The stock market changes from minute to minute, and what’s hot today may not be hot tomorrow. Our expert analysts spot hot stocks that are heating up before the crowd swoops in to bid prices higher, and our journalists sift through the noise to shine a light on trending investments -- in spaces ranging from quantum computing to marijuana stocks -- to determine whether they’re actually worth your time.
Coal is a cheap source of energy. This is the biggest reason why the Chinese use coal to produce 80% of their electricity, while the U.S. uses coal for about 60%. India is another big consumer of the fuel, but it consumes only one-fifth as much as China. This big demand means big potential for coal stocks such as global coal stocks Sasol (NYSE: SSL), Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), Puda Coal (AMEX: PUDA) and Yanzhou Coal (NYSE: YZC).
Fast food heavyweights Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) and McDonald's Corp. (MCD) continue to duke it out in a fight for a bigger share of an increasing crowded fast-food marketplace. First it was the $1 double cheeseburger war. Then, the fight over breakfast. Now it appears MCD stock and BKC stock have come to blows over a price war for summer drinks.
After nearly two years of currency stability, I believe we are growing closer to a new round of yuan appreciation. And considering that the most frequently asked questions I receive from subscribers are when and how much the Chinese yuan will appreciate against the U.S. dollar, followed by how the currency appreciation will impact our China Strategy portfolio, I'd like to dig deeper into the issue.
With Greece's debt troubles, a lot of international investors are bullish on the euro. But there is one Asian currency that may soon follow the unraveling euro, and that's the Japanese yen. But you can find good stocks there. Nissan (NASDAQ: NSANY) is boosting capacity in China by 70% by 2012 as the country surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest car market. Toyota (NYSE: TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC) are not far behind. Everyone knows that the battle for market share is critical at the moment. Even General Motors, which is a ghost of its former self, is selling more cars in China in the first three months of 2010 than it is in the U.S. And Hitachi (NYSE: HIT), which at one point was 2% of the Japanese economy, is a huge industrial conglomerate that will also be a direct beneficiary of BRICs' growth.
Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE: OXY) is a California-based company with a portfolio of oil- and gas-producing properties in the U.S., Latin America, and the Middle East. Occidental Petroleum stock offers favorable exposure to higher oil prices. According to the firm's most recent presentation, a $1.00 increase in crude oil prices -- a move of about 1.2% at today's levels -- adds about $34 million to its net income. OXY earnings that could be boosted by this trend.
Health benefits provider Humana Inc. (HUM) posted quarterly diluted EPS of $1.52 this morning, higher than analysts' estimates of $1.14 and above the company's own forecast of $1.10-$1.20. Humana also raised its full-year guidance, following the footsteps of United Health Group Inc. (UHI), which raised its guidance last week following a strong quarterly report. Cigna Corp. (CI) is scheduled to report quarterly earnings next week and is expected to post good numbers. Aetna Inc. (AET), which is reporting later this week, is not expected to post similar gains.
In the wake of the Goldman Sachs (GS) bombshell, there have been a number of stock upgrades and stock downgrades to financial companies in the last week. GS stock was beaten down recently on news of a civil fraud investigation of Goldman by the SEC, and has sent shockwaves through the financial sector. Stock upgrades include Bank of America (BAC), Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), TD Ameritrade (AMTD) and New York Community Bancorp (NYB). Stock downgrades include Wells Fargo (WFC), UBS (UBS) and Credit Suisse (CS). Goldman Sachs itself also saw a stock downgrade.
Don't go chasing companies based on American health care reform – the bottom line is that the biggest profit and sales growth is going to healthcare companies in China right now! Here are three China biotechs to buy right now: WuXi PharmaTech (WX), Mindray Medical (MR) and China Biologic Products (CBPO).
All signs to the contrary, U.S. consumers are still feeling the pinch of high unemployment, stagnant wages, rising health care costs, and rising gasoline prices. What makes a difference to people still struggling with the effects of the near collapse of the financial system is cheap stuff, like the $2.99 meal at McDonald's (MCD) or lower prices on 10,000 items at Walmart (WMT).
A lot of investors think that the Chinese currency should appreciate against the dollar and most major currencies, and we agree. It is possible today, even though the currencies are not free-floating, to receive the investment return of the currency rate via the Market Vectors Renminbi/USD ETN (CNY) and the Market Vectors Indian Rupee/USD ETN (INR). Still, I advise against buying those ETNs, even though I am bullish on both the renminbi and the rupee.
Toyota (TM) has come under fire recently on continued coverage of its brake recall, big incentives to boost TM sales and rumors of a Toyota dividend cut. Some investors are fleeing this stock like a rat from a sinking ship, while others want to buy Toyota while TM stock is cheap.
China now leads the world in the green energy market, recently overtaking the U.S. for the first time. In fact, the money China invested in clean energy reached $34.6 billion in 2009, a sum dwarfing the $18.6 billion invested by the U.S., and far surpassing any other major economy in the world. Looking forward, I expect China will keep its solid lead as the country continues to spend 34% of its massive $586 billion stimulus package on green projects.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is in China this week, and over the next several days he'll be meeting with Chinese government officials on a host of matters concerning the two nations. At the top of the agenda for these meetings will no doubt be the currency issue. By all accounts, tensions over this issue have definitely eased in front of the Geithner visit. Last Thursday evening there were reports that President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao spoke via telephone for over an hour while Air Force One sat on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, and you can bet that this conversation included a preliminary addressing of the currency issue.
We're getting a positive blizzard of retailers reporting March sales today. Without exception, sales are up, and in some cases, way up. Target Corp. (TGT) and Costco Wholesale (COST) lead the way. Target is reporting same-store sales are up 10.3% in March compared with March 2009 sales. Apparel sales were particularly strong, and the company's chairman/CEO/president said Target expects to beat analysts' quarterly EPS estimates of $0.74 "by 10 cents or more."
