The Strength in Numbers Edition
15 August 2013
Where Should a New Investor Start?
Attaining Confidence with Fundamental Data
A new member of the StockCentral community writes to ask how to get started in investing. "I have no serious business background," he says, adding that reading a profit and loss and other financial statements are full of mysteries for him. "Help!"
StockCentral founder Doug Gerlach comes to the rescue with some suggestions. First of all, realize that you don't need to have a degree in business to be a successful investor. The StockCentral community is one good place to start, where you can meet other investors and share information. The Internet is also rich with resources for beginning investors, according to Gerlach. Here are two excellent overviews for people just getting started in investing who want to learn the basics:
The SEC's "Beginners' Guide to Financial Statements."
Merrill Lynch's "How to Read a Financial Statement."
For more detailed explanations, track down the book "How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of Numbers." The author, John A. Tracy, is "excellent but not overly technical," Gerlach says. And be sure to visit the forums and learning community on StockCentral. Click here to visit StockCentral's Classroom forum.
Make Tracks for the BetterInvesting National Convention
Critical Training for Investment Success
The BetterInvesting National Convention slated for Sept. 19-22 in Pittsburgh is about a month away, and it's not too late to get on board. There's still plenty of time to register for this four-day event packed with information and insights from investing experts along with other learning and networking opportunities.
Attendees at this event will have a unique opportunity to meet representatives of prospective companies for investment, and talk to their CEOs and other executives. This is your chance to get direct input from the companies you may invest in.
Ron Muhlenkamp, founder of a thriving independent investment management firm, will deliver a keynote address on natural gas and how it's changing the energy game. Muhlenkamp's skill and insights make him a popular commentator on specific investing topics. Last month Muhlenkamp appeared on CNBC's "Closing Bell Exchange" program.
Other speakers include SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter, who will also deliver a keynote. Find out what the experts are saying about the economy and what it means for your portfolio.
Click here to reserve your spot at BetterInvesting's premier educational event and register for your room at the Sheraton Station Square at a special rate through Aug. 19.
A Look at Lindsay Corp.
Seeding Growth in Irrigation
Lindsay Corp., an Omaha, Neb.-based company, was recently profiled in the SmallCap Informer. This company, founded in 1955, makes products that are critical to agriculture, manufacturing equipment for irrigation as well as infrastructure projects. Lindsay's style of pivot/lateral irrigation systems (versus the gravity method) are becoming more popular, accounting for 46% of U.S. acres under irrigation, compared with 35% in 1998. Corn is a key crop cultivated using the pivot/lateral method. Gravity-based irrigation systems have decreased to 39% of U.S. acreage over the same time period.
A number of long-term global trends bode well for Lindsay, particularly the ongoing need for increased agricultural activity in emerging markets around the world where efficient irrigation methods are necessary. Also, if biofuel demand grows, so will the need to plant &mdash and irrigate &mdash more corn.
Lindsay is the nation's second-largest supplier of pivot/lateral irrigation systems, its management estimates. For the first three quarters of Lindsay's fiscal year, irrigation segment sales totaled $479.9 million, up from $367.3 million a year ago. Infrastructure sales were $44.6 million, down from $56.1 million a year earlier.
Challenges in the future for Lindsay include expectations of record-level crop planting and higher yields, and a possible decrease in prices and demand for irrigation equipment. There's also concern about a reduction in government spending. But for the long term, Lindsay is in a good position to benefit from international growth demand. A detailed analysis of Lindsay, with an analysis of its quality and valuation, is available in SmallCap Informer.
iPad Login Trouble?
Rx for Tablets
As the popularity of mobile computing with tablets rises, a growing number of ICLUBcentral members are using iPads to navigate around our various sites. The convenience and portability of a tablet is unsurpassed. Although this is usually a smooth process, some members have a few cases of difficulty in logging into StockCentral sites with their iPads. Here are some things we have found to be helpful when using an iPad to access our sites.
First, close any browser windows that are pointing to StockCentral.com. Next, go to the Settings app/icon and click on Safari. Under Privacy, look for cookie settings. Our sites use cookie files, so this would need to be set to either From Visited or Always. Also, make sure your JavaScript setting is toggled to the On position.
Still having trouble? Go to any Internet search page and search for StockCentral.com, then click the link to the page from the search results; this should bring up a fresh visit instead of a return to a cached or historical copy. Get the step-by-step instructions for handling iPad login problems from StockCentral's resident technical expert, Sean Pulrang, in The Toolshed in StockCentral.
TODAY'S ENTIRELY RELEVANT QUOTATION
"U.S. stocks have been outperforming emerging market stocks for more than five years. Yet, few investors seem to recognize that a "great rotation" is underway from global equities to U.S. equities. In some cases, the U.S. is even a better growth story than are the emerging markets."
— Richard Bernstein, June 6