Filed under: Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Citigroup Inc. (C), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), Merrill Lynch (MER), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), EMC Corp (EMC), Deere and Co (DE), Cramer on BloggingStocks

TheStreet.com’s Jim Cramer says the market showed its stuff Monday, and health care, tech and retail look like buys.

Sweet comeback as people are getting too panicked and too bearish. I noticed it first in the retailers, which all trade like subprime-mortgage originators.

It then spread to the oil and oil-service stocks (as if oil is going to plummet, not just find a level). The minerals got whacked something awful off the usual recession gambit.

Then it started hitting tech names, including ones that are doing well and just reported, like EMC (NYSE: EMC) (Cramer’s Take) off the big downgrade.

To me the last straw was the collapse, for a second day, of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) (Cramer’s Take), something that simply makes no sense at all except from the proposition that both competitors, Merrill (NYSE: MER) (Cramer’s Take) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) (Cramer’s Take), will now be better run (which is a given, by the way).

In fact, the only five stocks that were holding up throughout the onslaught — at least on my screen — were Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) (Cramer’s Take), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) (Cramer’s Take) and IACI (NASDAQ: IACI) (Cramer’s Take) plus Deere (NYSE: DE) (Cramer’s Take) and Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH) (Cramer’s Take) — the latter are incredible stalwarts.

The ability of this market to shrug off these losses will be the tale of today’s tape. Resilience has been the hallmark of this market when it comes up against key levels, and it showed it again today.

It’s probably time to do some buying of health care — we did Monday in Action Alerts PLUS — tech, and retail, and cover some of the financials.

RELATED LINKS

• The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week
• Google Phone Windfall Skips Chipmakers

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com’s sites and serves as an adviser to the company’s CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer was long EMC, C and Goldman Sachs.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Headline news, Technology

Being from LA, I have a variety of friends in the entertainment industry. No doubt, my talent agent friends are sweating. What will the writers’ strike mean?

Well, at first, probably not much. Hollywood studios have anticipated things — and have stockpiled content. But this can only last for a couple months. After that, things can certainly get dicey (hey, entertainment is the #3 employer in LA county).

After all, look what technology did to the music industry. Might the same happen with network television and movies - especially in a world of Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube And what about the popularity of multi-player gaming? Or social networks?

I had a chance to interview Chase Norlin, who operates Pixsy (an online video search engine). According to him:

“The strike likely doesn’t impact the online video industry. Today, online video generally falls into two large categories: customer generated content (CGM) on the low end and professionally produced video content on the high end, typically originating from existing video assets (e.g. TV production, movie trailers, etc). The semipro content production market, which falls in the middle, will likely become the next new market for online video production on the web. When this happens, a strike could significantly impact the online video industry in a negative way.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: From the boards, Management, Rants and raves, Google (GOOG), Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), News Corp’B’ (NWS), Time Warner Cable (TWC), Headline news

Richard Parsons is giving up his position as chief executive officer at Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) to be replaced on Jan. 1 by Jeff Bewkes, the current president. Parsons is stepping down, not because the job is done but because his job is done. He is no longer the person for the job and that has become apparent to everyone, including him. There is no angst, there is no acrimony — he has done some things very well during difficult times, but it’s time to move on.

There are those who would have you believe that this move should have come earlier, myself included. But Parsons and the board were not working on my timetable. Parsons will retain his position as chairman of the company. Depending on how quickly his replacement, TWX president Jeff Bewkes implements his ideas for change, Parsons may be leaving a company that does not much resemble the one he has been leading the last few years.

AOL has already changed a lot. We have witnessed AOL being removed from the company name after billions of dollars of write-downs. AOL was converted to an advertising model instead of being subscription-based. It established partnerships with many other companies including Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), which acquired a 5% stake for $1 billion and is now the primary search engine.

Time Warner Cable concluded its acquisition of Adelphia Cable and reorganized to form the independent Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and is struggling somewhat as the cable market changes with the telcos and satellite media providers joining in the competition for home users by bundling services.

Time Inc. has sold off some magazine titles, closed down others and is still trying to define where its future fortunes will be found.

These are just a few of the issues that Richard Parsons had to contend with. Add to that shareholder lawsuits and government investigations and pressures from “corporate raider” turned “shareholder crusader” Carl Icahn wanting to redirect the company and you have the makings of several novels. I will not be surprised if one is forthcoming. Like most plots, only time will tell how this story will play out when he is gone.

