"Our latest global play is on the strongest-performing stock market of 2010 among the roaring BRIC economies: India," says Nicholas Vardy.

The editor of Global Bull Market Alert explains, "We recommend the country's leading private bank, ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBN). I think the stock will be a moneymaker for you over the next few weeks.

"First, while the Indian market as a whole has risen sharply during September's bull run, Indian banks are the "secret" behind this roaring bull market.

Continue reading ICICI Bank (IBN): Global Expert Banks on India

ICICI Bank (IBN): Global Expert Banks on India originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Given the stock market setback, the time to buy has come. So what is a global investor to do now? Where in the world do we go?" asks Vivian Lewis.

The editor of Global Investing reviews five global investment ideas: Mexico's Cemex (CX), Canada's Cameco (CCJ), Greece's Coca Cola Hellenic (CCH), Israel's Teva Pharmaceutcial (TEVA), and India's ICICI Bank (IBN).

"I think this May correction has been the result of insane blind total panic in the wake of the still unexplained flash crash. Logically nothing explains the sell-off -- nada, nichevo, nichts, rien. To imagine that Greece is going to pull down Britain, Germany and France is simply ridiculous.

Continue reading Five Global Favorites: 'Time to Buy'

Five Global Favorites: 'Time to Buy' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 May 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the third screening to find value among Fortune's 25 corporate world leaders that have demonstrated an ability to regenerate themselves from within. The list has been cut to 18 and will be cut further here.

The methodology of using basic stock data points to identify potential value investments only sets the stage for success -- it assures nothing. While it is true that paying less is better than paying more and getting a higher yield is better than less, this gives you a scant picture of what is in people's hearts and minds, and that is harder to judge. Like the weather, no matter the predictions, you may not find out it is raining until you are standing in it. Regardless, it should be advantageous to start with good stock (pun intended) before you take to whittlin', and that we have.

Continue reading Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders, 18 remain

Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders, 18 remain originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday I started a review of 25 companies that Fortune deemed most successful according to their peers in developing quality leadership. Today I review the remaining 20, searching to find the ones that might be worth investing in.

Price-to-book (from 11/27/09) was used as the first value screen. The theory being from a value investor's perspective that buying for a price at or near the break-up value of the company provides downside protection. Of course that is easier said than done.

Continue reading Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders, now 20

Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders, now 20 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The recent issue of Fortune magazine discusses how the best of the best train, guide and nurture top managers to become the leaders that will propel their corporations successfully forward. They list the top 25 companies, which I have used as the basis of a new review to see how they would fair against common metric screens.

In the past few months, many articles have posited that large-cap stocks should excel in the coming year based on their lagging the market behind smaller, more volatile stocks flying out of the March lows. I do not believe this is universally true. Plenty of large-cap stocks did well, such as Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG), while many small caps went nowhere. Even among the large caps included in Fortune's "Leadership 25," some have doubled.

Continue reading Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders among leaders

Serious Money: Fortune's 25 leaders among leaders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Citigroup upgraded MEMC Electronic (NYSE: WFR) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated solar poly price pressures are easing. The firm added MEMC to its Top Picks Live list and raised its price target on shares to $24 from $15.
  
• FBR Capital upgraded PHH Corp (NYSE: PHH) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect an improvement in mortgage banking fundamentals and recent management changes at the company. The firm raised its target on shares to $23 from $13.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI) to Hold from Sell on valuation, seeing a balanced risk/reward at current levels. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $14.
• Pearson plc (NYSE: PSO) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Nymagic (NYSE: NYM) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Keefe Bruyette.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DELL, IBM, IPCR, NETL ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: DELL, IBM, IPCR, NETL ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN), India's second largest bank, closed at $20.99. India is currently holding general elections -- the largest democratic election in the world -- to the 15th Lok Sabha. The results will be announced on May 16, 2009. IBN June option implied volatility of 85 is below its 26-week average of 95, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), a technology services firm based in India, closed at $30.36. INFY June option implied volatility is at 47, July is at 50; below its 26-week average of 61, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: ICICI Bank volatility low into results of Indian general elections originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 May 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN) India's second largest bank IBN, closed at $13.29. India will hold general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in 5 phases on April 16, April 22, April 23, April 30, May 7 and May 13, 2009. The results of the election will be announced in single phase on May 16, 2009. IBN May call option implied volatility is at 118, puts are at 94. IBN average option implied volatility over the last 26-weeks is 98, according to Track Data.

Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) is scheduled to report Q4 results on April 15. INFY, a technology services firm based in India, closed at $26.63. INFY April option implied volatility is at 70, May is at 65; near its 26-week average of 67, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: ICICI Bank call volatility at 118 into Indian general elections originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN), India's second largest bank IBN, closed at $13.21 Wednesday. IBN December option implied volatility of 143 is above its 26-week average of 82 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY), a technology services firm based in India, closed at $24.31 Wednesday. INFY December option implied volatility of 91 is above its 26-week average of 59 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Satyam Computer Services (NYSE: SAY), a technology solution provider based in India, closed at $12.62 Wednesday. SAY over all option implied volatility of 85 is above its 26-week average of 76 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Wipro Ltd (NYSE: WIT), a technology services company based in India, closed at $7.47 Wednesday. WIT over all option implied volatility of 83 is above its 26-week average of 71 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

The Sensex rose 0.7 percent to 9,092.72 at the close in Mumbai India, the highest in almost two weeks.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Volatility elevated for India-based companies; IBN, SAY, INFY, WIT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"My favorite speculation for 2008 is Indian retail banking giant ICICI Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN), my top play on India's booming market," says Nick Vardy, editor of The Global Stock Investor.

"With 614 branches and 2,200 ATMs across India, ICICI's doing an impressive job at bringing modern retail banking to India. ICICI has a diverse portfolio of high-quality, high-margin mortgage, consumer and auto loans. And it is busy adding new financial products such as life and general insurance to sell to this customer base.

"ICICI is also turning into a true global bank. The bank already operates in 14 countries through branches, representative offices and subsidiaries. Indeed, you now see ICICI's bank featured as the mortgage lender of choice in personal finance pages in London newspapers.

Continue reading Best Stocks for 2008: Global expert banks on India's ICICI Bank (IBN)

Best Stocks for 2008: Global expert banks on India's ICICI Bank (IBN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seems the world economy is growing and changing so fast that staying on top for very long will become harder. Carlos Slim of Mexico did not retain the title very long, as CNBC is reporting Meet the World's New 'Richest Person' -- For Now, a story about Mukesh Ambani. It has been reported that he is just completing a ONE BILLION DOLLAR HOME! Here's how the Indian press reports rank the world's top five richest people as of today, based on known public stock holdings:

• Mukesh Ambani - $63.2 billion
• Carlos Slim Helu - $62.2993 billion
• William (Bill) Gates - $62.29 billion
• Warren Buffett - $55.9 billion
• Lakshmi Mittal - $50.9 billion

What's more important is who is taking what actions. What are these supernova rich guys doing with their wealth? In the case of Gates and Buffett, they have become the world's biggest philanthropists. Carlos Slim has expressed a desire to share his wealth as well by setting up a $10 billion foundation -- I'm not sure how far he has gone with that idea. Mittal is still busy buying up all the steel production on the planet, and is now the largest player in the market. That will increase his wealth for now. On the other hand, the Hunt Brothers of Texas thought that way in the 1970s about silver, and found out rather quickly that was not their brightest idea. Steel is likely a much better bet.

Continue reading World's richest is Mukesh Ambani: Billion-dollar decisions from a billion-dollar home

World's richest is Mukesh Ambani: Billion-dollar decisions from a billion-dollar home originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• GSC Acquistion (GGA), a 15M-share IPO for this business financing company. Ladenburg, Thalman & Co. and I-Bankers Securities are the lead managers. Filing price: $10.00.
• Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP), a 10M-share IPO for this natural gas MLP. Citigroup and Lehman Brothers are the lead managers. Filing range: $19.00-$21.00.

