GM dies, investors cheer

GM dies, investors cheer
David Berman
RTGAM






The United States racked up its third largest corporate failure on Monday, when General Motors Corp.  filed for bankruptcy protection - but investors were in a partying mood.

 U.S. stock index futures were up sharply with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will blast off at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average rose 112 points. Futures for the broader S&P 500 rose 16 points.

 In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.4 per cent and Germany's DAX index was up 3 per cent in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.6 per cent in overnight trading.

 The GM bankruptcy filing came as a relief to markets, since it appears to be unfolding in an orderly fashion. The U.S. government will end up with about a 60 per cent stake in the auto manufacturer, which claimed $82.3-billion (U.S.) in assets but $172.8-billion in liabilities. The only larger failures have been Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and WorldCom Inc.

 Meanwhile, investors were also treated to some good economic news. China's manufacturing sector - a decent barometer for global economic activity - expanded for the third straight month in May.

 As well, U.S. consumer spending fell just 0.1 per cent in April, better than the expected 0.2 per cent dip and a far shallower drop that the 0.3 per cent contraction in March.

 In Canada, the economy contracted by 5.4 per cent in the first quarter - a nasty number and the worst since 1991. However, it is considerably better than the 6.5 per cent contraction that economists had been expecting. The economy contracted by a revised 3.7 per cent in the fourth quarter.

 If that's not enough to kick-start the benchmark index on Monday, rising commodity prices should do it. In particular, crude oil rose above $68 a barrel, nearly $2 higher.

Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Alexander Says Thank You

Thank you for your pledge for me for the Relay for Life! We are getting really excited about this years Relay and our event in Alliston which is only two weeks away! Our original goal as a team was to collect $1,000 in pledges but we have just now passed the $3,000 mark!!!

If you want to follow our progress, you can check my personal page or click on the link below for the team link (Watchurst Basement Dwellers). My Mom will probably let you know on facebook how we are doing as the days come closer and right after the Relay.

Thanks again for your donation. I know we are making a difference together in the fight against cancer.

Alexander

Click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFL_ON_Alliston_?px=1962521&pg=personal&fr_id=3300&fl=en_CA&et=Z5pwChciiob6pb1kEzrg7g..&s_tafId=107850

Globe says Talisman a bargain now, but not for long

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Presented by

Talisman discovers gas field in Colombia

Financial Post 

 

Handout photo

TORONTO -- Talisman Energy Inc. said Wednesday it has made a what it calls a "significant" discovery of natural gas condensate in the Andes foothills in Colombia.

The Huron-1 well located in the Niscota Block was spudded in June last year and has been drilled to a current depth of 18,275 feet in a heavily faulted area and encountered several reservoirs, the company said.

The discovery was made by Talisman (Colombia) Oil & Gas Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Calgary-based Talisman. The field is 300 kilometres north east of Bogota.

Talisman, which holds a 30% interest in the Niscota Block, said one reservoir was tested at 3,400 barrels per day of gas condensate.

The well is being deepened to complete the evaluation of the prospective section, with further logging and testing is planned, the company said.

Talisman Energy shares closed at $16.95 Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

© 2009 The National Post Company. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

TLM-T Talisman Energy
Inc. Energy 17.7140.5 Lynch Notes: Calgary-based Talisman is a energy company with interests in the UK, Scandinavia Southeast Asia and North America. Another Peter Lynch choice, Talisman gets points for being a fast grower. The PEG ratio is low at 0.12 and the 32.84-per-cent debt/equity ratio is solid.

Hunting for bargains

Hunting for bargains Lou Schizas Friday, May 29, 2009

Dear Lou,

It looks like a dead cat bounce and I wondered what you thought about the “go away in May’ strategy. My savings have recovered somewhat but I was considering picking some proven money maker stocks like Johnson & Johnson and Kraft ?etc.and let go some mutuals containing US equities and possibly trading money market funds for actual bank shares ?Toronto-Dominion , Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal . Any thoughts ? I’m 54 and counting and don’t want another Oct 8th wake up call?love the show on AM640?appreciate the input.

Sincerely,

Doug

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Hi Doug,

I think you have identified a solid strategy. Buy great companies when they are cheap. Johnson & Johnson and Kraft foods are both off of their highs and paying an attractive dividend. JNJ pays 3.6 per cent while KFT offers a 4.5 per cent dividend yield. But lets not forget that they are both U.S. equities, which you were thinking of trimming from your portfolio.

Given that both companies have international operations that will shield them somewhat from the travails of the U.S. economy, you still have to reconcile the fact that the major part of their business comes from the U.S. The idea of moving your capital out of the U.S. isn’t a bad one given that it appears that Canada is better positioned to weather the current storm.

Moving out of cash and into Canadian bank stocks is another example of looking for solid companies at low prices. All of the banks have been lifted by the rally that started on March 9 and yet still offer attractive dividends. The Bank of Montreal dividend offers a 6.7 per cent yield which given the tax treatment of dividends only makes it sweeter.

When it comes to being 54 and not wanting another wake up call I would say that you might have to reconsider your investment profile. It sounds like you have become more risk averse and need to start moving more of your assets into lower risk categories that reflect your concerns.

As far as applying the “sell in May and go away” strategy I think that you are wise to be aware of seasonality that effects certain sectors but you are best served reviewing the charts of the stocks that you own on a regular basis. A regular review will give you a better handle on how your investments are performing.

Happy Capitalism!

Lou Schizas