Smart Utilitiy Stocks

I will say that if you are looking for a smart buy yet want to keep it conservative, now is the time to buy a utility. I will recommend Progress Energy (PGN) to start. This stock is close to being at an all time low over 5 years, however it is on the rise again, up from 32.60 low. Last year around this time, PGN was up around 49 a share. Recently Progress Energy has been seeking approval for a 20 year licence renewal for it's Crystal River plant. This would be a great win for the company, being able to provide more green energy for over 35 million customers in Florida.

Another good bet to look at is Excel Energy(XEL) in Minnesota. Yes, I may be a little biased being here in the North Star State, however may I ask you to check this out. There is potential for this stock to keep your investments safe while returning a decent yield. The share price is on the rise again and may hopefully be up more in the near future. Excel Energy has invested in a decent amount of wind energy in the western parts of Minnesota. Wind energy is becoming very popular in the Midwest. Many farmers are leasing their land to wind turbine investors and the return has been great because there is hardly a day without wind in the Midwest.

The Big 3 - What Now

Well, this past week, we have seen the Big 3 take a big hit from congress. Will the new Pres give them a bankruptcy policy, or will they get that 25 billion that they are asking for? I am not sure, however since I work for a company that sells autos online, we are all a little concerned about what might happen. Anyways, here are a couple of articles that I have found interesting from different view points.

Will Obama Bail them out?

Mitt Romney's Thoughts

IMGG

Okay, I said I wasn’t going to buy any stock for awhile, but what the heck.

This stock is only $0.125 per share and if they get FDA approval of their invention, the stock price will shoot up like a rocket. If not, then I lost $125 + $8 trade commission.

Ticker: IMGG.OB

ETFs Rock

Recommendation from DCTAX

Fund: iShares Commodity-Indexed (GSG)

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust debuted at number two on the ETF Momentum Tracker sector ranking last week. GSG was flanked on the table by funds investing in gold and silver and trailed closely by funds investing in the oil industry. Gold, silver and oil are among the 24 commodities in which GSG invests, and each-along with soybeans, wheat and lead-played a role in GSG’s dramatic surge late in 2007. All told, the fund gained an impressive 38.29% for the year ending January 25. GSG slipped back slightly during the first few weeks of the new year, but commodities’ continuing appeal during the recent shake-up in global financial markets allowed the fund to handily outperform broad market indices.

Uncle Cal recommends an ETF called "SPDR"..

Rather than owning Vanguard S&P500 index fund or Fidelity Index 500, you can buy the ETF "SPDR" which is the S&P500 but is traded like a stock..

Blu-ray and the format wars

It appears with Toshiba quitting the HDTV business, as well as the support of several studios, that Blu-ray has become the clear winner in the formatting wars. Wanted to know your thoughts? Is the average consumer ready to spend $400 a pop on a Blu-ray player now that this will be the standard for the next few years, or does this format continue to be meant for the technophile.

Choose To Save

This is a great web site for anyone who is not currently saving at least 10% of their income for RETIREMENT, regardless of how much (or how little) money they think they are making:

http://www.choosetosave.org

It's one thing to save money. It's another thing to save money for retirement (and not for a new couch, flat screen TV, or new car). I used to be one of those people who would save money, only to later spend it on some doodad. I have been healed. I am now a "born again saver".

Choose To Save will help those not saving 10% see the light. Maybe you know a friend or family member who would like of copy of their DVD "Mission Retirement".

Personal Records Guide

I saw this document online and found it to be somewhat useful. I only printed the file pages 5-19 (booklet pages 3-17) of the file because the rest is crap.

You can download it here: http://www.nmfn.com/contentassets/pdfs/guide2.pdf

It basically summarizes all the important financial & legal things in life so you are better organized. It will also come in handy for the executor of your will or for family members who have to pick up the pieces once you reach your great reward.

