DOW 
11,288.54
NASDAQ 
2,245.38
S&P 500
1,262.90
Hot Topics
A look at the stocks our bloggers are buying, selling and discussing:
Is there a simple solution to this market situation? Don Moncrief think so. Find his solution here.
Richard Band reminds you to play good news cautiously in this turbulent market.
Start your own discussion and see what your fellow InvestorPlace blogs members have to say about a particular stock or investing topic in our Stock Talk section. Or jump in with your own thoughts and answer someone else’s question. click here
Articles
Bull/Bear Report -- Elan Pharmaceuticals - A miracle for patients and investors alike?
Psychology of the market is everything and right now that psychology is decidedly negative. As such, stock values are depressed as participants toss the baby with the bathwater.
Even the positive stories are seeing dampened enthusiasm. Take our stock of the week, Elan Corp. plc (ELN). The company announced success with an early trial of its Alzheimer drug, bapineuzumab, earlier in the month.
Shares moved higher on the news, but not nearly what they would have done had there been positive sentiment in the market.
Think about it. A biotechnology company shows positive success for a drug that aids treatment of a very horrible disease affecting millions and potentially millions more down the road.
Can you say blockbuster?
Shoot, in a bull market this stock would be skyrocketing right now. Not ELN.
Learn more about Elan's latest drug, and find out how our bloggers come down in this week's Bull/Bear Report.
Bull/Bear Report : CASY - No general consensus on Casey General Stores
These weekly bull/bear articles have been a pleasant surprise for me. With each week's selection, I am always surprised to learn something new and informative that helps me determine valuation.
I may not always agree with the opinions here, but that is exactly the point.
In the case of this week's selection of Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) my valuation was solidified with some of the views expressed by bloggers.
Specifically, it never dawned on me that convenience stores may see increases in sales due to high gasoline prices. The thought being that the cost to save a dime by driving further to a big box store would negate any benefits.
Thus, we should see more volume at the local convenience store that can charge a bit more for that convenience. The best part of such behavior is that it becomes habitual. Even if oil prices subside consumers may prefer buying milk for the convenience and reduction in carbon footprint.
CASY has already done a good job at managing during these difficult times. They are controlling expenses and look to exploit their some 3,000 food and non-food items. Eliminating credit card usage would be another way to save.
Goldman Kicks Citiroup While It Is Down
It is just not getting any better for Citigroup. Yesterday a Goldman Sachs report not only suggested selling Citi shares, the recommended selling the shares short as part of bank stock paired trade. The Goldman analyst suggested that the bank would have to write down another $8.9 billion in assets. Tis would be on top ogf the 446 billion in losses since the credit crisis began last August. He also thinks they may have to cut the dividend again. Under this scenario Citigroup will once again have to raise capital from outside sources. So far they have had to turn to foreign Sovereign Investment funds and other large investors for $42 billion in capital.
Citigroup continues to attempt to restructure and refocus its business. There are reports that several of their Indian operations are going to be for sale shortly. Operations being discussed include its technology outsourcing operation as well its back office operations. The divisions could be worth as much as $1 billion according to some reports. Layoffs continue at the bank as well with as many as 300 jobs are expected to be cut in the sales and trading operations in the next month. These were part of the 6000 job cut announced back in April and will bring the total job loss at Citigroup to around 13,000 in 2008.
Citigroup stock is now down 65% in the past 52 weeks and trades at a 10 year low. Given the Goldman report and prediction for the second quarter, shares seem unlikely to rebound significantly any time soon.
Stock Quote
Recent Posts
Amgen: Biotech at it's Best
July 3, 2008 03:52 PM
The ECB Raises Rates
July 3, 2008 01:39 PM
Historic Period of Deleveraging
July 3, 2008 12:23 PM
How to Play It
July 3, 2008 09:53 AM
Will July 4th Weekend Bring A Rally? Or Panic? Or Both?
July 3, 2008 04:40 AM
Hot Steel - Lincoln Electric (LECO)
July 2, 2008 09:55 PM
Where to invest
July 2, 2008 09:14 PM
From hundreds of InvestorPlace bloggers...
...comes 10 of the absolute best stock opportunities
...in 1 very special free report.
The Top 10 Stock Opportunities in a Topsy-Turvy Market.
There are profits to be made even in this topsy-turvy market …and we'll help you make them!
Get a fresh take on investing along with the best stocks to buy, sell, or hold.
Get your copy today!
Updated several times per week, Top Stocks is where you’ll find links to the hottest stock picks the InvestorPlace Bloggers are recommending.
Sometimes, to find a hot stock, first you have to find a hot sector. The Top Sectors section will steer you towards sectors on the move.