Continue reading IPO & secondary preview -- Week of June 25, 2007

IPO & secondary preview -- Week of June 25, 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DOW JONES & COMPANY (NYSE: DJ)

Continue reading This week's rumor round-up: Will News Corp pull its offer for Dow Jones?

This week's rumor round-up: Will News Corp pull its offer for Dow Jones? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"India is a country of the future," observes Nick Vardy in The Global Stock Investor. And his current favorite play on this market is ICICI (NYSE: IBN). He notes, "ICICI can be considered India's 'Citibank' -- and it is angling to profit from India's growth in many ways."

The advisor points out that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 -- a government plan to transform New Delhi from a "chaotic city into a clean, organized and world-class metropolis" -- proposes making land available to build 2.4 million housing units in Delhi.

He notes that ICICI Venture Funds Management Co. -- a joint venture with Tishman Speyer, a U.S. real-estate company -- is already actively looking at funding a large chunk of the project. The prospects look strong.

Meanwhile, he adds, ICICI Bank's international aspirations continue to bear fruit. Recently, he states, ICICI received a license to set up a branch in the Qatar Financial Centre, Doha, Qatar. According to Vardy, ICICI Bank is the first Indian bank to receive a license from Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

He explains, "Perhaps no other stock in our portfolio demonstrates better that it is important to stick with strong-growth megatrends, no matter how volatile the ride can be. I continue to be very bullish on the long-term prospects of ICICI bank and the stock remains a long-term buy and my #1 pick on the global financial-services megatrend."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

ICICI: Bank on India originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Banc of America downgraded shares of Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) to Neutral from Buy, as well as VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE), Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) and Aventine Renewable Energy (NYSE: AVR) to Sell from Neutral. The firm believes new ethanol supply will depress ethanol's premium to gasoline, drive corn prices higher and pressure distillers' grains values.
• Novacea Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVC) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on valuation and lack of catalysts until 2H08; the firm believes the company's deal with Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) is a positive.
• Aimco Properties (NYSE: AIV) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Lehman, as the firm does not view AIV as an attractive takeover target.

• EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear Stearns based on valuation.
• UBS downgraded shares of Iomai Corp. (NASDAQ: IOMI) and ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN) to Neutral from Buy.
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Parexel Intl. (NASDAQ: PRXL) to Neutral from Buy and PRA International (NASDAQ: PRAI) to Sell from Neutral.
• Janus Capital Group (NYSE: JNS) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
• Security Bank (NASDAQ: SBKC) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Sandler, O'Neill & Partners on valuation.
• Bradley Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BDY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy on valuation at Matrix USA.

Analyst downgrades 5-31-07: Ethanol producers to Sell originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 31 May 2007 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been ordered to pay $1.52B to Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) for infringing patents on a fundamental technology for digital music.
• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column, shares of India's two largest private sector banking companies, Icici Bank Ltd. (NYSE: IBN) and HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB), have tripled over the past three years. However, some investors are getting cautious on the stocks as India's central bank has taken tougher steps to rein in lending growth and stanch inflation.
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" suggested investing in companies with modest dividend yields, but a strong cash position and business model, such as outsourcing player Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) and insurer Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU).

• According to German website Heise Online, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will exhibit at CeBIT, the European version of the CES expo, from March 15 through the 21. Apple will be exhibiting the iPhone, said the site. However, according to German website Computerwoche, Apple has denied that it is participating in CeBIT. (Both links in German)
  
• Business Week's "Inside Wall Street" column mentioned UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Epix (NASDAQ: EPIX) and LJ International (NASDAQ: JADE) positively.
  
• Warren Buffet has stirred up interest in UnitedHealth by reportedly buying one million shares in the company.
• Small biotech Epix, which recently signed a deal with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), could double within a year, believe some experts.
• LJ International, which has already risen from slightly over $4 to over $11 since December, may still have room to rise, according to Albert Lee of Maxim Group, who has a $12 price target on the stock.
• Investor's Business Daily's "New America" column highlighted Spartan Stores (NASDAQ: SPTN), the 10th largest grocery distributor in the U.S., which has seen earnings growth in double and triple digits for nine of the past ten quarters.

Newspaper wrap-up 2-23-07: Apple at CeBIT? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.