The stock has been up for a time but mostly disappointing when compared to other media companies like Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and NewsCorp (NYSE: NWS) and the broader indices over the past three years when it went nowhere. For stock holders, it is time for change. I hope that Jeff Bewkes can do HIS job and THE job so that the great potential of the company can be realized even if it does not look the same next year.

Disclosure: I own shares of TWX.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Cisco Systems (CSCO), International Business Machines (IBM), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Small business

While there’s been lots of buzz about Web 2.0, there’s another interesting trend that’s not getting as much noise: Enterprise 2.0. Basically, this is corporate software that uses social approaches, such as blogs, wikis, social networking and so on.

One of the leaders in the space is Socialtext, which snagged $9.5 million in venture capital this week. The investors include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Omidyar Network, and SAP Ventures.

True, biggie software companies — like IBM (NYSE: IBM) — have been investing in Enterprise 2.0. But as with any trend, it is usually smaller firms that make the critical innovations.

What’s more, Socialtext has a new CEO, Eugene Lee, who was formerly with Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) as well as Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO). He will try to expand the firm’s footprint beyond its base of 4,000 customers.

I also see this venture round as a defensive action. After all, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) bought Jot.com last year, which is an enterprise wiki/blog developer. Might we see a launch from the search giant?

I certainly think so. In other words, Socialtext will need as much money as it can get.

For more information on other recent VC deals, visit DealProfiles.com.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

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Filed under: Products and services, Rants and raves, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Marketing and advertising, Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Headline news

In the world of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), each passing day brings more news about some added feature, idea, business partnership or gadget, and today it is no exception. Despite much hype that Google would be announcing the “gPhone” today, instead: “Google along with 33 other companies are announcing Android, the first truly integrated mobile operating system.” What’s particularly notable is that it’s available under a mobile open source license.

This is becoming very Google-esque — a major partnership announcement! Google watchers (and shareholders) can appreciate that Google does not want to be in the hardware business, at least not right now. The company is in the partnering business. It has made the very wise decision to create as many partnerships as it can, attractive to both parties given that partners will make money by working with Google, without a new cost. Its selling point to Internet users: we are the nice guys and we bring you so many features that make your life easier and fun (sounds like Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)). How can someone resist that?

Google hopes to create not ‘a’ new platform for cell phones, but ‘the’ new platform for cell phones. In doing so the company will be expanding the Google universe.

Google has already supplanted Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) as the leader in search and advertising on the Internet and the company wants to do the same on cell phones; to be the “ultimate relationship guys.” The company is positioning itself to become the de facto software company for the internet in the same way that Microsoft Inc (NASDAQ: MSFT) was and is for most of the personal computer industry. And the Internet is going wireless and growing wireless, and sales of wireless devices and cell phones is outpacing PC’s by a wide margin.

In the past, when other companies came up with product ideas that either threatened Microsoft’s existing businesses — or created new products that management thought would be good for the software giant to compete in — it was able to overtake its small competitors. WordPerfect, WordStar, Lotus Notes, NetScape, and Sony Corp ADR (NYSE: SNE) PS3’s all were pushed to the sidelines. However, Google has grown so large, so fast, and in an area that Microsoft did not have a solid grasp upon, that it is now the 1000-pound gorilla in the room. Google has the momentum, and is making it very compelling for other companies to want to join up with whatever new developments it embarks upon. This, in turn, has created momentum in Google stock, which is now trading around $725 per share, up about 55% for the year.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.

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Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Forecasts, Google (GOOG), Crocs Inc (CROX), Stocks to Buy

Normally, when a company reports a quarter with numbers as impressive as Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) did, you expect the share price to rise. On September 30, Crocs reported third quarter earnings per share of $0.66 versus expectations of $0.63 and revenue of $256.3 million, in-line with expectations. The death knell was the dreaded words “in-line.”

The company had been on a run of exceeding Street expectations by quite a bit. The shares were hit very hard on Thursday coming down from $74 to $47, exacerbated by a 360-point decline in the Dow.

The numbers that Crocs reported were actually quite impressive as revenue were up 130% over last year’s 3rd quarter and earnings were up 144% for the same period. The gross margins expanded from 58% to 60.4%, while the ever-important operating margin actually hit above 30%. Young growth companies are not supposed to hit operating margins of 30%. It is virtually unheard of.

The other important piece of news was the company raising its 2008 guidance for earnings in the $2.65-2.70 range. With 2007 looking to be at $1.96, the growth for 2008 would be 35-40%. The stock market reaction was a tremendous overreaction, and the shares are now selling at quite a discount to its growth rate and operating margin level.

