(stocksavenue.com) 2-July-2009. Below are some selection of stocks to watch for today. These stocks were selected based on some recent news or events that happened which could play a major role of the near future stock price direction.
(stocksavenue.com) 29-June-2009. Below are some selection of stocks to watch for today. These stocks were selected based on some recent news or events that happened which could play a major role of the near future stock price direction.
Airtime: Wed. Jun. 24 2009 | 6:00 PM ET
CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo discusses the day’s business and financial activity, including the Fed’s decision to stay the course, and looks ahead to tomorrow’s Closing Bell.
(stocksavenue.com) 22-Jun-2009. Some interesting news today was the report that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is to pay out record bonuses after an outstanding first half of the year, according to the Guardian newspaper. Goldman wrapped up its most profitable year ever, the Guardian reported.
This is interesting as Goldman and others took advantage of government money to make record profits and now are paying record bonuses to their employees.
Other news, Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL) new iPhone is selling like hot cakes. This could be a good sign for AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) business.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell today by 2.35% to close at 8339.01 points and the S&P 500 INDEX fell by 3.06% to close at 893.04. Stocks fell broadly on news from the World Bank that the world economy will decline by 2.9% in 2009.
Jun 7th, 2009 (stocksavenue.com) According to Barron’s latest issue, the shares of Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL) could go up as much as 60% more from it’s current levels of $25.05 per share. The insurer company has been cutting back on its risk and focusing on auto and homeowners’ policies, Barron’s says.
“All told, Allstate figures to make a lot of money for years to come, even in the face of any erosion in its market share,” the Barron’s article mentioned.
The article gave a price target of $40 per share for the company in 12 months.
Barron’s article stated that the company’s stock at its current levels of mid twenties is still cheap despite the recent stock market rebound.
Jun 04, 2009 (stocksavenue.com) Today oil prices reached seven months high as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) predicted price target of $85 a barrel on the commodity and predicted a jump to $95 in 2010.
Jim Cramer from thestreet.com does not agree with GS call (video below). We on the other hand continue to see oil companies stocks being attractive at their current prices. We also believe that crude prices are still trading at a low range and that crude should be higher than what it is now by the end of this year.
We have been comfortably trading energy stocks since the beginning of this year and in particular Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO). We think the margin of safety is good as oil is still trading at more than 50% discount from its highs back in 2008.
May 30, 2009 (stocksavenue.com) In two of our old articles (links down below) we have strongly urged investors and readers not to take the risk to invest money in General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM). We have predicted the company’s bankruptcy back in 2008 and cautious investors to stay away. Now and as GM bankruptcy looms around investors might get very bad news on Monday when GM files for chapter 11. The stock value will eventually go down to ZERO and stock holders will lose their shares.
According to bloomberg GM will then split into a “good GM” and a “bad GM,” with the good GM looking to be profitable within 60-90 days. In a change from the previous plan, current shareholders will get nothing.
Before GM’s unsecured creditors get anything, secured lenders will be paid in full, the administration official said. Banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. secured GM’s revolving loan of about $4.5 billion with inventory, receivables and factories, also providing a $1.5 billion term loan.
Read our old articles on GM:
1. Should you buy GM stocks now?
2. With a bailout or without, GM is NOT the stock to buy
(stocksavenue.com)
We also increased our stake in AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), which we consider a defensive stock with good dividend yield, and reduced our stake in Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). We also traded Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG), Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE: MFC), Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE: TSS) and Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN). The first three at a profit of about 25% each and the last two at a profit of about 6% each. All above trades are considered to be short term.
Our new holdings represent a slight change in our strategy. We are moving away from financial stocks as we believe that most financial stocks have rallied enough during the past few months. We also see value in the Utilities sector at this time. Below is a run down summary about our new holdings:
Disclaimer: Please read our Disclaimer page.
In the latest SEC filing, as of March 31 2009, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed new investments in Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Berkshire bought almost 12.4 million shares of Wells Fargo during the first quarter, giving it 302.6 million shares of the San Francisco-based bank. It also added about 1.5 million shares of U.S. Bancorp, giving it 69 million shares.
Berkshire’s bank stock purchases are in line with comments Buffett made at his company’s annual shareholder meeting earlier this month. US Bancorp and Wells Fargo are extremely strong banks, Buffett said, and he’d be willing to invest in them at current prices.
In an on-camera interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick before the Q&A session of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting on May 1st 2009, he told her he did not know how Wells had done in the government’s stress test but that he had done his own test and the bank had passed “with flying colors.”
Buffett: Wells, in terms of its raw material costs, is better situated than any large bank, by some margin. So, it’s built to sustain a lot.
He noted that Wells Fargo shares fell below $9 earlier this year, and that at that price, “If I had (to) put all of my net worth into stock, that would be the stock.” The bank’s shares closed Friday at $19.61
Buffett added that if he wanted to turn Berkshire into a bank holding company, “I would love to buy all of US Bancorp, or I would love to buy all of Wells.”
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) are two of our favorite stocks that we heavily trade here at StocksAvenue. We like both banks and we believe that they are very safe to trade at the right prices.
Buffett Tours Exhibit Hall Before Q&A
