Today Jim decided to create an index of luxury goods. Luxury spending has held up through thick and thin. When high end consumers stop spending we could be in for a recession. Certain key stocks are levered to luxury spending and they were: Coach (COH), Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), Tiffany & Co. […]

Kellogg (K) Chief Jim Jenness joined via phone today. Jim said the stock never missed but they seemed to be more negative than analysts. Jenness said that the business was good enough to absorb large increases in costs. Also they do not run the company to make quarterly estimates. K is […]

Tired of hearing the phrase “better than expected?” Jim is fed up with hearing this after the fact and he doesn’t own the stock. He labeled this statement “BTE (Better Than Expected).” Looking ahead he gave up Valero Energy (VLO) as a preearnings BTE play. When they report you will see […]

Jim proclaimed that Merck & Co. Inc (MRK) and Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) have now officially reclaimed their past glory. “When people look at this earnings period, they’re seeing a sea change in the market,” Jimmy said. “Merck and Pfizer were the bluest of the blues from 1985 to about 1998. This is what […]

Broadband PlaysJim was out talking about how the phone and cable companies are fighting to see who will become the biggest broadband provider. Jim mentioned how usually both sides lose because this type of competition can and will produce price wars, but in this battle it appears that both sides are winning. Jim mentioned how […]

BullishEvergreen Solar (ESLR), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Scientific Games (SGMS), UST (UST), PW Eagle (PWEI), BE Aerospace (BEAV), Shire (SHPGY), Textron (TXT) and Tata Motors (TTM).
BearishAmSouth Bancorp (ASO), Cummins Engine (CMI), Acacia Research (ACTG), JDS Uniphase (JDSU), Arch Coal (ACI), Carnival (CCL) and L-3 Communications (LLL).

Art and stocks were compared on the show today because both are “cool.” Companies are valued because of numbers, fundamentals, sentiment, speculation and most of all “levels of coolness.” An example of uncool is WalMart Stores Inc (WMT), while Whole Foods Market Inc (WFMI) is considered cool and thus gets a higher multiple. […]

Looking to identify takeover targets? This segment was devoted to doing just that. Seeing as the market is taking down anything with a high multiple there is bound to be a bunch of consolidation. look first to stocks with good balance sheets but this will only work if you do you homework. […]

UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Caterpillar (CAT), Sears Holdings (SHLD), Altria (MO) and Boeing (BA). Jim said this portfolio was diversified and he likes these stocks as well owning a few of them himself.
Clorox (CLX), Chevron (CVX), Hershey Foods (HSY), Walgreen (WAG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Bank of America (BAC). Not impressed by this […]

To make money do not look at news headlines about the stock market. An example was an article in the USA Today business section citing lower oil prices as a cause for the rally. The rally occurred because oil and gas companies blew out earnings and all the numbers in this sector seem […]