Typically, the market is comfortable assigning one P/E point to one point of growth or one point of operating margin. With the growth rate and the operating margins north of 30%, Crocs could support a 30 PE of its 2008 earnings expectations or $81 per share. Assigning a premium over the 30 PE would lift the shares even higher.

Crocs has executed superbly thus far in developing its brand and its massive distribution system globally. Fifty-one percent of revenue came from international sales. Again, for a young growth company, that is another impressive statistic. Crocs is also learning to manage product flow versus expectations of delivery. Being late to the party with inventory in Europe cost it about $20 million in sales, thus eliminating the revenue upside for the September quarter. That is a lesson that has been learned and will likely be avoided in the future.

The new product flow is impressive and substantial. The early read on both the men’s and children’s apparel line has been very strong. With the shares trading at a low P/E of 17 times 2008 earnings and a PEG ratio of .5 times 2008, the stock is a strong buy.

The shareholder base is changing as the fast money hedge funds that got killed earlier in the year have now extracted a bit of revenge. Traditional institutional investors are doing the work as the shares are too cheap and look extremely attractive. I spoke to three such institutions this past Thursday and Friday and all three are buying shares.

Young growth companies have their moments of experiencing growth pains in the development. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) went through this back in the June quarter of this year, now Crocs is. Google had the audacity to report “just an in-line quarter” and the shares were knocked out of a bed. They have now recovered and have gone to record highs. The Crocs concept is playing in a massive and global market and the shares will rebound. With a $47-48 current price, the shares have still more than doubled this year. There is still a lot more to come.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research.

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Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Google (GOOG), Kraft Foods’A’ (KFT)

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In a setback for U.S. foreign policy, General Musharraf of Pakistan has imposed emergency rule amidst a political crisis, tightly controlling the courts, and media outlets, in addition to holding about 500 government opponents and changing several Supreme Court justices, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• For the first time in 20 years, the Writers Guild of America, whose members total 12,000, has failed to reach an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, and a strike is expected to take effect today, reported the Wall Street Journal.
• Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) may sell its Post cereals to Ralcorp Holdings (NYSE: RAH) for about $2.8B, according to the Wall Street Journal.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The U.K. Times reported that Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD) is the frontrunner to acquire a 25% stake in Telekom International, a division of state-controlled Telekom Malaysia.
• Shares of British supermarket chain J Sainsbury (OTC: JSAIY) plunged 18% in London today after Qatar Investment Authority abandoned its GBP10.6B bid for Sainsbury, reported the U.K. Times.
• Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is expected to hold a press conference today to unveil a suite of software for mobile phones that will be based on open-source technology and will be backed by some of the largest wireless industry companies in the world, reported CNet.com.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL)

Twice a year, Barron’s does its “Smart Money” poll of institutional investors. This fall’s edition includes opinions from 112 money managers. The poll was e-mailed to these participants in late September.

These investors believe that the market is still headed higher. Forty-two percent were bullish compared to 18% who called themselves bearish.

But the strange thing about the poll is that some of the most mentioned “buys” were also among the most mentioned “sells,” which shows how deep the spread of opinion is on these companies.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) made both lists. The first list was called “Two Favorite Stocks,” and the other was called “Most Overvalued.”

For any money manager worried about valuations compared to the market as a whole, the two stocks do appear expensive. Apple is up 120% this year, and Google is up almost 60%. The Nasdaq is up less than 20%. Google also now has a market cap of $222 billion, which makes it the 5th most valuable company in America. It trades for almost 15 times revenue.

The case for the stocks still being worthy of accumulation is fairly simple. Both still have wild growth prospects. At Apple, sales of the iPod are not slowing, and Mac sales are picking up. The adoption of the new iPhone is probably greater than most people expected and the handset business does have global sales of over one billion units a year.

Over at Google, the company has 50% to 60% of the search market depending on which survey is being used for the data. And, the market assumes that products like Google Apps and the new Google phone could take the company’s revenue beyond PC-based search.

Part of why people are dazzled by Wall Street is that no one knows what will happen to any given market or stock. The Barron’s poll confirms that yet again.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

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Filed under: Deals, Launches, Industry, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), AT and T (T), Sprint Nextel Corp (S)

Fortune is reporting that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will announce the launch of its mobile phone on Monday. “A source close to T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) and Sprint (NYSE: S) confirmed to Fortune that the companies are likely to be the first U.S. mobile operators to carry Google-powered cell phones.”

