Sprint Nextel Corp., Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. led telecommunications stocks broadly higher in Wednesday trades as the U.S. market forged ahead.

Stocks got a boost from Intel Corp., the chipmaking giant. The company reported better-than-expected results, though sales still fell sharply from the year-ago quarter and Intel reported a net loss.

In early action, Sprint climbed 3%, while Motorola  and Nokia each gained 4%.

AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. also rose about 1% each.

Microsoft may not be recession-proof but it turned in a strong performance in a year most companies would like to forget.

Profits jumped 25.7% to $17.7 billion on revenues of $60.4 billion as the software giant offset declining sales of its Windows operating system with increased revenues from its server and tools software products.

Apple Inc.  (AAPL: Apple Inc) is projected to post a fiscal second-quarter profit of $1.09 a share.

AT&T Inc. (T:AT&T Inc) is estimated to report a profit of 48 cents a share in the first quarter.

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD:McDonald’’s Corp) is likely to report a first-quarter profit of 82 cents a share, according to analysts.
Continue reading Stocks to watch (04-21-09)

Colonial BancGroup Inc. has become the largest bank failure this year as the 2009 toll of financial institutions approaches 80. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized the struggling Alabama-based lender Friday and sold it to BB&T Corp. Late Friday, the FDIC announced four other banks had been closed: Community Bank of Nevada and its Arizona subsidiary, Community Bank of Arizona; Union Bank, Gilbert, Ariz; and Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, Pittsburgh. The Colonial BancGroup deal will knock roughly $2.8 billion off a pool of money, known as the Deposit Insurance Fund, which the FDIC maintains to guarantee bank customer deposits.

An interesting interview with Jim Rogers is up at Businessweek.com

So you reject the advice about diversified portfolios?

Diversification is something that stock brokers came up with to protect themselves, so they wouldn’t get sued [for making bad investment choices for clients]. Henry Ford never diversified, Bill Gates didn’t diversify. The way to get rich is to put your eggs in one basket, but watch that basket very carefully. And make sure you have the right basket.
Continue reading How to invest during a financial crisis – The Jim Rogers way

Lowe’s Cos.’ (LOW) fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 22% amid continued weak demand for big-ticket items.

The world’s second-largest home-improvement retailer after Home Depot Inc. ( HD) nevertheless raised its fiscal-year earnings view but narrowed its outlook for revenue.

Continue reading Stocks to Watch – Lowe’s Cos (LOW)

You may ask yourself, how can one invest in a time like this? Is it worth the risk with the market at a downturn without no forseable resolution in the horizon? One of the answers that a conservative investor will tell you is that to invest in low risk stocks. Enclosed in this category are utility stocks.
Continue reading How to invest during times of recession

1. Allocating Assets
If your portfolio is geared toward stocks it is more likely to have a long-term return of investment. It will also mean you’ll have a dynamic flactuation of your assets. Instead consider a short-term high gain investment.
Continue reading Succeed in Investing: A short How-To

Dollar Tree

A newcomer to the Fortune 500, Dollar Tree was also its best performing stock last year, returning nearly 61%. That was no small feat: As a group, the Fortune 500 sank 41%. The company cashed in on the recession, as a $1 (or less) price on everything from candy to glassware drove sales at more than 3,500 stores.

Continue reading Top performing stocks you should invest in

New Jersey Resources(NJR) is an energy-services company that provides retail and wholesale energy services to customers in New Jersey and other states from the Gulf Coast to New England and Canada.

The numbers: Fiscal second-quarter revenue declined 20% to $938 million as net income and earnings per share surged 183% to $36 million and 83 cents, respectively. The debt-to-equity ratio remained low at 0.63, but a quick ratio of 0.43 indicates a weak cash position. Margins improved significantly, with the operating margin climbing 443 basis points to 6.2% and the net margin jumping 272 basis points to 3.8%.

The stock: New Jersey Resources has fallen 6% in 2009, in line with the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 and offers an attractive 3.4% dividend yield.