Archives: January 2006

Uncovering small gems in the fund industry's coal pile

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on January 31, Categories: Mutual Funds

There are a zillion ways to screen for mutual funds, some backed by academic research and empirical evidence, others less so. But one flaw I often notice in these automated...

A Tasty Treat for Investors

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on January 30, Categories:

There’s nothing like a slice of Sara Lee pound cake top with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. (Can you tell it’s nearly lunchtime here in Chicago?) Let’s face it though,...

Can Anyone Save The Grocery Biz?

Posted by: Roben Farzad on January 27, Categories: Stocks

Surely you've already read the news that Supervalu, CVS and a private equity consortium have struck a nearly $10 billion deal to acquire and divide up Albertson's (ABS), the struggling...

Cautious on Stocks

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on January 26, Categories: Stocks

A few things are bugging Jim Huguet about the stock market. He's president of Great Companies LLC and runs the TransAmerica IDEX Great Companies-America fund (IGAAX), and stopped by yesterday...

Real Estate: The Great White North

Posted by: Lauren Young on January 26, Categories:

The U.S. real estate market may be topping out, but there are still opportunities up yonder in Canada. At least that's what Nancy Holland, manager of the $75 million ABN...

Applebee's roars - does Chipotle cheer?

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on January 25, Categories: Stocks

Just as a quick follow-on to yesterday's discussion of Chipotle's IPO, the stocks of the four comparable companies that I mentioned are off to the races today thanks to a...

Tasty Chipotle IPO upcoming

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on January 24, Categories: Stocks

I spent part of the morning reading through the S-1 registration statement for the upcoming IPO of McDonald’s spin-off Chipotle Mexican Grill, which is going to trade under the symbol...

Knight Riddled

Posted by: Roben Farzad on January 24, Categories: Stocks

Knight Ridder (KRI), the #2 newspaper chain, is reportedly readying its machete for another round of job and benefit cuts to sex itself up for prospective private equity buyers. It's...

The Beauty of a Bargain

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on January 23, Categories: Online Brokerages

If I’ve learned nothing else from my mother, it’s how to appreciate a good bargain. Now usually her lessons come in handy for finding a designer handbag for a fraction...

Magellan comes out of the closet

Posted by: Lauren Young on January 20, Categories: Mutual Funds

For the past decade, Fidelity Magellan was accused of being a closet index fund under the management of Bob Stansky. Now Magellan, which is Fidelity's flagship mutual fund, has come...

In Praise of Ron Muhlenkamp

Posted by: Roben Farzad on January 19, Categories: Mutual Funds

The market timing scandal, brain drain to hedge funds and deluge of new ETFs coming to market have combined to make the traditional mutual fund manager look downright buggywhippish these...

Mutual Funds: Green Eggs and Ham?

Posted by: Lauren Young on January 19, Categories: Mutual Funds

Every week I make a regular appearance on CN8, a station for Comcast cable subscribers that reaches much of the East Coast. Since it is a morning show, the mood...

The 25% Loss That Became A 50% Gain

Posted by: Roben Farzad on January 18, Categories: Stocks

This just in: conspiring to place an orphaned finger in Wendy's chili to score a hush-hush settlement will get you 9 to 12 years in the slammer . Clearly, there...

Google: Losing the Love?

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on January 18, Categories: Stocks

The overloved stock Google has lost two admirers in the last two days. On Jan. 17, Scott Kessler at Standard & Poor's Equity Research downgraded Google to sell from hold...

Japan illogic follows the panic

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on January 18, Categories: International

What do the following number pairs have in common? +0.1 and -1.1 -0.7 and +0.1 +1.1 and +0.5 -1.8 and +1.5 +0.5 and -1.9 Hmm, not much it seems. The...

A late New Year's resolution - Go alternative

Posted by: Aaron Pressman on January 17, Categories: Alternatives

This is my first blog post for Business Week and right at the top I’ll tell you that I encourage your feedback, either at the bottom of my entry or...

Nickle and Dimed on Cash

Posted by: Roben Farzad on January 17, Categories: Cash and Savings

After years of relative cash-yield generosity, my online bank E*Trade has quietly slashed the interest it offers on its checking account...and has similarly skimped on its money market rates. All...

Car Rental Insurance: Just Say No

Posted by: Karyn McCormack on January 17, Categories: Insurance

I'd like to thank readers for their comments about my recent article "Insurance Plans You Can Avoid." Over the long holiday weekend, I finally was able to catch the movie...

A Tale of Two Stocks

Posted by: Adrienne Carter on January 12, Categories: Mutual Funds

A recent chat with mutual fund manager, James Wiess of Putnam Investors, yielded two stock ideas that couldn't be more different: General Motors and Google.