Wondering what to do with your portfolio now? If you have some extra cash -- and a brave heart -- this could prove a good time to buy stocks, since they've been pounded so mercilessly.Some investors have made great money this week on terrific calls that could have gone either way. But these were mostly short-term, high-risk trades. I'd recommend individual investors stay true to the familiar mantra: Buy what you know, buy solid companies with healthy balance sheets and strong cash positions, buy for the long term and don't fret timing so much.
Throughout this week, BloggingStocks writers have covered many stocks that look like good long-term bets:
General Mills (NYSE: GIS): Jim Cramer thinks General Mills could "benefit from the big storm," while Steven Mallas said this one is "a great way to tackle the bears." Other picks Cramer offered alongside GIS include Procter and Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate (NYSE: CL), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): It seems everybody likes Apple at this level. Todd Harrison, Cramer and Tobias Buckell all agreed. Douglas McIntyre thinks it could benefit from Palm's problems.
AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T): With the help of the iPhone, AT&T has been increasing its subscriber base at the expense of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S). Ivan Marchev said AT&T is a conservative income for the buy and hold investor.
Kroger (NYSE: KR): Steven Mallas touted this one as a good defensive play.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT): Mallas also likes Microsoft in this environment. He notes Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) posted some nice earnings, but thinks Microsoft or even IBM are safer bets now.
Oil ETFs: For investors willing to learn about oil drilling, Eric Roseman says there are some "ludicrous selling; terrific values' in the sector. He likes the iShares Dow Jones Oil Equipment and Services ETF (ASE: IEZ), Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) and Hercules Offshore (NASDAQ: HERO).
But along with picks, bloggers also issued some alarm bells as well. You should possibly avoid these stocks:
Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI): This one got pounded. You may think it could be a good buy after the merger. But as Doug McIntyre reminds us, "The newly merged company has over $2 billion in debt and neither firm ever made an operating profit."
General Electric (NYSE: GE): You'd think there would be no more solid company than GE. But as a conglomerate it has exposure to many businesses, including the financial sector. GE may be attractive now, but figuring out the exposure from its finance unit could be too complicated and not worth the risk.
Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR): This one had a good day Wednesday following a bullish note from Citigroup. But Elizabeth Harrow cautions about the troubling fundamentals and Lehman-tainted losses on the horizon.
Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE: CC): Not all electronic retailers are created equal. While Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) continues to think strategically, Brian White cautions Circuit City is going nowhere.
Closing Bell: Can't go up every day (BAC, HE, HPW, COMS, BRCD, WMT, AMD)
Wal-Mart grows profit and cash flow in Q3, but comps still ailing
Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-19-2008 @ 11:59PM
Michael said...
The housing and credit crisis began under Clinton when Bill strongly advocated making it possible for every family to own a home. Clinton's people pushed through a bill relaxing the laws allowing the big firms to take more risks. With the good economy almost everyone voted for it, including McCain and Obama. That was in 1998. In 2005 McCain, much to his credit, recognized there were problems and cosponsosred a bill stating that there were massive housing irregularities, particularly within Fannie May and Freddic Mac, and addressing these problems so they wouldn't cripple our economy. When McCain's bill went before Congress, it was quickly killed by the Democrats. Barney Frank and Chris Dodds led the opposition to McCain's bill and Obama and Biden voted against it. This explains why Dodds and Obama received more campaign money from these big firms that any other politicians. The media avoids these facts or speak only obliquely about them to avoid embarrassing Obama.
9-20-2008 @ 1:24PM
yj said...
who cares what that idiot cramer thinks?
anyone knows his record is a joke
no self-respecting investor follows any of that clowns recommendations
9-20-2008 @ 11:06AM
Paul Boudreau said...
Michael, your such a ------ right wing conservative Republican that you still have your head up your a--
9-20-2008 @ 11:41AM
marj said...
Michael...... Please tell me how Obama managed to vote for a Clinton sponsored bill in 1998? Few had ever heard of Obama in 1998, except some Illinois locals. Your obvious lie makes the remainder of your post totally unbelieveable. You must be a Republican because only Republicans alter "facts" to suit their own purposes. You seem to be much like McCain: every time you open your mouth, your foot somehow finds its way inside. If you don't know what you are talking about, sometimes it is wiser to say nothing.
9-21-2008 @ 8:53PM
nick said...
I hear that General Mills is going to have Obama on the cocoa puffs box.