THE "DOG DAYS OF SUMMER" EDITION
8 JULY 2010
MARKET ON THE RISE?
Stocks Sizzle as Temperatures Soar
The summer heat wave that began over the holiday weekend isn't the only thing sizzling. As sweltering temperatures from Virginia to New Hampshire entered Day 4 and the mercury tickled the triple digits, investors turned up the heat on the stock market.
The DJIA, led by encouraging earnings forecasts from financial companies, gained nearly 3 percent Wednesday, closing above the 10,000 mark once again. State Street Corp. led the rally after the company's second-quarter profit forecast topped analysts' expectations, but other financials — including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo — also surged.
But it wasn't all about the bankers. All 30 members of the Dow posted gains, with Cisco, American Express and General Electric leading the pack. The market continued its upward climb Thursday following a favorable jobless claims report from the Labor Department — not to mention a surge in retail sales from shoppers looking to beat the heat.
What's your take on the sudden, across-the-board market advance? Is the Great Recession history? Or are investors stocking up on summer bargains, leaving the market destined to hit the doldrums once again? Join in on the conversation on The Exchange.
On to this week's headlines . . .
"STOCKCENTRAL AT ITS BEST"
StockCentral Members Take Lead in Forum Creation
The SC forums are abuzz with activity. Just in the past week, SC members have uploaded stock studies on Apple, Inc.. and engaged in a lengthy, fruitful, and, at times, quite heated discussion on Immucor, Inc. (BLUD), among others.
"I would like to thank Doug and the IAS for their most recent postings to this forum explaining the change in long term growth rates for BLUD," posts SC Member Nick A. DiVirgilio. "I appreciate your willingness and the time and effort you took to respond to my post… This is StockCentral at its best."
We are looking to you, our members, to help shape the future of StockCentral.com, by telling us which companies you'd like to see represented on the forum. There are two ways to add new stocks:
- Simply post a request letting us know that you'd like us to add a forum for a certain company.
- Upload a Toolkit study directly to the Miscellaneous Forum and let us take it from there. Once we see that a new stock study has been posted, we will go to work behind the scenes to create a new forum.
Looks like we're about to go to work! Check out SC Member Greg Playle's analysis of Joseph A Bank (Jos A Bank Clothiers Inc.) — hot off the presses!
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Gerlach Leads Take Stock Workshop
It's a "Learn While You Go" proposition — and who better to answer your questions along the way than Stock Guru and SC Founder Doug Gerlach? You can find Doug in the StockCentral Workshops forum, where he is busy fielding questions and introducing the latest and greatest features of the newly launched, expanded version of Take Stock.
Since the Workshop got under way June 28, Doug has divulged these (among many other) tricks and tips:
- An easy way to find these high-ranked quality companies is to use the link at the top of the Take Stock navigation panel that says "This Week's Roster of Quality Companies." This links to the StockCentral Stock Screener and a pre-defined search that shows you all companies with a Quality Rating of 3.4 or higher. It's a pretty short list these days! You can click on the Quality Index column header to sort all companies from highest to lowest, and then use the "Take Stock" link in the right column to quickly analyze the stock.
- It's important to remember that Take Stock is generally very conservative in its assessment and will make no allowances for companies that might be familiar names or products that you like!
Now, riddle me this, Batman — What are two main tests that stocks must pass before you should add them to your portfolio? You can find the answer — and catch up on last week's lessons — in the Workshop forum.
Next up? Learn how Take Stock can help you to continue your stock analysis education as you refine your analysis of a company. Be sure to drop by the StockCentral Workshops forum to ask questions and catch up on all that StockCentral.com has to offer!
GOING, GOING, GONE!
Investor Advisory Service Discount Enters Final Days
If you were already an IAS subscriber, you would have been privy to professional insights on the global economy (governments and households need to get their spending and debt under control), inflation (it's almost too low!), and growth in the stock market (still the place to be) that appeared in the newsletter's June issue.
Join your investing cohorts, who have been signing up in droves for the award-winning newsletter that has become known for its premier stock advice and investing commentary. By way of public outcry, ICLUBcentral has decided to extend its discount offer one final time.
SC members can receive the online edition for just $149 a year or the mailed edition for $199. That's a savings of 50 percent on the regular price! And as a bonus, you'll pay this low rate as long as you maintain this subscription! Don't miss another month of the featured Stock Advice, Investing Education, Company Updates, Data & News, Market Commentary and Online Bonuses.
SC members can take advantage of this amazing discount offer online, or by calling 1-877-33-ICLUB. But you best hurry! This offer ends soon!!
TODAY'S ENTIRELY RELEVANT QUOTATION
". . . stock prices look reasonable compared to the growth that can be expected. Investor expectations should remain moderate . . . But, the growth is still there and investing in well-run, growing businesses still appears to be a better path to success than the alternatives."
— Commentary from the June issue of the award-winning Investor Advisory Service newsletter