Here are the next four of my 2011 picks. I am behind schedule, after publishing the first 5 earlier in the week (see: Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 5 of 11). This year instead of starting completely anew, I am adjusting my 2010 picks. There is no sense in abandoning good ideas just because the calendar turned a page.

You will actually find support of running themes I have been writing about over the past few months. One of these is the idea of making a contrarian investment in a basket of stocks that have been both scalded and scolded in the headlines. Six stocks were included in such a group that I called the "toxic stocks" (see: Chasing Value: Toxic Stock Update #3 -- BAC, BP, C, GE, GS, RIG).

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9

Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- 6, 7, 8, 9 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Bank of New York Mellon: Well-Positioned for the Next Asset Management Wave

The Bank of New York Mellon: Well-Positioned for the Next Asset Management Wave originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Bank of New York Mellon Is Undervalued

The Bank of New York Mellon Is Undervalued originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In his Invest with an Edge, he explains, "One bank in particular is exerting itself again as a dominant player: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC)." Here's his review.

"The painful declines in bank stocks appear to have stopped for now, as bank stocks have exploded off the March lows. As we've observed, financials have 'friends in high places.'

"Banks in general are showing promise as credit becomes easier. There's still a long way to go for complete recovery, but the trend is pointing up.

Continue reading Wells Fargo (WFC): 'Ride the financial wave'

Wells Fargo (WFC): 'Ride the financial wave' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK) is a fortress of safety with plenty of upside potential," says value investor Nathan Slaughter.

In his Half-Priced Stocks, he explains, "The 140-year old bank is a classic example of the tortoise and hare fable. Its slower, measured approach has paid off handsomely and keptit at arms length from the problems plaguing other banks."

"Hudson City manages a network of 130 bank branches spread throughout affluent regions of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. At last count, the firm had over $20 billion in deposits and approximately $56 billion in total assets.

"According to an independent study, this tight-knit institution has been rated one of the nation's three strictest mortgage underwriters. So when most other banks relaxed their standards in recent years to attract riskier clientele, Hudson City stuck to its conservative roots and refused to budge.

Continue reading Hudson City (HCBK): 'Best in breed' bank bet

Hudson City (HCBK): 'Best in breed' bank bet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Capital One Financial: A play for high-risk investors only

Capital One Financial: A play for high-risk investors only originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading UBS narrows quarterly loss after write-downs

UBS narrows quarterly loss after write-downs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 May 2009 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As the three-day Easter weekend approaches, volume is declining as both traders and investors shy away from a market that is fraught with uncertainty.

Not only are the Q1 earnings in doubt, but longer-term economic analysis by the ChangeWave team indicates that we can expect to see a trading range of 700 to 900 on the S&P 500 for at least several months. And this is supported by my own technical analysis.

After a discussion of many of the risks peculiar to this economic cycle, the ChangeWave team appraises the big economic forces that "simply have to play out over time."

Continue reading Today's technical outlook: Back out of the banks

Today's technical outlook: Back out of the banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank stocks are well off their bottoms. Bank Of America (NYSE: BAC) traded at $2.53 on Feb. 20 of this year. Now it's $7.90 as I check the latest quote. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was down to $7.80 on March 5. You'll have to pay $17 as of this writing. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) touched $14.96 before bouncing to $28. And Citigroup (NYSE: C) (hopefully) bottomed at $.97 on March 5, then ran to $3 as I write this. Is it finally time to start buying bank stocks?

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Time to buy bank stocks?

Comfort Zone Investing: Time to buy bank stocks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Hedge Fund Apocalypse: Massive short squeeze on Citi could wipe out dinosaur funds

Hedge Fund Apocalypse: Massive short squeeze on Citi could wipe out dinosaur funds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Barclays (NYSE: BCS) posted earnings that would be the envy of almost any other global bank. In the process, it gave the troubled banking industry some hope that the future will not be one of ongoing losses stretching well into this year, if not into next.

The bank's second half surprised analysts. According to Bloomberg, "It looks like a pretty good underlying performance and start to 2009," said Michael Trippitt, a London-based analyst at Oriel Securities Ltd., who has an `add' rating on Barclays." A lot of the improvement came because many of Barclays large consumer and business service divisions did well when the effects of toxic asset where taken out.

Continue reading Barclays (BCS): Some hope for U.S. bank stocks

Barclays (BCS): Some hope for U.S. bank stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You've asked people to give you ideas, so here's one: Don't recycle Bush's failed ideas and expect them to work. Each of those failed ideas has deep flaws. Instead, if you have to save the banking system -- and I would like to see how things would work if companies and people lived within their means rather than borrowing to pay for things that they can't afford -- then cull and capitalize or create new banks.