Free Annual Credit Reports

Now that the new year has started, it’s a great time to check your credit report for FREE. A new government law allows you to check your report once a year from each of the big 3 credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Get your free credit reports: www.AnnualCreditReport.com

Instead of checking your rating from all 3 companies at the same time, you can check your credit report once every 4 months by choosing a different company each time. That way, there’s less chance of identity theft going unnoticed for a long period of time. I keep a credit report folder in my filing cabinet so I know which company to check with next.

Do NOT get credit reports from FreeCreditReport.com and others like it, nor from the credit reporting companies directly, as they may sneakily sign you up for a credit monitoring service costing as much as $15 a month. www.AnnualCreditReport.com is the only site authorized by the US Government for consolidated free credit reports.

S

I just bought Sprint at $10.81. They have been beaten up lately. However, they recently announced they are likely to work with ClearWire to launch Sprint's 4G network using WiMAX.

The previous Sprint CEO could not make the deal happen, so they walked away from ClearWire in 2007. I am speculating that the new leadership will work better with ClearWire, because Sprint cannot roll out 4G by themselves. They are now reportedly are mulling the formation of a joint venture that would build the WiMAX network, which would receive outside funding from investors such as Intel, Google and Best Buy.

As a second, more extreme speculation, I am speculating that Google may buyout Sprint as Google's assertive step into wireless. That will surely drive S price higher, at which point I may sell.

I know I missed 5 days of opportunity (was $8.35 on Jan 23), but this is a long term investment for me. I do not have a complete exit strategy, so maybe you guys have ideas on how I can quantify when to sell. What do you think?

UDN

I just bought UDN at $27.86 (U.S. Dollar Down ETF).

Silver Linings: Recessions Can Spell Opportunity

Thursday January 17, 11:30 pm ET By Jonathan Bernstein, ETFzone Contributing Editor

Credit is contracting, broad market ETFs are selling, and the markets are signaling recession. While long-term investors may want to position for a recession, for traders the recent sell-off represents a short-term buying opportunity.

The recent sell-off is poorly understood. First, the U.S. is not yet in a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth (GDP grew in all four quarters of 2007). Second, it is not unusual that the markets are already falling on recession fears. The S&P tends to fall 3-6 months ahead of a recession and to bottom out about 3 months prior to recovery. And third, the recessionary trade: short equity ETF positions and long bond ETF positions, long volatility, long defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer staples is in fact unusually advanced for this early in the cycle.

Read more...

Recent Trades

I sold 10% of my mutual funds on Friday, Jan 25. They were a mix of U.S. growth, value and tech funds.

Today I bought IAU at $89.77 (Gold ETF).

U.S. stock futures point to major decline on re-open

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

Last update: 8:29 a.m. EST Jan. 21, 2008

Print E-mail RSS Disable Live Quotes

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- If futures contracts traded on a day when U.S. stocks weren't even due to open are anything near accurate, then markets will be in for a major decline on Tuesday, with concerns about bond insurers and the health of financial institutions dragging markets lower.

March contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 353 points lower to 11,753.

The S&P 500 futures fell 55 points to 1,270.10 and the Nasdaq 100 futures lost 72.25 points to 1,777.25.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. Trading won't resume until Tuesday.

Full Article

Agriculture ETF Soars While Stocks Tumble

Friday January 18, 6:25 pm ET
Joanne Von Alroth The market slide has many investors raising cash and hiding out until it stop s.

But some have found another option: commodities. When stocks and bonds fall, commodities often rise. As inflation rises, so do commodities.

Full Article

Home Construction Drops 25 Percent

Thursday January 17, 9:20 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Construction of New Homes Falls 24.8 Percent in 2007, the Largest Amount in 27 Years WASHINGTON (AP) -- The prolonged slump in housing pushed construction of new homes in 2007 down by the largest amount in 27 years with the expectation that the downturn has further to go.

Full Article

If there is a time to buy a new house or a newer large house, that time is coming soon, however good luck selling your house!

Apple says has sold 4 million iPhones

1:28 p.m. 01/15/2008 Provided by

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL) chief Steve Jobs said on Tuesday the company had sold 4 million iPhones and he announced updated services for the device.

