Stock prices have rallied more than 20% in the past 12 months, but it is still possible for investors to find bargains — if they are willing to do a little research. Investing in underpriced stocks often requires patience, since the expectation is generally for a gradual rise in value. But sometimes these stocks attract the attention of corporate raiders and shoot up overnight. This recently happened with Clorox Corp. (NYSE:CLX). An investor group led by Carl Icahn determined Clorox was undervalued and purchased 9% of the outstanding stock, which resulted in surge of about 9% in… Read More

Stock prices have rallied more than 20% in the past 12 months, but it is still possible for investors to find bargains — if they are willing to do a little research. Investing in underpriced stocks often requires patience, since the expectation is generally for a gradual rise in value. But sometimes these stocks attract the attention of corporate raiders and shoot up overnight. This recently happened with Clorox Corp. (NYSE:CLX). An investor group led by Carl Icahn determined Clorox was undervalued and purchased 9% of the outstanding stock, which resulted in surge of about 9% in Clorox’s share price within two trading days. Before Icahn’s investment, Clorox shares had been trading for 16 times trailing earnings and yielded more than 3%. [To find out what else Icahn has been buying, go here.] #-ad_banner-# I set out to find undervalued wallflowers that missed the market rally by running a screen for mid-cap and large cap stocks that trade at price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples well below the S&P 500. My screen looked at both trailing 12-month P/E and forward P/E multiples. Read More

Since the Berlin Wall came down nearly two decades ago, the former Eastern Bloc has received a crash course in the risks and rewards of Western-style capitalism. Despite the ups and downs, there’s little doubt that it sure as hell beats the previous communist system. During… Read More

Throughout much of the past year, a variety of financial websites — including this one — noted the sharp disconnect between projected growth rates and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of many Chinese companies. It was easy to find companies growing 20% or even 30% while sporting only single-digit P/E ratios. For some, that disconnect was based on fears that the Chinese economic juggernaut would soon cool. For others, the inability to really know if these Chinese companies were legitimate was the main reason to avoid Chinese stocks. Increasingly, it’s those latter… Read More

Throughout much of the past year, a variety of financial websites — including this one — noted the sharp disconnect between projected growth rates and the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of many Chinese companies. It was easy to find companies growing 20% or even 30% while sporting only single-digit P/E ratios. For some, that disconnect was based on fears that the Chinese economic juggernaut would soon cool. For others, the inability to really know if these Chinese companies were legitimate was the main reason to avoid Chinese stocks. Increasingly, it’s those latter concerns that now rule the roost. An increasing number of Chinese companies are in the sights of short sellers, as they allegedly have little or no actual business underlying the seemingly impressive income statement figures. Case in point: China MediaExpress Holdings (Nasdaq: CCME). The company operates a massive advertising network on buses that ply China’s regional highways. Several short-sellers have attacked the company, noting that channel checks showed that many of the company’s claims were vastly overstated or were outright falsehoods. Shares of China MediaExpress have fallen nearly 50% since establishing a 52-week high… Read More

Perhaps the easiest way to profit from higher oil prices is to buy shares of the largest energy firms in the world. These companies are referred to as “integrated” oil and gas firms, which stems from the fact that they are involved in just about every facet of… Read More

Policy planners in Washington just caught a big break. They’ve been repeatedly trying to prod China to strengthen its currency — to no avail — but larger economic forces may yield the same benefit. Prices are starting to bubble up in China and, if you connect the dots, you can start to see myriad benefits for the U.S. economy and U.S. stocks. A slow build The Chinese economy has been able to grow at a rapid clip for more than a decade without any price pressures — a feat that is… Read More

Policy planners in Washington just caught a big break. They’ve been repeatedly trying to prod China to strengthen its currency — to no avail — but larger economic forces may yield the same benefit. Prices are starting to bubble up in China and, if you connect the dots, you can start to see myriad benefits for the U.S. economy and U.S. stocks. A slow build The Chinese economy has been able to grow at a rapid clip for more than a decade without any price pressures — a feat that is largely unparalleled in the modern era. Not anymore. Inflation in China started to perk up in 2010 and finished the year at a peak, with inflation now running close to 5%. (The official figure released by the Chinese government is a bit lower, while analysts at HSBC in Hong Kong think it’s a bit higher than that rate). The reasons for rising inflation are pretty straightforward and can be explained by the notion of “capacity utilization.” As is the case with any industry, prices remain stable as long as producers have excess production capacity. Read More