Here's what's wrong with the three recycled Bush ideas being floated:

Continue reading Memo to the President: Don't recycle bad bank fix ideas, get new ones that work

Memo to the President: Don't recycle bad bank fix ideas, get new ones that work originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bank of America

Continue reading Bank of America board lends support to CEO

Bank of America board lends support to CEO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The banks are a wreck and now the pieces are beginning to fly apart, with Citigroup (NYSE: C) struggling the most and beginning to dismember itself.

Meredith Whitney, the uber-analyst who has been right about everything in banking for more than two years, said there were $2.4 trillion in asset downgrades at the end of last year by the credit agencies. This will really whack the banks' critical Tier 1 capital.

And even if you forget earnings problems, the banks will continue to have no money to lend, which will strangle businesses and the economy.

Be sure to read all 7 reasons the stock market isn't going up any time soon.

Michael Shulman is a contributor to OptionsZone.com.

Seven reasons the market is not going up any time soon: #4 The banks are falling apart originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The case builds in U.S. for two-tier banking

The case builds in U.S. for two-tier banking originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) posted earnings Thursday. In a surprise to analysts, who had been expecting a break-even quarter, JPM reported earning 7 cents for the fourth quarter.

While the report showed a 76% decline from the previous year, the news pushed the stock to early gains in the face of a drop in the Dow.

Typical of the lack of conviction in the markets, JPM gave up early gains. Subsequent trading restored the stock to the positive column before it succumbed to a late-day sell-off that shaved more than 6% from its market value.

The mid-morning decline in JPM occurred as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) plummeted to a new low at $7.50. BAC is sagging under the weight of absorbing Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, both of which have proven more difficult to digest than earlier thought.

Bank stocks in general are under heavy selling pressure after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared Wednesday that billions more will be required to restore stability to the nation's (and the world's) banking system.

Continue reading JPMorgan up on earnings report

JPMorgan up on earnings report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sept. 15: Dow 10,917 (down 504 points); trading range, 566 points

Wall Street greeted a new week with more turmoil in the financial sector leading the S&P 500 to its largest one-day percentage drop since 9/11.

During the weekend before the session, Lehman Brothers (OTC: LEHMQ) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) for $50 billion and AIG (NYSE: AIG) began looking for massive amounts of cash to save itself from failure.

Lehman gave up the ghost after no buyers were willing to step up to save the 158-year-old firm, and the company listed $613 billion in debt.

Meanwhile, the feds told AIG to look elsewhere for $40 billion to shore up its balance sheet, leading many to suspect it would take much more cash to set things straight.

They were right -- we're currently at $150 billion and counting.

Greg Tucker is the executive editor of OptionsZone.com.

10 craziest days on Wall Street in 2008: #4 See you later, Lehman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oct. 14: Dow 9,310 (down 76 points); trading range, 874 points

The markets finished the day marginally lower, but the volatility that had plagued the markets for the past few weeks continued to reign. (Two days later the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) would set an all-time record of 81.)

However, the big headline of the day came from an announcement that the federal government would take preferred equity stakes worth up to $250 billion in several U.S. banks to keep money flowing through the financial system.

The move linked the banking sector and the government, and made taxpayers de facto shareholders in the American finance system.

Congratulations, you now own several banks.

To participate in the program, financial institutions like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) had to agree to executive compensation limits, including the elimination of golden parachutes.

The program was "voluntary," but when Treasury and the Fed came knocking, it was making an offer the banks couldn't refuse.

Greg Tucker is the executive editor of OptionsZone.com.

10 craziest days on Wall Street in 2008: #7 I've always wanted to be loved ... and be a banker originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Merrill & Wachovia give up the ghost

Merrill & Wachovia give up the ghost originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Buying the financials while the Fed was aggressively cutting interest rates was supposed to be a no-brainer.

Banks, brokerages, insurance companies and other financial-related businesses rally in tandem to lower rates, which translates into cheap money for lending and investing.

A million and one professionals bought into this theme, and made the mistake of thinking the worst-case scenario for the credit markets was baked in back in June.

By mid-July, the bloodletting in the financial sector revealed giant writedowns being charged against earnings for huge exposure to subprime debt at the biggest banks and Wall Street firms. The rest is history, which is still being written to date.

Shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C) crashed from $25 to $3, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) plunged from $180 to $47, and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) fell from $40 to $10. You get the picture.

Continue reading 2008 Trades Gone Bad #4: Betting on the financials

2008 Trades Gone Bad #4: Betting on the financials originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.