With the recent market declines, the start of the year may not have been the best time to publish ten speculative stock recommendations. Considering the S&P fell 6% in the month of January, I find it quite surprising that an equal-weighted portfolio of those picks is up over 6% for the same period (using the prices I quoted in the original articles.) If the market as a whole continues down, I expect it to drag those speculative picks with it. Small, profitless companies tend to be hurt more than others in market declines, and to benefit more from booms.
Since I expect the Fed-induced reprieve to be fairly short lived, I thought I’d complement my original list of ten gambles with ten solid companies I’d be happy to buy more of if and when the bottom really falls out of the market.
For those patient readers who sat through my thoughts on politics, electric vehicles, and cellulosic ethanol vs. biomass cofiring, next week I plan to deliver what you’ve probably been waiting for: some stocks to buy when you think we’ve hit bottom (or you can sell some cash-covered puts now.)
Honorable Mentions
Just to keep the surprises coming (and to trim down my list to ten), I will exclude any companies I’ve already written about in 2008. Here are those honorable mentions (statistics from Yahoo!):
| Company | Ticker | Forward P/E | Div Yield | Article |
| General Electric | GE | 13.14 | 3.6% | How Clean does a Clean Energy Company Need to Be? |
| Siemens | SI | 12.25 | 1.4% | Barriers to Transmission |
| The ABB Group | ABB | 16.46 | 0.8% | Barriers to Transmission |
I’ll publish the start of the series Sunday night. This search should find the articles as they appear.
DISCLOSURE: Tom Konrad and/or his clients have long positions in GE, SI, and ABB.
DISCLAIMER: The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.