If you are an income investor, you may think overseas investing is best left to the pros. But you’d be wrong. A bit of research shows plenty of low-risk opportunities for U.S. investors seeking high yields in the global market. Investing globally is a good idea because it provides a chance to participate in the faster-growing economies of emerging markets like Brazil, which International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts will grow 4.5% this year – much faster than the U.S. growth rate of 3%. Looking abroad also provides more choices and the ability to… Read More

If you are an income investor, you may think overseas investing is best left to the pros. But you’d be wrong. A bit of research shows plenty of low-risk opportunities for U.S. investors seeking high yields in the global market. Investing globally is a good idea because it provides a chance to participate in the faster-growing economies of emerging markets like Brazil, which International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts will grow 4.5% this year – much faster than the U.S. growth rate of 3%. Looking abroad also provides more choices and the ability to diversify risk across multiple economies and geographies. #-ad_banner-#In addition, investing overseas often earns better returns. For example, the S&P gained 23.5% last year, but returns for emerging markets in Brazil, India and China were 80% or higher. The developed markets of Australia and Canada returned more than 30%. Foreign stocks also tend to have better yields because overseas companies typically distribute more of their cash flow back to investors. The yield on the S&P 500 currently averages less than 2%, but stocks in the developed markets of Europe and… Read More

While it’s unlikely that anything will unseat Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) as the king of retail in our lifetime, that doesn’t mean there aren’t major opportunities to meaningfully penetrate the discount-store space. Take Target (NYSE: TGT), for instance. Despite Wal-Mart’s annoying domination, Target has capitalized on the inherent… Read More

For a decade, you’ve heard the glowing stories: enormous GDP growth, massive infrastructure building — even 15-story hotels being built in six days… China’s growth is unstoppable. It’s only a matter of time before it overtakes the United States as the largest economy in the world. Not so fast… China’s market is flashing a major warning sign. If you have money invested in Chinese stocks, keep a close eye. I use the iShares FTSE China 25 ETF (NYSE: FXI) as an easy way to keep tabs… Read More

For a decade, you’ve heard the glowing stories: enormous GDP growth, massive infrastructure building — even 15-story hotels being built in six days… China’s growth is unstoppable. It’s only a matter of time before it overtakes the United States as the largest economy in the world. Not so fast… China’s market is flashing a major warning sign. If you have money invested in Chinese stocks, keep a close eye. I use the iShares FTSE China 25 ETF (NYSE: FXI) as an easy way to keep tabs on China’s market. It holds 25 of the biggest companies in China, across all industries… banks, telecoms, oil companies. You can think of it as China’s Dow Jones Industrial Average. Well, China’s “Dow” is having problems:   A period of consolidation after a big rebound would be expected if this were anywhere but “unstoppable” China. And when you compare that flat performance with our own Dow, which has gained about 30% in the same time frame, you really start to see the trouble brewing. If you’re invested in China,… Read More

If you want to invest in the top hedge funds — such as from George Soros, Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman or John Paulson — you will need to write a big check. A minimum investment can easily be $10 million — that is, even if you are allowed… Read More

The health care industry has been on a steady growth path for nearly two decades. That’s been good news for investors who have enjoyed almost non-stop gains from the sector. But now, cost pressures are now putting heat on the sector and gains have been much harder to come by. In contrast, the party’s just beginning for China… Chinese health care is far earlier on the growth curve and appears to have a long growth path ahead of itself. Chinese per-capita spending on health care is the lowest of any of the 20 largest global economies. Off… Read More

The health care industry has been on a steady growth path for nearly two decades. That’s been good news for investors who have enjoyed almost non-stop gains from the sector. But now, cost pressures are now putting heat on the sector and gains have been much harder to come by. In contrast, the party’s just beginning for China… Chinese health care is far earlier on the growth curve and appears to have a long growth path ahead of itself. Chinese per-capita spending on health care is the lowest of any of the 20 largest global economies. Off that low base, key companies look set to grow at a double-digit clip for a number of years to come and offer investors the same consistent gains once offered by American healthcare stocks. Here are three companies I’ve found that appear nicely positioned to capitalize on that trend. 1. American Oriental Bioengineering (AMEX: AOB) Growing through acquisitions can be winning strategy if it helps a company develop a broad and compelling set of products. That was the plan for this purveyor of plant-based drugs and neutraceuticals. Chinese consumers greatly prefer traditional organic remedies,… Read More