stock prices

As I’ve said several times in the past few weeks, you can only spot a market bottom (a reversal in a falling trend in stock prices) in hindsight. Then too, a market can hit bottom, put on a healthy bounce, then go back down to the bottom once again before going on to a lasting rise. But I do feel that a lot of the risk of further decline is now out of the market. My view is that stocks are likely to move substantially higher in the next 6 months to a year, if not sooner. TERANET INCOME FUND $10.10, Toronto symbol TF.UN, has declined to comment on the new takeover offer of $10.25 a unit from the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). The new offer is 6.8% below OMERS’ original offer of $11.00 a unit. OMERS dropped its higher bid mainly due to the slowing Ontario economy and falling real estate values. That could hurt demand for Teranet’s electronic land registry services. Meanwhile, Teranet will pay a cash distribution $0.0225 a unit on November 17, 2008. This partial monthly payment will cover the period from November 1, 2008 to the expiry of the OMERS offer on November 10, 2008....

As I’ve said several times in the past few weeks, you can only spot a market bottom (a reversal in a falling trend in stock prices) in hindsight. Then too, a market can hit bottom, put on a healthy bounce, then go back down to the bottom once again before going on to a lasting rise. But I do feel that a lot of the risk of further decline is now out of the market. My view is that stocks are likely to move substantially higher in the next 6 months to a year, if not sooner. GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO., $7.14, symbol GT on New York, jumped earlier this week after it reported profits in the latest quarter that exceeded consensus expectations. However, the shares have since moved lower. Earnings excluding one-time items fell 43.4%, to $0.43 a share from $0.76 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2008. However, that beat the consensus expectations of $0.33 a share. Sales rose 2.1%, to $5.2 billion from $5.1 billion a year earlier....

As I’ve said several times in the past few weeks, you can only spot a market bottom (a reversal in a falling trend in stock prices) in hindsight. Then too, a market can hit bottom, put on a healthy bounce, then go back down to the bottom once again before going on to a lasting rise. But I do feel that a lot of the risk of further decline is now out of the market. My view is that stocks are likely to move substantially higher in the next 6 months to a year, if not sooner. VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $30.05, New York symbol VZ, owns 55% of Verizon Wireless, a joint venture with UK-based Vodafone. Verizon Wireless has now received most of the regulatory approvals it needs for its acquisition of privately held Alltel Corp., which provides wireless services to 13 million customers in mainly rural areas of 34 U.S. states. Regulators imposed several conditions on the takeover, including exiting certain markets. However, these conditions should not significantly diminish the future profitability of the combined operations, which will be the largest wireless provider in the United States with over 80 million customers. Verizon Wireless aims to complete the takeover in the next few weeks....

Some investors worry that Washington’s $700 billion bailout of the banking industry is going to fall apart, and that this will lead to a rise in gold and a drop in the stock market. We think the bailout will go through. The only obstacle to it is the political bickering and posturing that is bound to go into a highly visible effort like this, all the more so just prior to a presidential election. There is always a possibility that the market will move lower from here. Meanwhile, gold will stay volatile. But we still feel stock prices will hit bottom over the next month or two, then move up for six months or more. ENCANA CORP. $71.22, Toronto symbol ECA, now plans to expand its refinery in Roxana, Illinois. The company and ConocoPhillips each own 50% of this facility. This upgrade will increase the plant’s total capacity by 16%. It will also let the plant handle increasing production from EnCana’s oil sands operations in Alberta....

Some investors worry that Washington’s $700 billion bailout of the banking industry is going to fall apart, and that this will lead to a rise in gold and a drop in the stock market. We think the bailout will go through. The only obstacle to it is the political bickering and posturing that is bound to go into a highly visible effort like this, all the more so just prior to a presidential election. There is always a possibility that the market will move lower from here. Meanwhile, gold will stay volatile. But we still feel stock prices will hit bottom over the next month or two, then move up for six months or more. GABRIEL RESOURCES, $2.06, symbol GBU on Toronto, now believes that the upcoming November elections in Romania will result in a positive political decision on the future of its 80%-owned Rosia Montana gold project in Romania....

Some investors worry that Washington’s $700 billion bailout of the banking industry is going to fall apart, and that this will lead to a rise in gold and a drop in the stock market. We think the bailout will go through. The only obstacle to it is the political bickering and posturing that is bound to go into a highly visible effort like this, all the more so just prior to a presidential election. There is always a possibility that the market will move lower from here. Meanwhile, gold will stay volatile. But we still feel stock prices will hit bottom over the next month or two, then move up for six months or more. WASHINGTON MUTUAL INC. $0.16, New York symbol WM, fell over 90% on Friday before the New York exchange halted trading. That’s because banking regulators have seized control of the company. Regulators subsequently sold the assets of Washington Mutual’s main banking subsidiary to J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $48.24, New York symbol JPM. The purchase included branches, deposits and the loan portfolio....

BCE Inc. recently won a legal ruling against a lawsuit launched by its bondholders to block its $42.75-a-share takeover by a consortium led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. BCE has also agreed to alter some of the terms to help speed up the takeover. If the buyout goes through, many of BCE’s investors will want to re-invest their proceeds in other high-yielding telecom stocks. Here are three we see as buys. The influx of former BCE investors should also help push up their stock prices....

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $12.25 (American Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through a broker) is an exchange-traded mutual fund that tries to match the return of the MSCI Japan Index (Morgan Stanley Capital International Japan Index). The MSCI Japan Index is a benchmark for Japanese equity performance. The iShares Japan Index Fund charges a fee of 0.59% of assets. The fund’s top holdings are: Toyota Motor at 5.0%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, 3.2%; Canon Inc., 2.1%; Nintendo Co., 2.0%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.0%; Honda Motor, 1.9%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Sony Corporation, 1.8%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.7%; Matsushita Electric Industrial, 1.7%; and Mitsubishi Corp., 1.7%. Japanese stock markets remain volatile along with global markets. However, overall, we think that Japan’s economy will keep growing and push stock prices up....

Japanese stock markets remain volatile along with global markets. As well, a slowing U.S. economy plus a continued rise in the yen in relation to the falling U.S. dollar would hurt Japan’s major export industries. However, overall, we think that Japan’s economy will keep growing and push stock prices up. JAPAN EQUITY FUND $7.39 (New York symbol JEQ; CWA Rating: Aggressive) invests mostly in large capitalization stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Lately, the fund has added to its holdings of firms selling to emerging markets, to offset exposure to the slowing U.S. economy. It has also upped its holdings of Japanese financial stocks. These have limited exposure to subprime-related securities. The Japan Equity Fund’s top holdings include: Toyota Motor, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial, Sony Corp., Denso Corporation, Mitsubishi Corp., Canon, East Japan Railway, Komatsu Ltd. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co....

The odds are improving that the market bottom is behind us and that the investment outlook and stock prices will improve through the end of the year and beyond. We have probably seen the worst of the sub-prime crisis in the U.S., and the ABCP (asset based commercial paper) crisis here in Canada. These developments led to widespread predictions of recession, but the recession has yet to appear. It’s worth remembering that recession predictions come along far more frequently than the recessions themselves. Then too, by the time a recession appears, the stock market has often gone as low as it is going to go and is headed upward....