Posts Tagged Investing
World’s Most Admired Companies: Apple Is Still No. 1
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Trading Markets on Март 10th, 2011
Apple
Top 50 rank: 1
Rank in Computers: 1 (Previous rank: 1)
Why it’s admired
For the fourth straight year, Apple (AAPL) tops Fortune’s Most Admired list. This year, the company’s blistering pace of new product releases has continued to set the bar high for tech companies across the board.
Apple took a stock hit when it released news of iconic CEO Steve Jobs’ ailing health in January, but Jobs assured the market in the company’s earnings report that Apple was still «firing on all cylinders.»
It certainly appears to be. Apple nearly doubled its quarterly profits vs. a year ago. The iPad 2 was introduced in March, marking the second generation of one of Apple’s milestone product successes.
Another huge move by Apple was the announcement this January that the iPhone 4 would be available from Verizon, offering another option to consumers frustrated with dropped calls on AT&T. Read the rest of this entry »
Buying at the Bottom
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Investing on Июнь 18th, 2009
As the real-estate market heads for the ground, certain investors find themselves uttering some surprising words: «I’ll take two.»
Davis Nguyen thought long and hard about investing in foreclosed homes, but plunging interest rates convinced him that it was time to dive into the housing market.
So the San Jose, California, man bought not one, but two investment properties.
«I decided to jump in because the sales price is reasonable to make a long-term investment,» Nguyen said. «I’m looking for something that is easy to rent because I need to make a little bit of profit.»
Since last fall, Nguyen began looking for three-bedroom, two-bath homes ranging in price from $290,000 to $350,000 in three zip codes: 95121, 95148, and 95112. Read the rest of this entry »
Obama’s top 10 stocks
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Fund Markets on Май 18th, 2009
According to the latest disclosure from the White House, President Obama is a fan of index-fund investing. See the stocks in his main holding.
When it comes to policy, President Obama is moving like lightning. But when it comes to his investments, he’s playing it cool.
Obama holds the bulk of his investing assets in U.S. Treasury bonds, with a range of between $1 million and more than $5 million, according to a disclosure of personal financial interests released Friday.
He also has between $101,000 and $265,000 in two checking accounts.
To save for his kids’ college tuition, he has between $100,000 and $200,000 in two 529 savings plans from Bright Directions: One for children up to 8 years old and one for those between 9 and 12.
The vast majority of his mutual fund holdings are in the Vanguard FTSE Social Index fund (VFTSX), with a range of between $115,000 and $250,000. Read the rest of this entry »
A fund that hedges against inflation
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Investing on Май 13th, 2009
Fans of tax-free muni bonds know that inflation can gnaw at their returns. And as government spending stokes fears of rising inflation, investors might be looking for protection.
One possible solution: J.P. Morgan’s three-year-old Tax Aware Real Return Fund — one of the only mutual funds to combine municipal bonds with a shield against inflation.
The fund works by investing in high-quality municipal debt, which is not federally taxed. (As of March 30, 93% of bonds were AAA-, AA-, or A-rated.) It uses inflation protection derivatives, such as inflation-linked swaps, to keep pace with the Consumer Price Index.
By holding swaps and bonds of similar durations, the fund is hedged about 1 to 1. In theory, a drop in bond prices should be offset by an increase in the value of the swaps. (Of course, the same swap would reduce the potential gain on the bonds.) Read the rest of this entry »
Fitch may cut largest Japanese banks’ credit ratings
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Banks on Апрель 9th, 2009
Fitch Ratings on Thursday said it may cut its ratings on Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, citing pressure on the banks’ asset quality and capital levels.
«Core business profitability continue to be negatively impacted by the macroeconomic recession to which the major banks, by their size, have a high correlation,» Fitch said in a statement.
Weaker corporate performance, increasing bankruptcies and declining property prices, as well as the weaker domestic and international macroeconomic environment, are all likely to weigh on the banks financial results this year, Fitch said. Read the rest of this entry »
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