NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by Benchmark Journal.

The outlook for food stocks is surprisingly appetizing.

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The accompanying table (click to enlarge) includes an update for the ETF Innovators (ETFI) Highly Defensive PerformIdex of 36 companies based in the U.S., Canada, and Europe with market caps over $10B, which are the leaders by market cap in their defensive industry groups. The 36 companies are dominated by consumer staples and healthcare, with an equal distribution of 12 each from these sectors, with the remaining 12 companies chosen from a variety of other defensive industry groups.<br[More...]

Filed under: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Pfizer (PFE), Coca-Cola (KO), McDonald's (MCD), International Business Machines (IBM), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Baxter Intl (BAX), Chevron Corp (CVX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), General Mills (GIS), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT), Wells Fargo (WFC), Comfort Zone Investing

Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth and Sleep Well at Night. In this weekly column, he'll offer advice to investors who are just getting started.

For a better investing year in 2009, think about championship basketball. Winners at every level have one thing in common: defense. It's defense that wins rings. And this year, in the stock market, defense will keep you alive. It will be the kind of year where making a little money makes you a winner. Think defensively until there are clear signs that the economy is improving.

First, keep your expectations low. No one knows when the current economic cycle will end and begin to heal. What we do know is that all indicators keep going lower: housing starts, employment, consumer spending, housing prices. While the market discounts good news well in advance (some 6 to 9 months ahead of the real numbers), there's no indication from any front that better days are ahead. We know the new administration will spend money to create jobs so more spending power will be in the economy. We know there will most likely be tax breaks for companies to encourage production and hiring. But none of that is in place. Investors have to wait and see how and if these develop and what effect they will have on the economy and on stocks. It might take all year. Or longer. If it does, the stock market won't be doing too much.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Six smart ideas for stocks in 2009

Comfort Zone Investing: Six smart ideas for stocks in 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Earnings reports, General Electric (GE), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), FedEx Corp (FDX), Research in Motion (RIMM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), General Mills (GIS), Morgan Stanley (MS), NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Oracle Corp (ORCL), Honeywell Intl (HON), Rite Aid Corp (RAD)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) posted strong Q4 and full-year results, but with flat Q4 revenues.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat Q3 expectations though earnings tumbled, and shares rose about 18%.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) announced that it had lowered its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) net income from continuing operations more than doubled in Q4.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) cut its Q4 earnings guidance on weakness in the American auto market.
• FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) Q2 earnings topped expectations and it reaffirmed its guidance.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) declined to provide quarterly earnings guidance in its annual outlook.
• General Mills (NYSE: GIS) posted a higher-than-expected profit on cost cutting and increased marketing.
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) strong earnings growth are expected by one analyst to continue.
• Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) swung to an anticipated Q4 loss and reported negative revenues.
• Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: HR) was downgraded due to its near-term earnings prospects.
• Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) affirmed a lower 2009 outlook and said it expects profits to fall.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Best Buy, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Nike, RIM, Oracle and others

Earnings highlights: Best Buy, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Nike, RIM, Oracle and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Walt Disney (DIS), Research in Motion (RIMM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), General Mills (GIS), Qwest Communications Intl (Q), Stocks to Buy, Stocks to Sell, Annaly Capital Management (NLY)

This week was saved today as the White House finally approved a $17.4 billion auto bailout package using TARP money. Stocks surged after two days of decline, but all-in-all the week wasn't bad. It's the third week now that stocks, while perhaps having big swings daily, end up not so bad.

Once again, this stagnant time could be exactly the time investors may want to look for long-term deals. They may have to hold on to them for a while as the markets continue their up and down swings. But eventually, if it's a few months or a year from now, stocks will start to recover and cheap deals bought today may be big gainers.

But where are the deals? BloggingStocks contributors added some ideas this week:

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of Jamie Dlugosch's favorite blue-chip names. Analysts expect the company to make $2.12 per share in the current fiscal year ending in September. If the company earns $3 per share down the road with a 15 multiple, Disney shares could double. In the meantime, it pays 1.5% dividend yield.

Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q) has many shortcomings to be sure, but "the company also has very valuable assets and strong cash flow" and the stock "would command a good premium in a takeover." according to George Putnam.

Continue reading Stock pick and pans for troubled times: DIS, Q, RTN, RIMM, GIS, BIDU, STE ...

Stock pick and pans for troubled times: DIS, Q, RTN, RIMM, GIS, BIDU, STE ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Earnings reports, Campbell Soup (CPB), Kellogg Co (K), General Mills (GIS), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)

General Mills (NYSE: GIS), a company that shares supermarket shelves with colleagues like Kraft (NYSE: KFT), Kellogg (NYSE: K), and Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), reported a very decent Q2 on Wednesday. According to Melly Alazraki's Stocks in the News article, General Mills really kicked the analysts and their estimates in the you-know-what. The call was for the food producer to yield $1.23 per share. Instead, the company delivered $1.36 per share. Way to go!

But, how was the stock received? After an initial pop, shares settled down. In fact, they closed only slightly up at the end of day on Wednesday, rising a mere 0.16%. I was a little surprised by the muted reaction when I saw the big beat on the bottom line, but I think the market wants to be a little cautious here. As this news piece points out, General Mills has some complicated hedging issues going on, as well as issues relating to competition from Campbell Soup and private-label brands. Campbell has been turning up the heat on General Mills. I'm not sure if the market should worry so much about the battle between Campbell and its cereal-making nemesis, but worrying about private-label competition is warranted. You know how consumers are: they want low, low, low prices. And once they get them, they want them even lower! Of course, General Mills' brand equity and advertising can combat a lot of that, but we are in a nasty era of worries over job security and the safety of retirement accounts. The negative wealth effect is in full swing, so supermarket shoppers may find less-expensive fare more attractive (honestly, though, if I'm used to a certain brand, it's difficult for me to switch to the generic equivalent, even in times of crisis).

Is General Mills a buy here? Well, it's certainly cheap for the long-term holder in me. However, the short-term holder in me says not so fast. My gut tells me this one will pull back. Like I said, the market is obviously in a cautious mood since it didn't see fit to reward General Mills with a more significant uptick on the close. And, since I feel it should have received a higher price on the close, and since it failed to get it, that tells me that it may trend lower from here.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

General Mills blows estimates out of the water -- should you buy the stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Companies featured in this segment: General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), Chrysler LLC, General Mills Incorporated (NYSE:GIS), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Sasol (NYSE:SSL), Dong Energy, Peel Holdings, British Energy Group plc (LSE:BGY), NRG Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NRG), and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX).

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