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Sell Ctrip.com International (CTRP)

Doing some catch up on this stock. I dropped it from the Jubak Picks 50 long-term portfolio on January 18, but this first time I’ve had the time to explain why in detail or to actually remove it from the portfolio. I’m working on explaining the other sells...

Update CEMEX (CX)

A cement maker like CEMEX (CX) couldn’t have picked a worse set of markets for the global economic crisis if it tried. Second biggest market for the company? The United States, epicenter for the global housing meltdown. Next biggest? Spain and the United Kingdom. And...

Update Fortescue Metals (FSUMY)

Some movement this week in simplifying the complicated balance sheet of Fortescue Metals Group (FSUMY), the third largest iron ore mining company in Australia. The company’s stock climbed 7.8% on October 11 after Fortescue announced that it had signed a $2.04 billion...

Update Goldcorp (GG)

What you want in a gold stock is a company with rising reserves and falling costs. Goldcorp’s (GG) end of 2009 report on reserves shows that it’s still delivering rising reserves. We’ll see how the company is doing on costs when it reports after the market closes on...

Sell Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI)

This one is very simple: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) is buying the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) railroad for $100 a share. So I’m selling it out of my long-term Jubak Picks 50 portfolio because in the long-term this stock isn’t going...

Sell Accor (ACRFF.PK)

In a very controversial vote Accor’s (ACRFF.PK) board of directors voted on December 15 to split the company into two businesses. Accor Hospitality would focus on the company’s hotels and Accor Services would focus on voucher and pre-paid services. Activist...

Sell Q Cells (QCLSF.PK)

Solar has become an impossible business—even if you are the largest independent producer of solar cells in the world—if you can’t get costs under control. Q Cells (QCLSF.PK) is the midst of layoffs, write downs, and asset sales that are intended to fix what is now an...

Sell Tejon Ranch (TRC)

This isn’t so much a negative judgment on Tejon Ranch (TRC) as it is on the state where all its real estate is located: California.  The state’s politics are completely dysfunctional. Its tax system is broken. It’s vaunted quality of life—that once included such...

Sell ING (ING)

When the reason you bought a stock no longer applies, you sell. I bought ING (ING) on this relatively straightforward story: The Dutch banking and insurance giant was redeploying assets from its mature markets in Europe into growth markets in the developing economies...

Time to start planning for the next rally

It’s time to consider shifting gears.  Instead of chasing the winners of the last stock market rally—the one that’s still going on–I think you should start putting some money into the potential winners of the next move up. Even if that means leaving the last 10%...

Update LAN Airlines (LFL)

Bad news. I mean really, really bad news. On July 28 Chile’s LAN Airlines (LFL) reported that second quarter profit dropped a huge 93%, although the company did manage to stay profitable (to the tune of $4.2 million) during the quarter. But maybe a turning point. On...

What I did with my summer vacation

This is a repeat post from August 18 for all those who missed my notice on publication plans for the rest of August. I’m going to use the next couple of weeks to try to make a big dent in my backlog of updates for the Jubak Picks 50 portfolio from my book. When...

Update BHP Billiton (BHP)

When I added BHP Billiton (BHP) to my Jubak Picks 50 portfolio in my book The Jubak Picks I said that the company was a one-buy way to get exposure to a wide spectrum of commodities. In the first half of 2009 that diversification paid off big, the company reported on...

Update Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Ever since this recession began Cisco Systems (CSCO) CEO John Chambers has shown an unexpected talent for taking all the joy out of his company’s earnings report. And he did it again when, on August 5, Cisco Systems reported earnings of 31 cents a share for the...

Update Potash of Saskatchewan (POT)

There’s just one more big customer negotiation standing between Potash of Saskatchewan (POT) and a bottom  for potash prices. Unfortunately for anyone hoping for a quick fix that customer is China and the Chinese are likely to take their time striking a deal. In...

Update HSBC (HBC)

One half of HSBC’s (HBC) business is performing beautifully. Unfortunately, it’s not the part that I most want to own. On August 3, HSBC reported second quarter earnings that showed that its investment banking and trading had doubled its pre-tax profit for...

Update Vale (VALE)

The short-term numbers that Vale (VALE), the world’s low cost exporter of iron ore, reported on July 30 for the second quarter of 2009 were ugly but expected. Operating revenue dropped by $300 million to $5.1 billion from the first quarter. Profit margins fell to 20%...

Update Cemex (CX)

Certainly Mexican cement producer Cemex (CX) isn’t out of the woods yet, but the trees sure look a lot less menacing. The company wound up buried under cord upon cord of debt, thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy that culminated in the 2007 purchase...

Update Luxottica (LUX)

For Luxoticca’s (LUX), the world’s largest maker and retailer of sun glasses, the  second quarter was a war between the slowdown in developed economies such as Europe and the United States and growth in emerging economies such as China. Because...