Dirt Cheap Stocks: Chapter 7

I have to admit I am not an avid blogger. But I hope that my every so often ideas helps somebody! I know it seems odd to call any stock dirt cheap nowadays, given all the moves they have had in past several months. But I think select solar names look really good: First Solar (FSLR), SunPower (SPWRA), & Suntech (STP). Renewable (Norway:REC; PinkSheet: RNWEY) and Q-cell (Germany:QCE; PinkSheet: QCLSF). I also like CME and ICE. Both strong positions in energy & commodity dealership. Given the push for new ways of risk management, and Moody's and S&P falling out of favor (perhaps even subject to litigation), I like new names like RiskMetrics (RMG). Blackrock (BLK) is a great company too but it's just too rich for my blood. In long run, MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V) are great bets but they have had great runs. So maybe a loading up on a re-treat would be justified. Till later dudes and dudetts,

Dirt Cheap Stock Picking: Chapter 6

I know anyone who dares to express any opinion about stocks nowadays is nutts (like me)! But for all the other nutt-cases, here we go again: I know this seems weird, but I cannot ignore these stocks anymore Visa(V), Mastercard (MA), Goldman-Sachs (GS), Banco Itau (ITU), CME Group (CME), Intercontinental (ICE), Cemex (CX), Arcelor-Mittal (MT), General Dynamics (DG), Northrop-Grumman (NOC), Lockheed Martin (LMT). All of whom have almost monopoly power over their markets, they are large (and not because they blow up with phony derivatives but they earn their way to the top) and more importantly their business model is not easy to replicate. I do like Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) but I think they still have room left in the downside. I also like some of the risky names which I think their upside potential now huge: BC, PSUN, LCAV, BX, NTRI, and maybe even some of the homebuilders (PHM, LEN, DHI, CTX).

Dirt Cheap Stock Picking : Chapter 5

It's been a rough couple of months and I still think the bottom is yet to come. But I cannot help to notice that some of my favorite names are getting awfully attractive, price-wise, as of late. They include: Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), Potash (POT), Agrium (AGU), Mosiac (MOS), Intrepid Potash (IPI), Monsanto (MON), CF Industries (CF), Colfax (CFX). Some of the great names like CME group (CME) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are selling for very attractive prices as well. To this list, I add construction/engineering firms which I think still have great global potential but have been beaten down severely by fears of slow down. I have to admit that for these guys, I still see potential for further deterioration in the months to come, such as the case with them in any "recession". These include KBR Inc. (KBR), Shaw Group (SGR), Flour (FLR), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Jacobs Eng. (JEC). I am also very much attracted to certain energy stocks: Tesoro (TSO), Valero (VLO), Sunoco (SUN), Magellan Midstream (MGG). Energy stocks I am watching closely are: Petrobras (PBR), Petrochina (PTR), China Petroleum (SNP).

Dirt Cheap Stock Picking: Chapter 4

In this environment, one can easily take lousy stocks for "dirt cheap" opportunities. But if current trends continue, and that's big a "if", then the "second coming" of commodities should be a boon all commodity-levered stocks. Potash (POT) and Monsanto (MON) are among great agri-stocks that have lost some steam lately. First Solar (FSLR) and SunPower (SPWR) as well as Ormat (ORA) are great plays on alternative energy possibilities. Coal stocks can see another rise when steel price recover from recent decompression in the commodities prices. Peabody (BTU), Fording (FDG), Patriot (PCX) and even the mining equipment maker, Joy Global (JOYG), are among my favorites. I have to give a big word of caution: commodity plays are subject to the global expansion that has been going on for a while now. As the saying goes though, when US gets a cold, the world catches pneumonia, so a global recession, which is likely at this point, can put a damper on these price for some time. Global engineering and construction plays like Flour (FLR) or Foster Wheeler (FWLT) may have a better time since oil and commodity money flows to large projects as governments try to boost the infrastrcuture necessary for production of commodities.

IPO Ideas & Actions: Chapter 2

The last recommendations, along with almost every other stock in the market, have been beaten down badly, OK, very badly. But that's not reason to stop looking for new opportunities. I still think that BX, MXB, and N will have fantastic long-term prospects. But more recently, Riskmetrics (RMG) and Visa (V) debuted in IPO market. Riskmetrics got hammered in the wake of "virtual collapse" of Bear Stern (BSC) --- another pick of mine in "dirt cheap stocks"! Obviously billioniare Lewis and I took a big hit but JPMorgam (JPM) would reap all the benefits that should have been ours!!! --- mostly because models riskmetrics produces are of great interest to risk-managers and risk-takers! But the firm has a unique position in that niche (it is wothwhile to remember that JPMorgan was the parent of Riskmetrics! So if JPM's astute money sneaffing is any indication, RMG's IPO should be a great way to take advantage of the upside.) Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA, another recommendation of mine) are the duoploy in the credit card market. With the craze in using the plastic here in US and just about everywhere else in the globe, the transaction volume and revenues should rise. The impending legal battles and IPO's lock-up period can hinder short-term price appreciation, but if MA is any indication, the three- to five-year upside is great.