Gamco’s Mario Gabelli says he’s looking at natural gas firms and auto parts companies as we head into 2010. Gabelli tells CNBC that the U.S. is “tired of depending on the Middle East” for energy needs, and that companies like National Fuel & Gas can benefit from that sentiment. He also expects the auto industry in the U.S. will enjoy three or four years of increasing production, and offers some ways to play that part… Read More
Conventional wisdom holds that the second year of a U.S. president’s term in office — which, for President Obama, began this week — tends to be a bad one for stocks. But in his latest MarketWatch column, Mark Hulbert says that’s a misconception, and that the “presidential cycle” likely won’t have much effect on the market this year anyway. Hulbert looks at the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s returns by presidential year over two periods: 1896… Read More
Whitney Tilson of T2 Partners says that Berkshire Hathaway is a buy, and says he thinks the housing market is headed for trouble. Tilson, one of the few to call the housing bust ahead of time, says he doesn’t think the housing market will see a “calamity”, but he does think millions more foreclosures are coming down the pipeline in the next couple years. He’s shorting housing-related stocks, with homebuilders being at the top of… Read More
David Herro, who was recently named one of Morningstar’s fund managers of the decade, likes several financial stocks right now. Herro tells Bloomberg that he’s particularly high on asset management businesses, which he says get hit hard in downturns but over the long run are good businesses. Herro also says Japanese markets are starting to look attractive. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwy1K1Htetc]
Each week, we take a look at which stocks John Reese’s Validea.com Guru Strategy computer models have newfound interest in, and which they have soured on. Here’s a look at some of the stocks John’s strategies have upgraded or downgraded today.
Tom Forester of the Forester Value fund says he’s still finding value in the market after the big run-up, and one area he’s focused on is technology. In an interview with CNBC, Forester says he likes value tech stocks, citing Microsoft and HP as companies that look attractive. “We think in almost any kind of market there’s ways to make money,” he said, noting that his fund gained 70% over the past decade while the… Read More
We recently highlighted Steven Leuthold’s 2010 outlook, noting that the longtime bear who turned bullish last year is optimistic on the first half of the new year, but pessimistic on the second half. In a recent speech highlighted by Advisor Perspectives, Leuthold expanded on that outlook and offered his thoughts on the current market. He says that stocks are currently trading for about 16.5 to 17.5 times normalized earnings — “not richly valued but somewhat… Read More
Barron’s has tapped a number of top strategists for its annual start-of-the-year “Roundtable” feature, with gurus such as Bill Gross, Mario Gabelli, and Abby Joseph Cohen offering their takes on where the market and economy are headed in 2010. And, overall, the outlook is positive. “Our crowd thinks the market could gain another 5% to 20% in 2010, fueled by profit growth and continued government spending,” writes Barron’s Lauren R. Rublin, “although the ride will… Read More
James O’Shaughnessy’s What Works on Wall Street details one of the most extensive studies of stock returns and stock-picking strategies ever performed. Now, as we approach the second year of what appears to be a bonafide bull market, O’Shaughnessy’s firm has new data on what works during different stages of bull markets. In a piece written for O’Shaughnessy Asset Management’s website, Patrick O’Shaughnessy says that OSAM’s research has found significant trends in the types of… Read More
Bruce Berkowitz, whose Fairholme fund has produced exceptional long-term returns, says the reason it has fared so well is a willingness to go against the crowd. Berkowitz also tells Bloomberg that he focuses on the amount of cash companies are producing, an approach that led him to shy away from financial stocks during the sector’s 2008 meltdown. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxuLMY-WKI&hl=en_US&fs=1&]