Sara Lee Corp. (SLE)
We still hold an Outperform rating on <b>Sara Lee</b> (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/sle>SLE</a>) shares to reflect our favorable view of management's various initiatives to achieve growth and streamline operations. <p> The company's Transformation Plan is expected to generate sales growth in the range of 4% to 5% and earnings growth in the range of 5% to 8% by next year. Further, the company is executing a series of global projects to generate cost savings in the range of $350 million to $400 million by fiscal 2012. <p> The company is focused on more attractive product lines that have better potential for profitable growth in the long-term.Molina Healthcare (MOH)
<b>Molina Healthcare, Inc.</b> (<a href=http://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/moh>MOH</a>) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $0.18 per share, which was worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.16. The company earned $1.19 per share in 2009 as against $2.15 per share in 2008, so its latest results are down approximately 45%. <p> Molina's profit fell approximately 48.2% to $30.9 million in fiscal 2009 from 2008. The decline in profit was attributable to higher operating expenses. The increase in medical costs was attributable to the H1N1 influenza and costs associated with recently enrolled members. <p> We are also concerned about the intense competition facing Molina. We have an Underperform rating on the stock.Smart Retirement Investing: Using Asset Allocation in Retirement Plans
If you don’t already have your television set to record Jean Chatzky’s Money 911 segment on NBC’s TODAY Show, you might want to as she continues to speak about timely financial topics that are presented in a very straightforward manner, as recently done in an article about retirement plans and investing options.
For years, my husband and I have been watching her on the TODAY Show and every time we feel as though we walk away more financially savvy than we were before watching her segment. Oftentimes, it seems that financial experts speak in a different tongue as they make the subject so complicated and difficult to relate to. But once again, a recent article Retirement Investing: Tips for Creating the Proper Asset Allocation by Jean Chatzky, hits the nail on the head about how best to tackle retirement planning.
“No matter what retirement savings vehicle you’re using – 401(k), Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, or some combination of the three – once you find the money to stash away, you can easily set up automatic contributions each month. By doing so, the money is whisked out of your bank account before you ever have a chance to spend it. But that doesn’t mean your role in the retirement savings game is over.” This is where one’s role in their investing appears to be more daunting. But as she comments, “you’ll need to weigh a few factors about yourself – including your age, your risk tolerance, and when you plan to retire – and then figure out how you are going to spread your money across the different investment categories. This is called an asset allocation.” Whether you choose to hire an investment adviser to help you in this effort, or look to do-it-yourself portfolio management tools to assist you — such as one from MarketRiders Inc. – it is a step that must be taken for smart retirement investing. Read her recent article and you too will feel more financially savvy, not to mention better armed to tackle your retirement investing strategy.
Trusting Yourself With Buy and Hold Investing
Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article ‘Will We Ever Again Trust Wall Street?’ that brilliantly steers one to consider employing a buy and hold investment strategy over an actively managed portfolio. “Buying and holding a diversified stock portfolio still makes sense. Paradoxically, as fewer people cling to their faith in traditional stock investing, the future rewards from it are likely to grow greater.”
With the way things have played out on Wall Street in the last two years, now might be a great time to reconsider your investing strategy and turn to a buy and hold strategy that provides for diversification and less risk than individual stocks. Look to index funds and exchange traded funds to build a low cost, globally diversified portfolio using asset allocation. Just think of all the time you will have in your day for other things. With all the time currently spent chasing the market, now you can quickly and easily buy and hold index funds and spend a fraction of the time rebalancing your portfolio. Better yet, if you choose to utilize one of the on-line portfolio management tools out there, like one offered by marketriders.com, monitoring and rebalancing your portfolio, to keep it in check, is a breeze.
Who better to trust with your own money than yourself!
An ETF is a Great Investment Choice
When evaluating your investment choices and trying to understand ‘what is an ETF?’ it is in your best interest to read a recent article in USAToday ‘Is an ETF the right investment for you? Look beyond the hype’that defines exchange traded funds and warns investors on types of ETFs to steer clear of. For those investors that are wanting to take control of their investments and in doing so keep more money in their own pocket, ETFs are a great investment vehicle if done right. An ETF has many advantages as outlined in the above mentioned article — “They offer a low-cost way to invest in stocks, bonds, commodities and real estate, and they let you move in and out at any time during the trading day. And they allow you to buy slices of the market, rather than choosing a few individual stocks that could blow up.” On top of that, ETF investing offers greater tax efficiency than mutual funds and have a lower cost structure. So, as you re-evaluate how you are investing your money in the market, make sure to check out ETFs.
EchoStar to Acquire Mexican Satellite Operator Satmex
ENGLEWOOD, CO and MEXICO CITY--(Marketwire - February 26, 2010) - EchoStar Satellite Services, L.L.C., a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (
Brown & Brown, Inc. Acquires Certain Assets of DiMartino Associates, Inc.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL and TAMPA, FL--(Marketwire - February 26, 2010) - J. Scott Penny, Regional Executive Vice President of Brown & Brown, Inc. (
Arthur Hill: EURO DECLINE SLOWS – PICKING THE RIGHT RETRACEMENT – GOLD AND THE EURO STILL POSITIVELY CORRELATED – GOLD BATTLES WEDGE TRENDLINE – OIL, STOCKS AND THE DOLLAR – OIL REMAINS STUCK IN A RUT
[[http://stockcharts.com/members/videos/|Link for today’s video.]] The decline in the Euro is slowing over the last few weeks, but we have yet to see a bounce last more than two days since late...Li3 Energy, Inc. Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Rincon South Lithium Project in Argentina
LIMA, PERU--(Marketwire - February 26, 2010) - Li3 Energy, Inc. (