I have always felt that for all the blabbing we do -- or blogging, in my case -- we should try as best we can to be accountable for our good and bad calls. This report is long overdue, but I will post it anyway since all of my past year's picks and results have been made public.

The market was very harsh in the early part of 2009, filling investors fear and trepidation, and sinking to a March 9, 2009 bottom. Perhaps some of the bleeding has stopped, but the economy has not healed as bears and bulls seem to carry the day, or every other day.

Continue reading Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500

Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here is a common sentiment about the stock market: "No fun at all. As I have said before, I believe it has turned into one big casino largely divorced from its original goal of providing capital to companies who produce something of value."

There's a lot of truth to what "granny" recently said to me in an e-mail. Fortunately she also noted "FYI Granny's up 5.86% + dividends." That would give her a gain of about 10% in the past ten months since I posted Where should granny put $50,000, suggesting a very conservative portfolio for an uncertain time.

Not only has she earned a very nice return, surpassing her CD account by 9.5% (20 fold), but she was able to do so with a great deal less volatility than the overall market most of us have lived through.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino'

Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clock is ticking away the time before the year ends and I have only begun to sort out the possibilities. In Part 1 of this series, I discussed breaking up my potential picks into three categories: contender, on the fence, and out of the running until the 10 stocks have been identified.

Four contenders have been considered so far: American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Anglo American ADR (AAUKY) and Diageo plc (DEO).

Six more are included in today's review: EZCorp Inc. (EZPW), General Electric Company (GE), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), Annaly Capital Management ( NLY), Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) plus Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B). These include the remaining five from 2009 and one more familiar to most investors.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2

Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2009 blazing picks -- Q3 review

Chasing Value: 2009 blazing picks -- Q3 review originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One of my wonderful friends, Ms. P, asked me for some guidance on how she might allocate $50,000 currently earning peanuts in a money market account. Though she is decades from becoming a grandmother, after a brief discussion about her financial parameters, it became clear to me that she was looking for a "granny fund."

In reality, my recommendations would be suitable, and perhaps desirable, for many passive investors as well.

The $50,000 is a portion of money Ms. P has set aside to purchase a home, which might happen in six months, but could also be pushed out further, depending on the economy and her situation. Basically, she wants to cover all her bases because she might need the money at any time and does not want to be caught short, while at the same time she would like to generate some revenue without taking any big risks.

Continue reading Where should granny put $50,000?

Where should granny put $50,000? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Six stocks paying over 6% yields: VZ, DUK, MO, KMP, BWP, NLY

Serious Money: Six stocks paying over 6% yields: VZ, DUK, MO, KMP, BWP, NLY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The second quarter is now behind us and for the most part it was a positive one in terms of the market pushing higher almost 40%. This is the second review of my 2009 stock picks through June 30 (see: Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more). There was a lot of talk about green shoots this past quarter as Wall Street was looking for any small bit of optimistic data to support the market.

The federal printing presses continued to run at full speed pushing the dollar lower and oil prices higher. While the feds were printing money to cover their deficits, the States do not have that same luxury and many of them are having trouble balancing their budgets to the tune of billions of dollars.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2009 picks 731% better than S&P -- 2nd quarter review

Chasing Value: 2009 picks 731% better than S&P -- 2nd quarter review originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In December when I posted Chasing Value: Annaly Capital Mgmt -- from watch list to buy I was not just recommending Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY), I actually was buying it.This residential REIT buys secured home mortgages, leveraging short term against long term rates.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Worried Annaly Capital investor

Chasing Value: Worried Annaly Capital investor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The 2009 clock is ticking loudly. The year has started off with a lot of continued turbulence. We have a new president, Barack Obama, who will boldly lead us where no man has gone before -- two trillion further in debt, most likely.

Not that this is his doing, but it is his chosen calling, and right now he is calling out to the Senate minority to compromise, and get yet another federal stimulus package off the shelf and out the door.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2009 picks -- news and views

Chasing Value: 2009 picks -- news and views originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Anybody have capital gains to show this year? I didn't think so. Not unless you were shorting the market, and in particular financials. I got clobbered with everyone else. There were not many places to hide. Picking winners was like guessing where each piece of debris would land after the tornado moved through town.

The average crystal ball is looking quite foggy about now, nevertheless I have rummaged throughout the stock market to select nine stocks that I think offer more reward than risk. The market is priced for the worst in so many cases that I think the list could have included 50 companies without too much trouble.

In 2007 and 2008 I owned some but not all of the picks for the year. This year I own all of the stocks and they were all acquired in the latter part of the fourth quarter for a new portfolio.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more

Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY) is one of the stocks mentioned in Fortune Magazines "Ten Promising Stocks for 2009" and is currently paying almost a 15% yield at Friday's closing price of $14.92. The company borrows money at short term rates and only invests in long-term Federally backed mortgages. They have avoided subprime loans and derivatives entirely.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Annaly Capital Mgmt -- from watch list to buy

Chasing Value: Annaly Capital Mgmt -- from watch list to buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: What's on your watch list?

Serious Money: What's on your watch list? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Without a doubt, I picked the worst possible time to buy MFA Mortgage (NYSE: MFA). Not long ago, I wrote about my desire to get in on MFA. Well, I did. And now I am paying for it, it seems.

I made a few buys between $7 and $10, starting at the high end of the range and then working down. Today, MFA got hit again; as I write this, it's trading around $6 (the low for the day so far is $5.96). My portfolio is certainly getting bloodier.

The mortgage REIT sector is having a tough time because of analyst price-target reductions and falling book values. Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY) and Anworth Mortgage (NYSE: ANH) are feeling the heat. MFA also has been doing some reduction in terms of leverage, as this recent press release tells us. I'll be following the mnREIT story. For now, though, I'm not selling, and I think MFA is, as Merrill Ross, an analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey, states, rather cheap at the moment (I know, I know, it can just get cheaper, can't it...).

Disclosure: Steven Mallas owns shares of MFA common and MFA preferred shares; positions can change at any time.

Getting killed on MFA Mortgage originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Subprime mess only in 3rd inning originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.