"Rising demand for electricity has been among the surest trends on which you could bet for the past 100 years;" says utility sector and income expert Roger Conrad.

The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "That's money in the bank for the companies that produce and distribute power, including these three Income Portfolio power plays: Dominion Resources (D), Southern Company (SO), and Xcel Energy (XEL).

"After a dip in 2008-09, Americans' power use is climbing again, as more and more electricity-using devices become essential to modern life.

Continue reading Utility Trio: Income Experts' Power Plays

Utility Trio: Income Experts' Power Plays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hudson City Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Xcel Energy Tops Bearish

Hudson City Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Xcel Energy Tops Bearish originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Novell Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Wisconsin Energy Tops Bearish

Novell Tops Bullish Volatility Skews; Wisconsin Energy Tops Bearish originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation

Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 May 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks List Shrinks from 26 to 21

Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks List Shrinks from 26 to 21 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks Yet -- From 35 to 26

Serious Money: Cheapest Stocks Yet -- From 35 to 26 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth

Serious Money: Still Cheap Market -- 35 Stocks + Yields & Growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks

Serious Money: Market Looks Cheap to Me -- 35 Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My colleague (sort of) James Cramer has suddenly turned into a giant, growling bear. He has been moving in that direction for a few months and now he thinks we all should go into hibernation for five years. He is so wrong!

First of all, it is never a good idea to make decisions while you are in panic mode. Second, Jim's guidance is moving with the market so he is not making any serious prognostication, just staying slightly ahead of the mob. He might as well stick his finger in the air.

Are things bad? Yes! Could they get worse? Yes! Would I run for the hills? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Even though I agree we are in for some tough times, I think the market is reacting to more than meets the eye (see All bets are off -- stocks' irrational downside).

If I recall correctly, 50% of the significant gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were made on 7% of the up days. You have to be in the game to win the game. If you are in panic mode you should alter your investment portfolio so that you can rest easy. Diversification helps and speculation hurts.

Most people who have been investing for any length of time have heard of dollar cost averaging. This is where you put a certain amount of money into an index fund regularly each month, so that when the market is up you are buying fewer shares at higher prices and when the market is on sale, like it may be today, you are buying more shares at a lower price. This allows you to grow your portfolio consistently while paying a reasonable price for the shares you add -- on average.

Continue reading No Cramer, now is not the time to panic!

No Cramer, now is not the time to panic! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The index for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed Friday at 1,099.23 , down 14.12%.

Each of my five picks is beating the market and three of the five are actually up despite crushing news in the financial sector, unemployment and housing. Congress did pass a Wall Street backstop/bailout bill that President Bush has signed, but only after adding another 450 pages and $130 billion to the amount. Although the five stocks have averaged a 0.75% loss, as intended, they easily beat the S&P by 13.37%.

Here are the five stocks that I still think are worth considering. For my original rationale see the linked story above.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It closed Friday at $66.16 -- up 2.75%. JNJ was featured in Barron's this month as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world.

Continue reading Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL

Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded MetLife (NYSE: MET) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believe the company's capital and liquidity profile are very solid relative to this week's sell-off.
  
• The firm also upgraded shares of MSCI (NYSE: MXB) to Outperform from Market Perform on valuation as they believe near-term challenges are already priced into shares.
  
• Burlington Northern (NYSE: BNI) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on valuation and strong pricing outlook.
• Costco (NASDAQ: COST) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Pali Capital lifted Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) to Neutral from Sell.
  
• Merrill upgraded Pall (NYS: PLL) and Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) to buy from Neutral.

• Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Trimble Navigation (NASDAQ: TRMB) to Perform from Outperform as they believe the company's Engineering and Construction division is facing a challenging period due to the credit market strain.
  
• Stephens downgraded Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they believe a dilutive capital raise is possible given future losses from real estate credits in coastal Florida.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MET, COST, WAG, CAG...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MET, COST, WAG, CAG... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The standard for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed yesterday at 1,213.59, down 5.47%. The percentage gains for the stable stocks do not include dividends. They are up 4% for a 9.47% advantage. The volatility in the market today may alter some of the data points so expect an after market update. Update: the following five stocks remain ahead of the market but they did turn down in the last hour.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $69.80 -- up 8.48% -- and is trading up this morning. JNJ was featured in Barron's this week as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world. Final Update: down $-0.29 to $69.51

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $45.96 -- no change -- and is trading slightly down this morning. Teva is the largest generic drug company in the world and just got bigger throught the acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals. Final Update: down $-1.25 to $44.11

Continue reading Serious Money: Good news in crushing market - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: Good news in crushing market - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was out all morning and returned to my desk to find employment and retail numbers sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling down 345 points today. That made me think it was important to check out how stable my stable stocks -- stocks with the ability to ride out this bearish run -- were doing in bad times.

This update is a spot-check of my earlier post Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, to see how my picks are holding up so far. Closing prices are for today.

The standard for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed today at 1,236.82, down 3.37%. The percentage gains do not include dividends. Four out of five of my picks beat all the indices; CB was close.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $70.45 -- up 9.5%

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $47.92 -- up 4.63%.