Apple shares were down about 5 percent to $169.89 after Jobs started speaking at the highly anticipated annual Macworld convention in San Francisco.

Full Story

Odds Are Growing for Economic Recession

Sunday January 13, 11:19 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer Can Weakening Economy Survive Current Strains or Collapse Into a Recession WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate leaps to a two-year high, record numbers of people are forced from their homes and Wall Street nose-dives again. Such is the fallout from a housing meltdown that threatens to slingshot the country into a recession.

Full Story

ETF Guide

Here is a good list of ETFs that would be good to help develop a portfolio, most of the information was taken from "Sectors and Styles: A New Approach to Outperforming the Market" by Vincent Catalano.

But as a I stated in an earlier post these ETFs give you an opportunity to play positions you feel strongly about without having to invest in the individual companies.

Economic Sectors and Industries
Consumer Discretionary - XLY
Consumer Staples - XLP
Energy - XLE
Financials - XLF
Health Care - XLV
Biotech - IBB
Industrials - XLI
Basic Materials - XLB
Technology - XLK
Semiconductors - IGW
Software - IGV
Networking - IGN
Telecommunications - IYZ
Utilities - XLU

Size and Styles
Mid-Cap - MDY
Mid-Cap Value - VOE
Mid-Cap Growth - VOT
Large-Cap - SPY
Large-Cap Dow Jones - DIA
Small-Cap - IJR
Small-Cap Value - VBR
Small-Cap Growth - VBK

Global
EAFE(Foreign Index) - EFA
Europe 350 - IEV
Asia Pacific ex Japan - EWJ
Emerging Markets - EEM
Brazil - EWZ
Brazil/Russia/China/India - EEB
China - GXC

Commodities
Gold - GLD
Silver - SLV
Oil - OIL
Water - CGW

Tata Unveils World's Cheapest Car

Thursday January 10, 8:16 am ET
By Gavin Rabinowitz, Associated Press Writer India's Tata Motors Unveils $2,500 Car, Bringing Car Ownership Into the Reach of Millions NEW DELHI (AP) -- India's Tata Motors on Thursday unveiled the world's cheapest car, bringing new mobility within the reach of tens of millions of people and nightmares to environmentalists, traffic engineers and safety advocates.

Is this for real? It will be more expensive a year to drive this than to buy it!

Full Story

Forget Oil $100! What about Gold $1000?

I think the big commodity forgotten in the run up of Oil hype seems to be the precious metals. The Gold ETF (GLD) is up over 40% since January 2007, and the Silver ETF (SLV) has posted a 42% return since October. Here is a good article on Gold and gold stocks from seekingalpha.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/59345-six-top-gold-picks

How to Become a Do-It-Yourself Investor

It's not as hard as it seems.

By Marta Norton | 01-08-08 | 06:00 AM | E-mail Article | Print Article | Permissions/Reprints | Marta's Monthly Newsletter

At a party a few weeks ago, a friend turned to me and said, "I'd love to invest on my own, but I don't even know how to begin." You can't really blame her: She faces myriad investing choices, layers of fees, and the possibility of losing her shirt when things go wrong. That's why so many investors flock to financial advisors, attracted to the peace of mind that their guidance can offer. To be sure, many advisors offer valuable services, but others are less helpful. In fact, many academic studies have shown that investors working with advisors have fared worse than those who go it alone. . . .
Full article on Morningstar

Oil Prices Extend Decline on Worries About US Economy

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Oil prices fell Monday as a report of growing unemployment in the United States raised concerns of an economic downturn that could curb oil demand.

The U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment rate jumped to 5 percent in December -- its highest level in more than two years -- from 4.7 percent in November. Analysts had expected December unemployment at 4.8 percent.

"Many economists in the U.S. have talked about the potential of the U.S. getting into a recession," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "This latest government report ... has added to the concerns about the economy."

Sounds like all hype to me, your thoughts?

Full article