Our Global Stock Investor portfolio recovered strongly this week. Markets bounced back on positive U.S. housing data. After plunging 14% to a 10-year low in January, housing starts rebounded in February with a 9% rise — easing the worst fears about a housing market crash.
Global markets also rallied across the board. The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged at 0.5% to ease concerns about the unwinding of the carry trade.
Remember, the sharper the sell-off, the sharper the rebound. So our Global Stock Investor portfolio is well-positioned for the coming recovery in global markets. All of our current recommendations remain buys at these levels.
STOCK UPDATE
Our lowest-risk play, the Swedish ETF (EWD), was up 4.3% for the week and is now firmly in the black since our initial recommendation.
Mexico-based Latin American cell phone giant America Movil (AMX) shot up over 4.6%. Mexican stocks posted particularly sharp gains yesterday, as local investors returned from a long weekend and played catch-up to other markets. Mexico’s IPC index jumped 506 points, or 1.9%, to 27,407.46. That was the IPC’s highest close since its 5.8% plunge on Feb. 27, when the index recorded its biggest drop in nearly seven years.
Cognizant Technologies (CTSH) was up just a hair under 3%. This Teaneck, N.J.-based Indian outsourcing play continues to garner accolades. This week it was named one of Business Week‘s 50 Best Performing Companies, ranking 12th overall and second in the Information Technology sector. The rankings are meaningful, since Business Week selects the "best in class" from each of the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Companies were chosen based on sales growth, average return on capital, total return, profitability and rank within industry sector.
This is Cognizant’s first year in the rankings, which are published in Business Week‘s issue of March 26, 2007. Cognizant was the only IT services outsourcing company given the honor. This recognition follows Cognizant’s #6 ranking among Business Week‘s Hot Growth Technology Companies in December.
ICICI bank (IBN) found its feet by moving up 1.7% for the week. The Wall Street Journal featured ICICI this week in a story about India’s mortgage market. Here’s a statistic to ponder: in a nation of over one billion people, only five million home loans have been made in the past 25 years. While highlighting ICICI as the most aggressive Indian bank in the retail market, the story also pointed out that its mortgage loans still make up only about 30% of ICICI’s loan book. That makes the potential growth of ICICI over the next five years staggering.
Our speculative Chinese small cap, Nasdaq-listed Home Inns & Hotels (HMIN), stabilized and was up 2.1%. Certainly, Home Inns’ strong results, announced two weeks ago, underpin our view that it has the potential to be a genuine "Home Run" stock.
I am working on finalizing the next edition of the Global Stock Investor and the newsletter should be mailed to you next week. I’m sure you’ll agree that the April issue’s featured stock is one of the most exciting, yet safest, global investment ideas you’ve heard in a long time.
P.S. Be My Guest at The Money Show Las Vegas…
Join me at The Money Show Las Vegas May 14-17, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino for the best investment experience available. It’s a move that is sure to supercharge your portfolio and give you the momentum you need heading into the summer months. You can learn from more than 250 FREE workshops and over 12 panels geared to give you profitable new investment ideas and in-depth analysis on various sectors. Meet and greet top investment newsletter editors face to face. Acquire the market insights and perspectives of more than 100 renowned advisors and analysts. Network with fellow market enthusiasts, exchange investment ideas, and share experiences and enjoy the fellowship of like-minded investors.
For complete details or to register for free admission, call 800.970.4355 (be sure to mention priority code 008335), or visit the Las Vegas Money Show website here.
This content is for paid subscribers only. To gain access subscribe to one of our…
It is hard to find a seasoned investor who doesn’t believe the stock market is…
No one believes a financial disaster can strike… until it’s too late. That’s bizarre, considering…
The Options Industry Council is a resource used to educate investors about the benefits and…
The put-call parity is the relationship that exists between put and call prices of the…
“It’s not a stock market, it’s a market of stocks.” -- “Maxims of Wall Street,”…