Barron's

Barron's Recap: Cues from Cooperman

Nelson Hem — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:19:45 +0000

This weekend in Barron's online: a profile of a Wall Street titan, a tribute to a former Barron's editor and columnist, and the prospects for Ryder System, Tencent and ING U.S.

Cover Story

"Cues from Cooperman" by Lawrence C. Strauss.

This article says that Leon Cooperman, chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors, takes pride in being a demanding boss. "You have to be on the balls of your feet at all times," he is quoted as saying. And it has paid off for investors.

His Omega Overseas Partners hedge fund has seen average annual returns of 14.3 percent since 1992, compared to 8.6 percent for the S&P 500. The returns have averaged 15.6 percent over the past three years, and the fund was up a remarkable 30 percent last year.

The article tells how Cooperman stays on top in investing and philanthropy. See how he came back from a "drubbing" in the financial crisis of 2008, and why the fund has an eye on Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S). See how he has clashed with the White House and how he plays his part in the Giving Pledge, an initiative of Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.

And see how this son of a plumber went from Bronx kid to Wall Street titan. Though he may have mellowed a bit with age, "He doesn't like people who lack conviction in their ideas," says a long-time friend. For investors in his fund, says the article "that's all for the best."

Feature Stories

"A Remarkable Writer and ...

Barron's Recap: The Bull Has Room to Run

Nelson Hem — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:30:56 +0000

This weekend in Barron's online: a special report on the record Dow and the prospects for actively managed ETFs, the buyout of Dell, and Western Union and Uni-Pixel.

Cover Story

"We Were Right!" by Gene Epstein.

In this special report, Barron's "jubilantly joins the hoopla" over the Dow reaching a record 15,000 and pats itself on the back for predicting it last year.

The article points out that, despite the record high, the performance of the market over the past five years is still well below average. And lower-than-average returns over five years commonly are followed by higher-than-average ones in the succeeding two years.

Barron's calls this the "rubber-band effect." That is, when markets are stretched to the downside, they tend to snap back. The same is true of markets stretched to the upside. The article predicts the Dow could break 18,500 in the next two years.

See the article to find out how they analyzed 142 years of market performance in rolling five-year, 10-year, 20-year and 30-year periods, adjusted for inflation and accounting for dividends, to calculate the more than 18,500 Dow high in the next two years.

And Barron's points out that they predicted Dow 15,000 more than a year ago, in a cover story of the February 13, 2012 edition.

The special report on the record Dow continues with articles from Andrew Bary and Michael Kahn.

Special Report: Record Dow

In "What the Smart Money Is Buying -- and ...

Ominous Options Activity in Gold Miners ETF

ETF Professor — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:59:20 +0000

Shares of the downtrodden Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) are down 3.4 percent Tuesday, extending the ETF's 90-day loss to 33.6 percent, and some traders are betting things could get worse for GDX.

Citing a note from Interactive Brokers, Barron's reports nearly 40,000 June $27 puts on GDX have changed hands today compared to open interest of 16,819 contracts.

"It looks like the bulk of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.89 per contract. Put buyers stand ready to profit at June expiration should the price of the underlying plunge 9.5%," according to the Interactive Brokers ...

Barron's Recap: Apple Tops the Barron's 500

Nelson Hem — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:32:30 +0000

This weekend in Barron's online: the annual Barron's 500 ranking, a look at some bargain stocks from that list, the prospects for Linn Energy and Atlas Air, and alternatives to REITs.

Cover Story

"The Barron's 500" by Jacqueline Doherty.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) may have struggled of late, but it still managed to rise to the top of list of Barron's 500 companies that have done the best job of investing for growth. Apple is up from number two in 2012 and the fourth spot in 2011.

Successful businesses made the list by having "a blend of vision, creativity, judgment, and circumstance," says the article. That is true of tech companies such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC), which are in the top 10 on the Barron's list.

Energy companies CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), MRC Global (NYSE: MRC) and National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) are in the top 25, and credit-card issuers American Express (NYSE: AXP), Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), MasterCard (NYSE: MA) and Visa (NYSE: V) are all in the top 30.

Companies that disappeared from this year's list include Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), which saw its sales fall below the necessary threshold, and H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), which is in the process of being acquired.

The article includes a report card on how the bargain stocks from the 2012 Barron's 500 fared last year, an explanation of the methodology used for ranking the companies, and a closer look at the top four: Apple, Wesco International (NYSE: WCC), ...

mREIT ETFs Sunk By American Capital Earnings

ETF Professor — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:01:43 +0000

On a day that is a sea of green for most stocks and equity-based ETFs, some funds are seeing red and it is not just the inverse ETFs designed to rise when the market falls. Mortgage real estate investment trust, or mREIT, ETFs are being dragged lower by American Capital Agency (NASDAQ: AGNC) reported a quarterly loss of $557 million, or $1.57 per share, late Thursday.

Shares of American Capital are tumbling seven percent Friday on volume that was more than triple the daily average with about three hours left in the trading day. Not good news for the yield-hungry investors that have been seduced by the double-digit yields sported by American Capital and its rivals.

With today's haircut, American Capital has a market capitalization of about $10.4 billion. That may not sound like much, but it is enough to make the company, along with rival Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY), ...

April's Top EM Mutual Funds Show It's Time For Some PIE

ETF Professor — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:29:33 +0000

Broadly speaking, emerging markets stocks have been losing bets for investors this year, but some developing nations have surged, just not the major ones such as the BRIC quartet.

With the rocky performance of the broader emerging markets complex in mind, it is a good thing that some mutual funds and ETFs have been able to deliver solid returns for investors. In fact, three of the five best-performing emerging markets mutual funds in April gained at least 4.5 percent, according to Barron's.

April's leader was the CNI Charter Emerging Markets (RIMIX), which gained a tidy 4.7 percent to run its year-to-date gain to 8.1 percent, Barron's reported. In the second spot was the Baron Emerging Markets Fund (BEXIX) with an April gain of 4.6 percent to boost its year-to-date performance to a seven percent pop.

That all sounds good, but it is not. In comparison to the PowerShares DWA Emerging Markets Technical Leaders Portfolio (NYSE:

Barron's Recap: Here Come the Millennials

Nelson Hem — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:25:27 +0000

This weekend in Barron's online: the impending impact on the economy and Wall Street of the Millennial generation, and the prospects for Boeing's Dreamliner, the Dell buyout, Hanesbrands and Ecolab.

Cover Story

"On the Rise" by Jacqueline Doherty.

The so-called Millennials, those who have reached adulthood since 2000, are poised to start spending, and that is good news for the economy and stocks, says the article.

Evidence suggests that Millennials are not the slackers often portrayed by the media and popular culture. Once they begin marrying, starting families and moving into their high-earning years, their influence could rival that of their baby-boom parents. Housing, autos, retail and financial services could be among the first to see their influence.

Also known as Generation Y, they are about 27 percent of the U.S. population and already account for more than a trillion dollars, or about a fifth, of annual consumer spending.

The article discusses the possible impact this generation, the most media savvy and interconnected one yet, could have on the economy and society, as well as on Wall Street. What will this mean for the likes of Ford (NYSE: F), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Citigroup (NYSE: C) and home builders such as Lennar (NYSE: LEN) and Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL)?

The article also includes a timeline of events that have shaped the worldview of Millennials, from Harry Potter and the iPod to 9/11 and the Great Recession. There is also a sidebar that shows ...