A friend of mine, T.R., is an officer in the Air Force, currently stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan: not exactly a resort, and not a place you would want to spend another 250 days in. He tells me the troops like Oreo cookies -- made by Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) -- of all things. They like them better than "homemade." Perhaps, greater reliability; an important concept in the military. Perhaps it is the preservatives; also an important concept in the military.

Here is the most interesting thing about his email. He reads all my stories and he informed me that he bought one of the oil stocks I recommended and sold it for a quick 10% profit. Now that brings several thoughts to mind. First, there is the dramatic impact the Internet has had on the ability of people to stay connected to the world -- trading stocks from Afghanistan! Second, I'm a buy-and hold-guy and evidently he is not. All of my oil-related picks have continued to rise --Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) and Anadark Petroleum (NYSE: APC) in particular -- and he would have been wiser to hold on to them. Of course when you are in a war zone, perhaps your time horizon is now, so who can blame him.

When I relayed this story to someone else, he fantasized about an "enemy combatant" in a bunker a mile away also reading my story and trading stocks. Not likely unless it was an Al Qaeda or Taliban leader moving money to Switzerland or the Bahamas, as warlords are prone to do.

Anyway T.R., when you read this you should know you are loved and respected, and your friends miss you and can't wait for your safe return. And more Oreos are on the way!

Those of you who are new to BloggingStocks can check out my other stories and read Chasing Value or Serious Money to find more potential opportunities and verify my track record as well.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.

Oreo treats in Afghanistan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 May 2007 19:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) was spun off by Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) on March 30, into an independent company. In its first independent quarter, Kraft profits dropped 30% to $720 million. But this is far from the full story. Much of the decline in profits can be attributed to one time restructuring costs, and Kraft even managed to beat analyst expectations by a penny as revenues increased 5.7% to $8.6 billion for the quarter.

Now that it is an independent company, is the stock a good investment? I would argue that, in a few months, the $33 per share will seem like a bargain once the restructuring charges are recouped and the new market and product initiatives begin to gain traction.

Continue reading Kraft Foods worth a look as a stand alone stock

Kraft Foods worth a look as a stand alone stock originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.