Here is a look at some of the most widely held stocks in the Strategy Lab Open.
| Ticker | Company Name | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| POT | Potash Corp. | View |
| GE | General Electric | View |
| AAPL | Apple Computer | View |
| GOOG | View | |
| MSFT | Microsoft | View |
Find InvestorPlace bloggers writing about the stocks, sectors, and topics that are splashed all over the news – and on everyone’s mind – right here.
Will July 4th Weekend Bring A Rally? Or Panic? Or Both?
Time for a context check.
There will be a bear market rally at some point. The beginning of a bear market rally never feels good--usually you're so sick of the downtrend that you want to puke up your stocks at the first sign of better prices. Are we close to that point? I don't know. I should mention that I didn't sell any of my short ETFs today, although I was tempted. What stopped me? The panic didn't seem panicky enough.
The market's been going down--almost straight down--for around a month now. Sentiment is terrible, and the word "bear" is being used more than the word "bottom." These are ingredients for a counter-trend bounce. Even a smallish bounce could cause shorts to cover, which would push stocks up quickly. The sharpest rallies, they say, occur in bear markets.
Traders want a big capitulation day (extreme selling) and a huge reversal (extreme buying) to signal a turn in the bearish trend. This type of volatility is measured by the Volatility Index, a.k.a. "the VIX", a.k.a. the "fear gauge."
Top 3 Techniques to Get You Through the Tough Times
If there's anything investors crave in these unsettled times, it's stability. They're looking for a little peace of mind. But where do you find it? Many folks look in the wrong places and come up disappointed. You don't have to be one of those people.
With three reliable techniques you can control your risk in today's roller-coaster markets. With a stable base under you, you can reach for all the great growth opportunities that our dynamic global economy has to offer.
1. The first, and most crucial, risk-control technique is to maintain an adequate reserve of cash and near-cash instruments. During market panics, it's often said that "liquidity has dried up." What is liquidity? In simple terms, it's the ability to turn your investments into cash, quickly, without having to accept a fire-sale price.
If you're holding plenty of cash, liquidity is never an issue. You can always meet your day-to-day obligations without being forced to sell stocks or equity mutual funds at disadvantageous prices. Better yet, your cash (because it pays interest) grows even when market fluctuations may have knocked down the value of your other investments. Thus, cash tends to cushion the shock of market declines.
Get two more hot tips from Richard Band on how to keep risk out of your portfolio here.
Will China Meddling Save Chinese Markets?
That's the problem with free markets: when they are making everyone money, they're the best thing since electronic trading. When they are going into the toilet, everyone collectively curses, assigns blame, and jumps out the nearest window--Unless you happen to be in a pseudo-free market, like China.
The Chinese markets are in turmoil right now, clocking a 40% plus loss since last October--and we think we have it bad. For those with money in FXP, the ultrashort China ETF, it's been a money-maker. However, there have been some bumps in the road. Since last October, FXP has climbed upwards of $120 before correcting back to below $60. FXP is now in the mid 80's because of the latest market shock waves, and it doesn't look pretty for the Chinese markets.
Or does it?
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategy Lab Open Leaders
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Sponsored Links
The Best Stock Opportunities for a Topsy-Turvy Market
At InvestorPlaceBlogs.com, our stock pickers are beating the stock market, and many investing "pros," time after time. Now you can, too! Finding the right stocks in today's market is tough, but there are profits to be made. We've scoured our stock pickers' portfolios and blogs to bring you the best stock opportunities our thriving online investing community has to offer. Get an in-depth look at three of the best stocks they are buying right now.
Join the Community
InvestorPlace Blogs has created a community of bloggers dedicated to bringing investors like you in-depth, actionable and rated coverage and insights on individual stocks, sectors, and investing in general. Our proprietary ratings and rankings, powered by Marketocracy, allow you to rate—and gauge—how valuable a particular piece of research, post or stock pick are to you. InvestorPlaceblogs.com is a division of InvestorPlace Media, LLC, formerly known as Phillips Investment Resources.
InvestorPlace Blogs is powered by Marketocracy. Marketocracy has authorized Investor Place Blogs as an official registrar for voting through Marketocracy¹s Investment Research Rating service. Registered members of InvestorPlace Blogs are linked with a Marketocracy account to establish voting power based on their performance of trading and posting on stocks.
Strategy Lab Open
Strategy Lab Open (SLO) is a joint venture among InvestorPlace Blogs, Marketocracy and MSN’s Strategy Lab, and is the new MSN Strategy Lab Qualifying Tournament. We're looking for the next great undiscovered investing guru. Someone who doesn't just pick hot stocks but who invests well, makes money and can teach others to do the same.
Strategy Lab Open offers fans of MSN Strategy Lab a chance to play along with the pros. The winner of the Open, as determined by both overall portfolio performance as well as ratings of blog posts, will then go on to compete with well-known Wall Street pros in MSN’s popular Strategy Lab.
