest of several recent setbacks suffered by the world’s No. 1 PC… Read More

There’s nothing like being punished twice for something, which is sort of what happened to one big technology firm recently. On May 16, the company’s stock fell nearly 5% ahead of a scheduled earnings report, thanks to a leaked internal memo from the CEO forewarning of a tough third quarter. The CEO’s concerns officially became public the following day, and the stock resumed its slide for a total loss of about 10% since the initial leak. Sound familiar? I’m describing the latest of several recent setbacks suffered by the world’s No. 1 PC maker, Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE: HPQ).  Two straight quarters of reduced full-year earnings guidance from management have also weighed on HP. The bad news hit before the stock even had a chance to fully recover from the scandal last August in which prior CEO Mark Hurd abruptly resigned amidst allegations of sexual harassment — a situation that led to the replacement of a third of HP’s board of directors. Considering these recent troubles and the fact that the PC business in general has been struggling with soft consumer demand, you might assume HP is a stock to avoid. You’d be… Read More

America’s greatest turnaround story looks like it’s stuck in the mud. Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) raced from under $2 in early 2009 to above $18 in early 2011. A move toward the $25 mark started to become the next target for many analysts, myself included. Instead, shares have drifted steadily lower and now trade below $15. Even at that lower level, shares are heavily shorted. Many analysts clearly expect the stock to fall even further, but their logic looks flawed. A… Read More

America’s greatest turnaround story looks like it’s stuck in the mud. Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) raced from under $2 in early 2009 to above $18 in early 2011. A move toward the $25 mark started to become the next target for many analysts, myself included. Instead, shares have drifted steadily lower and now trade below $15. Even at that lower level, shares are heavily shorted. Many analysts clearly expect the stock to fall even further, but their logic looks flawed. A commodity drag After losing a cumulative $7.5 billion in 2008 and 2009, Ford earned a hefty $6.7 billion ($1.91 a share) in 2010. By late last year, analysts started to wonder if $2.50 a share or even $3 a share in profits might be possible by 2012. Now a series of headwinds have altered that view. Short sellers increasingly aver that Ford’s profits may actually drop in 2011 and 2012. They note that commodity prices are rising even faster than Ford can increase prices. What these bears are missing… Read More

#-ad_banner-#The challenge for great investors is to do a regular reality-check on each stock you own, assessing whether it still holds value every time it moves up a few points. When shares of Couer D’Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE) started to rally, soon after I recommended it, I noted that a quick upward move was taking place. [See: “The 3 Best Stocks to Own Now”] The silver-mining firm was riding the back of a powerfully rally in the underlying metal. Shares moved up from $22 in mid-January to $35 by mid-April. Read More

#-ad_banner-#The challenge for great investors is to do a regular reality-check on each stock you own, assessing whether it still holds value every time it moves up a few points. When shares of Couer D’Alene Mines (NYSE: CDE) started to rally, soon after I recommended it, I noted that a quick upward move was taking place. [See: “The 3 Best Stocks to Own Now”] The silver-mining firm was riding the back of a powerfully rally in the underlying metal. Shares moved up from $22 in mid-January to $35 by mid-April. The 60% gain in just two months gave me pause, especially as the precious metal itself was showing all the signs of a manic buying spree that would end badly. The logical move then was to take profits, as I suggested in April. But it’s time to shift course yet again. Those who missed out on the 60% upward move have just been given a second chance, though this move could take many quarters to play out. Most importantly, Couer D’Alene doesn’t need to ride the back of another powerful silver rally — it needs to simply… Read More

It’s been tough sledding for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has dropped at least 100 points on four separate trading days so far in May, bringing a wide array of stocks down from recent highs. Lost in the negative price action is… Read More

You’ve heard a lot of talk about gold lately — and for good reason. Gold is loved as a hedge against economic uncertainty. And given the unsteady dollar and ripe conditions for runaway inflation, it’s no surprise gold… Read More

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) released its latest 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, May 16, to detail its stock portfolio holdings as of the end of the first quarter. The release is highly-anticipated each quarter and, though the first quarter ended more than six weeks ago, it offers the timeliest way to see which stocks Warren Buffett bought, sold or held during the 12-week period. The latest twist at Berkshire is that Warren Buffett hired 39 year-old Todd Combs from CastlePoint Capital Management back… Read More

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) released its latest 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, May 16, to detail its stock portfolio holdings as of the end of the first quarter. The release is highly-anticipated each quarter and, though the first quarter ended more than six weeks ago, it offers the timeliest way to see which stocks Warren Buffett bought, sold or held during the 12-week period. The latest twist at Berkshire is that Warren Buffett hired 39 year-old Todd Combs from CastlePoint Capital Management back in October 2010 to help him manage Berkshire’s $53.6 billion portfolio. As such, this represented the first full quarter in which Combs’ picks will be commingled with Buffett’s. Previously, Lou Simpson from Berkshire insurance subsidiary Geico had picks that showed up in Berkshire’s quarterly filing, but Simpson retired in August 2010 at the age of 73. #-ad_banner-#Only three stock trades took place during Berkshire’s first quarter. The first consisted of a sale of integrated energy firm ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), which Buffett has been steadily selling off over since an admitted bad call on his part when he… Read More

When analysts received word on March 30 that Medicare would cover Dendreon’s (Nasdaq: DNDN) pricey drug Provenge, used to treat prostate cancer, shares of the drug maker steadily rose from $35 to $43 in just one month. Read More