wall street
In 1994, I launched The Successful Investor with two goals in mind.
First, I wanted to create an investment advisory that would deliver profitable, easy-to-read investing advice at low cost. The advice had to be free of the conflicts of interest that taint other sources of advice....
First, I wanted to create an investment advisory that would deliver profitable, easy-to-read investing advice at low cost. The advice had to be free of the conflicts of interest that taint other sources of advice....
MCKESSON CORP., $157.39, New York symbol MCK, recently agreed to buy Celesio AG, a German firm that distributes prescription drugs in Europe and Brazil. The company will pay $8.3 billion for Celesio, including its debt. To put that in context, McKesson’s market cap (or the value of all its outstanding shares) is $36.2 billion. Shareholders representing at least 75% of Celesio’s votes must approve the deal. The family of Celesio’s founder, which controls 50.01%, has already agreed to the takeover. However, Elliott Management, a private equity firm that holds roughly 25% of Celesio’s shares, now opposes the purchase....
C.R. BARD INC. (New York symbol BCR; www.crbard.com) makes vascular products, such as stents and catheters (29% of its 2012 sales); oncology products that detect and treat various types of cancer (27%); urology products, such as drainage and incontinence devices (26%); and surgical tools and other products (18%). The company mainly makes single-use, disposable products, so customers must continually buy new ones. This continued demand for supplies helped Bard’s sales rise 20.6%, from $2.5 billion in 2008 to $3.0 billion in 2012. Earnings improved by 24.1%, from $455.4 million in 2008 to $565.3 million in 2012. The company is an aggressive buyer of its own stock. This cuts its total shares outstanding, so per-share earnings jumped 48.0%, from $4.44 to $6.57....
APPLE INC., $560.02, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, moved up this week in response to media reports that the company has signed a deal to supply iPhones to China Mobile, that country’s largest wireless carrier, with over 740 million subscribers. The Chinese government recently authorized China Mobile to offer 4G wireless service. That should spur demand for smartphones that can take advantage of the faster speeds that 4G offers, including the new iPhone 5S and 5C models. Apple already sells iPhones to smaller Chinese carriers, but they use an older technology. Adding China Mobile could boost iPhone sales in China by around 17% in the company’s current fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2014....
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. (New York symbol A) plans to break itself into two publicly traded companies. One of these businesses will keep the Agilent name and focus on testing equipment for medical-research labs. The second company will make testing systems for improving electronics, such as cellphones and computer equipment....
HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., $27.35, New York symbol HPQ, rose 9% this week after it reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company continues to make progress on its multi-year restructuring plan, which includes merging its personal computer and printer divisions, simplifying its product lines and cutting 8% of its workforce. In Hewlett’s fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended October 31, 2013, its earnings fell 14.1%, to $2.0 billion, or $1.01 a share, from $2.3 billion, or $1.16 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude restructuring costs and other unusual items. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $1.00 a share....
Our view is that virtually all Canadian investors should have 20% to 30% of their portfolios in the U.S. stocks we recommend in Wall Street Stock Forecaster. These investments can provide all the foreign exposure most investors need. If you do want to add more foreign content, you could buy individual stocks. But for most investors, directly investing in foreign stocks can add an extra layer of risk and expense. As well, timely and accurate information about overseas companies is not always available, and securities regulations vary widely between countries. It can also be hard for your broker to buy shares on foreign markets without paying a premium. Tax rules and restrictions on transferring funds between nations add further uncertainty and cost. We think one of the best ways to invest in foreign (non-U.S.) markets is through exchange traded funds (ETFs). You could add some of these ETFs in reasonable quantities: perhaps 10% of your holdings if you’re a conservative investor (including 5% or so in higher-risk funds, such as emerging market ETFs)....
J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO., $57.46, New York symbol JPM, has agreed to settle a number of lawsuits with the U.S. Justice Department related to securities backed by subprime mortgages. Morgan, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual sold these investments during the pre-2008 housing boom. When real estate values fell and borrowers defaulted on their mortgages, the value of these securities plunged. Morgan acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in 2008, after they collapsed, but it is still liable for these lawsuits, which claim these companies deliberately understated the risk of these investments. Under the settlement, Morgan will pay $9 billion in cash to federal and state agencies. In addition, it will reduce the principal owed on current mortgages, reduce the payment on other loans, and demolish abandoned properties. In all, these concessions total $4 billion....
MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC., $29.00, Toronto symbol MBT, recently agreed to sell its Allstream subsidiary to a private company controlled by an Egyptian billionaire. Allstream provides integrated telephone, Internet and other communication services to over 50,000 businesses across Canada, as well as government agencies. Manitoba Telecom planned to contribute $130 million of the $405 million it would have received from the sale to its underfunded employees’ pension fund. However, Ottawa blocked the deal on national security grounds....
