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Cautious on China

"Chinese stocks are deep in bubble territory," notes John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report. Despite his concerns, he still sees select opportunities suggests several long-term buys in the region.

The advisor explains, "The Shanghai Composite Index -- which is limited mainly to local Chinese investors - is up more than 50% this year. It's only a matter of time before we see a huge correction, if not a crash."

But, he adds, that doesn't mean that all things Chinese should be avoided. Christy states, "China-related stocks that are listed in Hong Kong and here in the U.S. are still attractive if you are willing to stomach a little volatility in the short term." Included on his list of top long-term China holdings are Lenovo (OTC: LNVGY) and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL).

Lenovo, he notes, missed the China bubble entirely, despite he says, being the country's top PC maker. The company, he notes, just announced a new round of restructuring which will involve 1,400 job cuts-roughly 5% of its workforce in the coming year.

Says Christy, "Lenovo is still struggling to reap the full benefit of its acquisition of IBM's personal computer business. At the same time, it is trying to refashion its identity from a small Chinese PC maker to a truly global brand. These are not easy tasks and they will take time, but Lenovo is on the right track."

The advisor also looks to China Mobile, which he notes is is the country's leading cellular service provider. He says, "CHL is growing rapidly and offers tremendous long-term potential." However, it cautions that is not "especially cheap" at current levels and suggests patience for a better entry point.

In addition, he also looks toward Hutchison Telecom (NYSE: HTX), which he notes moved to a profit positon in the first quarter. He observices, While it is not a China play, it has operations in Hong Kong as well as other rapidly growing Asian markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia."

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

Forbes expert: Sell Barclays, buy Irish

John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report, has long held Barclays (NYSE: BCS) in his model portfolio, and in recent months has been anticipating a merger deal. He now notes, "Rumors of a deal between Barclay's and Dutch bank ABN-Amro (NYSE: ABN) appear to be turning into reality."

This deal, in his view, will be an "interesting strategic combination" – in part because ABN's businesses in Europe, Asia and Latin America, for example, will help Barclays expand its global reach. Further, he notes that Barclays is a "pretty good" value, trading at 10 times earnings and paying nearly 4% dividend.

Despite its positive operating outlook, the advisor is choosing to sell the stock, noting, "Interesting strategic combinations aren't always the best stock picks."

Continue reading Forbes expert: Sell Barclays, buy Irish

Global gains: Outsourcing and Indian internets

I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, who have shared some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.

Global expert John Christy -- editor of the Forbes International Investment Report -- has been very successful in selecting Indian outsourcing companies; two such firms -- Infosys (NASDAQ:INFY) and Wipro (NYSE:WIT) -- are both strong performing holdings in his model portfolio in recent years.

A third player in the sector -- Sify (NASDAQ:SIFY) -- has not shared in that success. Christy explains, "Sify shares got off to a decent start last year. But like other emerging market stocks, they got clobbered in the sell-off last May. Problem is, unlike the rest of the group, Sify never bounced back."

However, the company's prospects may be changing. He notes, "Sify's outsourcing business serves global companies like GE, Oracle, and Whirlpool, as well as local blue-chips such as Ranbaxy Laboratories, Bharti, and Jet Airways.

"It runs a chain of internet cafés throughout India and a family of internet portals. It also provides broadband access to about 200,000 homes. Sify's internet backbone reaches 186 cities across the country.

Continue reading Global gains: Outsourcing and Indian internets

Global gains: Forbes expert sees cell phone profits

I've just returned from the World Money Show, where some 10,000+ investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the advisors featured at the show, and I will be highlighting some of their favorite investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.

One of the most popular sectors among advisors at this year's World Money Show was telecom, and John Christy sees long-term opportunity in two leading cell phone makers.

The editor of The Forbes International Investment Report explains, "Fourth quarter earnings for mobile phone maker Finland's Nokia (NYSE:NOK) knocked the cover off the ball. Net income rose nearly 20% to $1.7 billion, beating analyst forecasts.

"And even though the average selling price for its handsets fell, NOK was still able to boost its profit margins. Nokia is also jacking up its dividend by 16%, and is buying back 4 billion euros worth of stock.

"Growth in the Asia-Pacific region topped 60% -- an encouraging sign that the company's strategy of focusing on emerging markets is paying off. Nokia is also planning to roll out a fresh new line of more than 30 handset models in 2007.

"Compare this to Motorola (NYSE:MOT), which has yet to come up with successful replacement for its popular RAZR phone, missed its latest quarter by a country mile, and is now under attack by activist investor Carl Icahn. I'd much rather own NOK.

Continue reading Global gains: Forbes expert sees cell phone profits

Top Picks 2007: Christy goes online for Japan

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (NASDAQ: IIJI) is the top global speculation from John Christy, editor of The Forbes International Investment Report. He notes, "Japanese small caps have been clobbered in 2006 -- down about 50% year-to-date.

"The group got hammered by the Livedoor scandal earlier in the year and never got back on its feet. And with blue chips such as Canon and Toyota delivering double-digit gains, there wasn't much need to bother with smaller companies anyhow.

"This should change in the year ahead. International markets have done extremely well across the board and investors are looking for pockets of opportunity.

"In particular, hedge funds have been sifting through the rubble in Japanese small caps. These companies tend to be more profitable, more entrepreneurial -- and much cheaper -- than their large-cap peers.

"IIJI's net income doubled in its most recent quarter on strong demand for its IT outsourcing services. As Japan Inc. continues to restructure, IIJI's expertise will continue to be in demand. At a recent $9, IIJI sells for less than 20 times earnings.

"The company recently moved to the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which will boost its visibility with investors. There's still a lot of risk -- IJII has been an extremely volatile stock. But as long as IIJI continues to deliver strong profit growth, there will be plenty of upside."

To see John's favorite conservative international idea for 2007, click here.

Top Picks 2007: John Christy's contrarian call on Nokia

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Stocks Report.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is the favorite conservative stock pick from global investing expert John Christy. The editor of The Forbes International Investment Report says, "My thesis is that Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia used to be a classic European growth play, but now it represents a contrarian bet.

"A lot of folks are skeptical about the handset market -- market saturation, fierce competition, etc. -- and it's easy for cranky analysts to take potshots at them. That pessimism, however, is already reflected in Nokia's share price: It was only up 12% through early December, versus more than 20% for European stocks as a whole.

"It's also reflected in analysts' consensus estimates -- earnings per share are expected to rise 12% in 2007 and about 8% in 2008. That's nothing to write home about. Analysts are underestimating the strength of the mobile phone replacement and upgrade markets.

"Ten years ago the idea of a camera phone would have seemed nuts. I don't think anybody knows what bells and whistles phones will offer in the next ten years, so I think there's a lot of opportunity to keep driving innovation. Maybe not at the same clip as before, but still respectable.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: John Christy's contrarian call on Nokia

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