Continue reading Serious Money: How 'Stable' after 345 DJIA drop? -- CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: How 'Stable' after 345 DJIA drop? -- CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is a continuation of Serious Money: Choose these 5 stocks over CDs -- DEO, GE, HNP, JPM, MRK, which listed the first five stock ideas. Below are the other picks rounding out the ten.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) - This is one of the world leaders in the idea of mini-mills. This smallish steel producer prides itself on running a tight ship, pays a dividend and has a P/E under 9. The steel industry has been volatile in recent years with many mergers and acquisitions. NUE could be a takeover target as the industry continues to consolidate. In the mean time, at Friday's closing price of $51.6, it was paying a 4.05% yield and is near its 52 week low, having dropped from a high of $83.56.

Precision Drilling TR (NYSE: PDS) - This Canadian supplier of gas drilling equipment and manpower is probably the least well known of the companies in this group. It has dropped off its highs with the recent sag in gas prices and may well be a bargain again although not the bargain it was when I posted Chasing Value: Precision Drilling for 10% yield. At Friday's closing price of $21.35 it was paying a 7.1% yield and that is still a wonderful bounty even it the stock only appreciates a little.

Continue reading Serious Money: 5 more stocks better than CDs -- NUE, PDS, SO, WFC, XEL

Serious Money: 5 more stocks better than CDs -- NUE, PDS, SO, WFC, XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Well, the market was in the dumps yesterday and is even worse today. So this may be a good time to check on my list of stocks for those looking for equities that are stable enough to ride out this bearish storm.

This update is a spot-check of my earlier post Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, to see how my picks are holding up so far. Closing prices are for August 12, 2008.

The standard for comparison will be the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The following are the five stocks with closing prices from July 1.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $71.70 -- up 11.44%

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $46.41-- up 1.3%.

3) Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) -- when recommended the stock closed at $49.01 and paid a 2.64% dividend yield. It finished at $48.39 -- down 1.26%.

Continue reading Serious Money: 'Stable stocks' update - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL

Serious Money: 'Stable stocks' update - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA & XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Updating the story with the final numbers heading into the week end.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed at $64.34 and pays a 2.89% dividend yield. (NOW $66.53 -- up 3.4%) finished at $66.26 -- up 2.98%.

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed at $45.80 and pays a 1% dividend yield.( NOW 42.58 -- down 7%) finished at $41.78 -- down 8.78%.

3) Chubb Corp (NYSE: CB) closed at $49.01 and pays a 2.64% dividend yield. (NOW $47.51 -- down 3%) finished at $47.56 -- down 2.96%.

Continue reading Serious Money: Spot-checking 'stable stocks'

Serious Money: Spot-checking 'stable stocks' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After seeing the interest in yesterday's Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, I decided to track the stocks on a quarterly basis to see how they hold up over time (otherwise, what would be the purpose of discussing them in the first place?).

I said that all five have shrewd, conservative management teams and have been in the right place, at the right time -- and prepared. The standard for comparison will be the Standard & Poors 500 Index which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. Although my original story was published yesterday, I will be using the second quarter end point for my five stocks as well.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed at $64.34 and pays a 2.89% dividend yield.

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed at $45.80 and pays a 1% dividend yield.

3) Chubb Corp (NYSE: CB) closed at $49.01 and pays a 2.64% dividend yield.

Continue reading Serious Money: Tracking five stable stocks

Serious Money: Tracking five stable stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Six months of 2008 are now behind us and the stock market has not been a friendly place to most investors. Stability that was once found in household names that were industry giants is gone, and they have now been brought to their knees.

Many of them were the stocks we might have looked to in the past for stability, so you can be sure I put forward my five candidates with a little trepidation, but forward I go anyway. First a little review is in order.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) dropped from around $53 per share last year to around $30 in January and we can buy it today for around $17. Even at that price Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has downgraded it to a sell and thinks there is more bad news to come. Citigroup was the largest bank in the world. Not any more.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) was the largest car maker in the world. That was before the stock tumbled from $43 to its current $11 range. A crushing blow to long time investors hoping that someone in the company could stop the ship from sinking.

Continue reading Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times

Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading GE, Siemen AG, Vestas benefiting from growth in wind turbine use

GE, Siemen AG, Vestas benefiting from growth in wind turbine use originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Washington Post reports that pension fund managers representing $1 trillion have petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to required public companies to disclose the impact of global warming on their business prospects. If the SEC agrees, the change could threaten investors in utility stocks -- which are among the biggest private sources of carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

Here's a list of utility stocks which could be most affected:

• American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). AEP produced 145.4 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2006. In Europe, where legislation already limits carbon dioxide emissions, allowances for a ton of carbon dioxide sell or 20.5 euros, or about $28.50. So if its 2006 carbon dioxide had been emitted in Europe, AEP would have had to pay over $4 billion.
• Dominion Resources (NYSE: D)
• Dynegy (NYSE: DYN)
• Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL)

Coal producer, Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) could also be among those companies affected.

Continue reading Will SEC make utilities like American Electric Power (AEP) disclose climate risks?

Will SEC make utilities like American Electric Power (AEP) disclose climate risks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.