This series started with five major defense contractors and six major oil companies that are worthy considerations to help your portfolio survive a global crisis (see Chasing Value: You Must Own Defense and Oil for Safety). After the first review, one stock was eliminated from consideration: Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR). The reason is in the first story.

Today we continue our analysis by examining price-to-book (P/B), price-to-cash-flow (P/CF), and dividend yield. Each stock is ranked by sector and metric from best to worst. In the end we hope to narrow down our choices for candidates that might be added to Chasing Value: 2011 Stock Picks -- The Journey Begins.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Defense and Oil -- Part 2

Chasing Value: Defense and Oil -- Part 2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Activists should leave Warren Buffett out of the debate over the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

Following Buffett's suggestion, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders on Saturday defeated a proposal requiring the company to divest its holdings in PetroChina Co. (NYSE: PTR) because of the ties of its parent company to Sudan.

Though I share the outrage over the Darfur genocide, people who are trying to pressure Buffett are misguided. Though he is the largest shareholder in PetroChina, his influence is dwarfed by the the Chinese government, the real bosses of the company's management.

Why would the Chinese government listen to Buffett? Shouldn't the U.S. government and the UN be pressuring the Chinese to pressure the Sudanese?

Maybe Buffett could send a message by selling PetroChina's shares. But for every seller, there is a buyer. All Buffett would do is wind up making someone else rich, negating any message he was trying to send.

If you want to express your political views in your portfolio, invest in one of the many socially conscious mutual funds, including Citizens Funds or Domini Social investments. Investment News says that this category is the fastest growing segment of managed money.

But trying to separate the good companies from the bad ones isn't always easy.

"The pressure on social investing portfolios to achieve a beta comparable with those of such popular benchmarks as the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index means that social funds include companies that are involved tangentially in socially conscious activities," according to Investment News.

Why Warren Buffet can't stop the Darfur genocide originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 May 2007 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.