Thanks to a confluence of events, prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have been surging recently. And that has set agricultural equipment stocks afire. Shares of irrigation equipment maker Lindsay Manufacturing (NYSE: LNN) have surged more than +10% since last Thursday, while Deere (NYSE: DE) has made a similar move since last Monday. The same can be said for many other sector names, a number of which now sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios that are starting to get frothy. It may be too late to make… Read More

Thanks to a confluence of events, prices for corn, soybeans and wheat have been surging recently. And that has set agricultural equipment stocks afire. Shares of irrigation equipment maker Lindsay Manufacturing (NYSE: LNN) have surged more than +10% since last Thursday, while Deere (NYSE: DE) has made a similar move since last Monday. The same can be said for many other sector names, a number of which now sport price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios that are starting to get frothy. It may be too late to make a quick hit on this farm belt trade, but another sector has suddenly become very attractive simply because these commodities are seeing a surge in prices. I’m talking about the major producers of chicken, beef and pork. Their costs just went up, and their shares just went down. Yet viewed in the context of traditional long-term earnings power, these stocks are suddenly quite cheap. To fatten up livestock, farmers buy up massive amounts of corn and soybeans, which often account for a big chunk of operating expenses. But these “protein” producers… Read More

I feel the same way about gold right now as I did about tech stocks in the late 1990s — that it’s far too late to get in. Just the fact that no one can agree if there’s a gold bubble is enough to turn me off to the yellow… Read More

It’s not easy following in Jack Welch’s footsteps, who practically wrote the book on how to grow a business. Ever since taking the reins in early 2001, Jeff Immelt has consistently paled by comparison, having little to show for his first decade at the helm of General Electric (NYSE: GE). On a compounded basis, sales have grown less than +3% annually during his tenure. But all that is about to change. GE is almost done repairing the damage that was wrought by the global economic carnage of 2008, and the company is again gearing… Read More

It’s not easy following in Jack Welch’s footsteps, who practically wrote the book on how to grow a business. Ever since taking the reins in early 2001, Jeff Immelt has consistently paled by comparison, having little to show for his first decade at the helm of General Electric (NYSE: GE). On a compounded basis, sales have grown less than +3% annually during his tenure. But all that is about to change. GE is almost done repairing the damage that was wrought by the global economic carnage of 2008, and the company is again gearing up to play offense. You won’t notice it in the near-term, as GE’s revenue is expected to shrink a bit more in 2010 and 2011. But the stage is now being set for a robust return to growth in 2012 and beyond. Immelt is counting on three factors to propel growth. First, he’s decided to step up R&D funding from 3% to 5%. That means GE will be spending more than $30 billion every year to ensure that each of GE’s operating divisions have industry-best products. Second, he’s breaking out GE’s checkbook. Already in October, GE has… Read More

After an extended period in the wilderness courtesy of one of the most severe economic downturns in decades, retail stocks are slowly making a comeback. Just a couple of years ago, consumers shunned clothing and many other goods for more basic necessities. Consumers traded down where they could and even… Read More

Several months ago, I was lucky enough to sell my home relatively quickly (at full asking price, no less). Unfortunately, when the time came to hand the keys to the new owner, we still hadn’t found a replacement. Luckily, I knew a local commercial property manager who… Read More

My trading idea for this week is a company that is experiencing rising sales and profits, despite the weak overall economy in the United States. The company is experiencing a steady flow of orders, cutting costs, and has been able to pay a… Read More

It’s little secret that China is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. It already boasts the world’s largest population of nearly 1.4 billion citizens, and through the first half of this year, its economy grew by +11.1%, which comes despite a global… Read More

Voters across the political spectrum can agree on at least one thing: the long-term health of the U.S. economy absolutely depends on jobs being created by the private sector. So Friday’s report that 64,000 private sector jobs were created is a hopeful sign, though… Read More

Think the weakening auto sales trend in the United States is an omen of unpleasant things to come, economically speaking? If so, then investors may want to slice the numbers in a way the media isn’t — car sales are still trending bullishly by most measures, even if nobody’s talking… Read More