Yeah, 2 stocks I'm watching closely and have been dropping like rocks have been 2 Canadian strongholds, Bank of Nova Scotia and Teck Comico (BNS, TCK). BNS has long been known for conservative operations, and their margins are very good; they have said that they did not invest in bad mortgage debt, but I hear leaks that they might take a hit. They will survive, and there will be a good time for me to buy them, but I'm thinking not yet. As for TCK, they got roasted in their Elk Valley (I believe it is) investment, but their business is almost the foundation of the Canadian business; they're down 95% so at some time, their net equity is 1/9 of their market cap (!!!), and their margins are very strong showing that they are a strong business, minus a few mergers. Are they the natural resources version of AMD, i.e. AMD's acquisition of ATI that sunk them? I dunno... its something I gotta reserach a little more, but by the historical numbers and the actual worth of the company, TCK should be a strong long term investment.
I decided to dip my feet (not alot, 1% of my portfolio
) on Las Vegas / Macau Hotels. In general, I love casino businesses, especially ones with strong franchises that operate in Macau. Low operating expenses, money coming in through the roof and thus profits that go beyond any businesses wildest dreams. As long as these guys don't fold, these franchises should return to its origanal value, which would be 2000% of its current value.
I'm not a fan of GE, I don't see what Buffet see's in them. Either its Buffet being smart investor Buffet, or Buffet being a patriot Buffet, both equally possible. If you ask me, Siemens looks like a more profitable business. I like GE Research over Siemens research which could make it stronger in the future, but Siemens looks to be a more profitable business right now.
7300 is low, very low, and very below its resistance level on the DOW. I don't think it should stay in the 7000's very long, the equity in these businesses alone are worth more then that, forget its profitability. I think we're still seeing alot of hedge funds and options and whatever kicking this thing between 8000-9000; I bought at the end of today, because I saw good companies at fair/value prices, not because I saw fair companies at good prices.