THE "HAPPY NEW YEAR" EDITION
23 DECEMBER 2010
ON THE DOUBLE!
November Retail Sales Surprise Economists
Retail sales in November, a month that includes some of the year's biggest shopping days, rose 0.8 percent, beating expectations for a 0.5 percent increase. According to the Commerce Department, sales (excluding cars) jumped 1.2 percent, twice as much as economists had expected.
If you scrutinize this data, as your reporter surely did, you'll note that retailers made a push to offer preholiday shopping deals to get consumers out and buying before the traditional Black Friday holiday shopping season kickoff. What's more, it's been eight years since Hannukah has fallen as early as it did in 2010 — Dec. 1-Dec. 9 — which of course leads your reporter to surmise that these holiday shoppers were out in force early as well.
It would seem these numbers are little more than the result of early-onset holiday shopping mania vs. a genuine spike in consumer spending. Is this the kind of below-the-surface digging that long-term investors are known for? And what, if anything, do these short-term numbers mean to us? Post your thoughts in The Exchange.
Speaking of fame — it's fleeting indeed, whether you're a Hollywood celebrity or a popular stock. Seems Best Buy's (BBY) stock plunged 15 percent following the company's third-quarter sales report of $11.9 billion, which fell short of analysts' estimates of $12.5 billion. What's your take on the free fall? Short-lived or a sign of things to come? Sound off in the Best Buy forum!
On to more of this week's headlines . . .
IT'S HERE!
Morningstar Combined Company Data Platform Arrives
It's like getting a new toy — just before Santa squeezes down the chimney! The BetterInvesting and ICLUBcentral move to the combined company data platform from Morningstar was scheduled to occur Dec. 22. Both BI and ICLUB will continue to provide data for tools, including StockCentral.
Though your spot-on reporter divulged the details in a Company Data Changes edition exclusive in the Dec. 13 Gazette, here's a brief rundown of what you can expect:
What Changed?
* Industry and Sectors are slightly different. Morningstar has been remapped to more closely match S&P's GICS.
* Free Cash Flow per Share replaces Cash Flow per Share.
* Long-term analyst EPS estimate growth rates.
* Faster quarterly & year-end reporting.
* Canadian companies added: Toronto Stock Exchange; Toronto Venture Exchange
What Stayed the Same?
* Your SC subscription term and expiration date.
* Your username or password.
* Any settings that need to be adjusted in your Toolkit 6 or other program.
* SC will continue to provide Take Stock Quality Index and Take Stock EPS Growth Rate Estimates.
BEFORE THE CLOCK STRIKES TWELVE
Hurry! Tax Printer Discount Expires Dec. 31!
Get your investment club ready for tax season early by pre-ordering your Federal and State Club Tax Printers from ICLUBcentral — the #1 tax preparation software for investment clubs.
Why now, you ask? Because it will save you time and money!
Pre-order now and save — pay just $89.99 if you order before December 31, 2010. SC members save even more, and pay just $59.99! To receive discounts on ICLUBcentral software, including the lowest available prices for the 2010 Club Tax Printers, join StockCentral.com today!
Here are the answers to a few Tax Printer FAQs:
Q: I've noticed tax printers are released in "draft" form instead of "final" form? If I order early, will I need to remember to update the information?
A: No. Tax printers are initially released using "draft" forms. Final forms will be released and automatically updated in your tax printer when forms are approved by the IRS and the appropriate state agencies.
Q. When can our club expect these approvals to take place?
A. They can occur as early as mid-January or as late as early March.
Q: Shouldn't our club wait to buy the Tax Printer software after the forms are approved by the IRS?
A: Ordering early saves time. By installing the draft forms package, you can make sure that the program works correctly and that you have entered the necessary data properly. Then, when final forms are released, you can quickly prepare and print final forms for your club members. It also saves your club money, as the Tax Printer software is offered at a significant discount, provided you order by Dec. 31!
Q: I'm our club's treasurer. Can I go ahead and prepare our club tax filings as soon as I receive the final Tax Printer forms?
A: Yes, but only after you have received all final year-end documents from your club's financial institutions. By law, they do not have to arrive until February 15.
WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED
Take Stock Quality Rating Includes Recent Quarterly Data
Your reporter is ecstatic with the questions and suggestions filling her in-box! Just this past week, SC Member Ray Johnson sent out the call:
Under the stock screener, I often get stocks that look like a good investment, only to find that their most recent year or recent quarterly growth rates are very poor. Yet they look like good buys on the screener because you don't have access to that data.
Could you add categories under the GROWTH options to allow users to set one year growth rates and latest quarterly growth rates to make the screening process more efficient? The 5 year data only are insufficient to find companies that have a good short term record to go along with their good long term results.
And SC Founder and all-around guru Doug Gerlach answered:
"Thanks for your suggestion! We do actually offer a way to find companies that have had good recent growth — using the Take Stock Quality Rating. The Take Stock Quality Rating evaluates companies based on their long-term and recent EPS growth, emphasizing recent growth more heavily, and the stability of their profit margins.
"Companies with a Take Stock Quality Rating of 'Acceptable' or 'Desirable' should be much more likely to have had good growth over the past 5 years and the last year and quarters."
What about you? Got a suggestion? Send it on! Let's make 2011 the best year ever for StockCentral subscribers! Happy New Year!
TODAY'S ENTIRELY RELEVANT QUOTATION
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is
New Year's Day."
— Edith Lovejoy Pierce, author