If the news does come out at the start of the trading week, watch for another run in Google shares and a possible bounce in Sprint.

Word is that the Google mobile operating systems will include its search, map, Gmail, and YouTube products. It will also be open to developers who want to add new applications to handsets powered by the search company. If the phone uses the Sprint network, Google would have access to a customer base of over 50 million subscribers.

For Sprint, the troubled No. 3 cellular provider in the U.S., it may give the company a leg up on larger competitors Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T).

The improvements in the share prices of the two companies may be short-lived, but Wall Street loves a big story.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Time Warner (TWX), Home Depot (HD), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), China, Halliburton (HAL), Altria Group (MO), NYSE Euronext (NYX), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Duke Energy (DUK), Dow Chemical (DOW), Top Picks 2007, Valero Energy (VLO), PetroChina Co Ltd ADR (PTR), Huaneng Power Intl ADS (HNP), Level 3 Communications (LVLT), Kraft Foods’A’ (KFT), Chasing Value, Oil, S and P 500, DJIA, Stocks to Buy, Rite Aid Corp (RAD), Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT)

This year has been a stock picker’s market extraordinaire! This month’s review provides ample evidence of this, as you’ll note that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), which I included for fun because of its popularity, beat all else as a portfolio of one. The average of my seven picks came in second, beating James Cramer’s average based on his nine picks. Both Cramer and I beat each of the three indices I am tracking, and therefore beat the average as well, with the largest and most stable, the Standard & Poor’s 500 coming in last.

Of course, this could easily change given recent market volatility. A sharp downturn in the market could reverse our fortunes. A lot can happen in the remaining two months — I take nothing for granted.

While Google shined brightly this year, Cramer and I have each made one pick that shined brighter. Cramer’s best, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has gone into orbit this year on the wings of the iPhone, iPod, and growing Mac sales. Benefiting from rising oil prices, shortages in China and the Chinese government allowing a 10% price hike, my PetroChina ADR (NYSE: PTR) has rocketed, becoming the second-largest capitalized company in the world. PTR has done this even in the shadow of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) selling its shares and Warren Buffett questioning the huge appreciation of the Chinese stock market and stocks overall.

Through September and October, the market benefited from a half-percent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board, recovering much of August’s losses. However the Fed’s quarter-point cut on Wednesday did not have the desired effect, and yesterday the Dow tumbled. This has also stimulated oil and gold prices to new highs and caused the dollar to decline overseas. I think this boosted foreign stocks significantly, most notably Huaneng Power International ADS, which derives 100% of its revenue outside the United States. Last December, I made a strong case for HNP; prior to its recent rise, I did so again for our Volatile Market picks: Huaneng Power (HNP) is my pick for the next 50 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is once again approaching its high of 14,000, and looks like there might be room to exceed it. The housing market and subprime loans continue to worry investors, but unlike last month when an interest rate cut was not a certainty, the market got its wish but not as much as hoped, with some concern that future cuts are less likely.

The month of October continued the trend of stock-picking outperforming the indices. Quarterly earnings reports have been mixed, and more reports are coming out daily. The global economy is still clicking along in a positive direction, but with much greater angst. U.S. interest rates, the devalued dollar, rising oil prices, and international entanglements of all kinds are creating uncertainty. Mergers and acquisitions are slowing or being renegotiated. It has been another month where Chinese stocks did very well, but more people are questioning how long this can continue, including “My Pal Warren.”

Summary of Results:

• Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to race into uncharted territory, doubling its year-to-date growth since last month. The prognosticators are so crowded on that proverbial bandwagon that they have to refrain from jumping on it because there’s little room left. August lulls, and two stories in Barron’s (subscription required) that sought to temper investor enthusiasm (questioning ROIC and sustained advertising income in a slowing economy), are a distant memory. Few investors have even paused to take a breath in October. GOOG closed at $707, for a solid +52.85% gain through the first 10 months of the year, holding the top spot again, and by a widening margin.
• My picks continued to advance considerably through October, improving to a 18.14% gain year-to-date. Adding the dividend portion of 2.41% (2.89% x 0.833) brings the total return to +20.55%, a very solid total performance. Dividends make a difference when the returns are modest, although this month they were less important. PetroChina ADR (NYSE: PTR) replaced Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) as my biggest winner, leaping forward for almost an 85% YTD gain. Nevertheless, VLO has been the most consistent all year, and Huaneng Power International ADS (NYSE: HNP), another crowd pleaser, was third. My biggest disappointment is Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), which is down 17%. I just can’t believe so much potential goes under-utilized and undervalued.
• Jim Cramer’s average return on his nine picks was 17.14% over the 10 months, beating the Standard & Poor’s index, the DJIA and the NASDAQ, and changing positions with me this month. Adding the dividend portion of 0.55% (0.66% x 0.833), brings Cramer’s gain to +17.69%. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was his best pick of the year. Given new product and software launches and the continuation of current products and programs, there is every reason to believe 2007 will finish as another one for Apple’s record books.
• All of the indices gained ground in October, with the DJIA, NASDAQ and S&P all making a good showing for an overall average of +12.68% year-to-date. Adding their portion of the dividend yield of 1.5% (1.8% x 0.833) brings it up to a total gain of +14.28%, a notable return on investment, beating out most fixed income securities. They also beat the long-term market averages. This is a reminder that just by being in the market, the most conservative of investors would have done very well.

Note that portional dividends have been added to the results. This is one of the criteria I use in my stock picks, and it is having an impact on the results thus far. Only three of Cramer’s picks pay dividends, averaging about 0.66%. The indices pay a higher average of 1.8%, and my picks average still higher at about 2.89%. Google does not pay a dividend. The flatter the market is, the more dividends are a factor in overall returns.

Google wavered in the first half of the year, took off and then cooled over the summer, being the most speculative of stocks early on, but it was the best bet for the fourth month in a row, and has been on fire the last two months. I still maintain that Value will beat Growth and Indexing over the long run, but I must give Google its due — it has been great.

Two of my picks continue to be mentioned as buyout candidates but the rhetoric has died down considerably: The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) and The Home Depot (NYSE: HD). Home Depot continues to receive the most negative sentiment, and the crushed housing market is keeping it from rebounding despite what many market watchers see as a deeply discounted turnaround play and I would agree.

The following are the closing prices as of December 28, 2006 and 10 month returns for the seven stocks I recommended, plus the addition of Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) that was spun out of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK). Among Cramer’s picks, Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), which was spun out of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO), is included in the calculations.

1. The Dow Chemical Company: (NYSE: DOW) $40.02 is Up to $45.04 (+12.04%) 3.54% yield
2. Duke Energy: (NYSE: DUK) $33.02 (incl. of Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) is Down to $32.16 (-2.6%) 4.31% yield
3. The Home Depot Inc.: (NYSE: HD) $39.73 is Down to $31.51 (-20.69%) 2.31% yield
4. Huaneng Power International ADS: (NYSE: HNP) $36 is Up to $48.05 (+33.47%) 3.62% yield
5. PetroChina ADR: (NYSE: PTR) $142.12 is Up to $262.60 (+84.77%) 4.5% yield
6. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) $22.00 is Down to $18.26 (-17.83%) 1.1% yield
7. Valero Energy: (NYSE: VLO) $51.61 is Up to $70.43 (+36.47%) 0.84% yield

The following index comparisons are also from December 28, 2006 :

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,501.52 is Up to 13,930.01 (+11.43%)
• NASDAQ Composite Index: 2,425.57 is Up to 2,859.12 (+17.8%)
• Standard & Poor’s 500 Index: ($INX): 1,424.73 is Up to 1,549.38 (+7.16%)

The Cramer Speculative Stocks for 2007:

1) Level 3 Communications (NASDAQ: LVLT) $5.66 is Down to $3.03 (-46.47%) No dividend
2) Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) $5.49 is Down to $3.91 (-28.78%) No dividend
3) Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SVNT) $12.01 is Up to $14.08. (+17.24%) No dividend

The Cramer Growth Picks are:
1) New York Stock Exchange Group (NYSE: NYX) $97.51 Down to $93.87 (-3.73%) No dividend
2) Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) $80.87 Up to $189.95 (+134.88%) No dividend
3) Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) $27.42 Up to $33.06 (+20.57%) No dividend

The Cramer Value Picks are:
1) Altria Group (NYSE: MO) $86.23 Up to $72.93 +(Kraft at .692024 x $33.41 = 23.12) to $96.05 (+11.41%) 4.12% yield
2) Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) $200.80 Up to $216.74 (+23%) .72% yield
3) Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) $31.26 Up to $38.40 (+26.1%) .97% yield

The New Powerhouse Google

What an amazing month for Google, up significantly, and passing its high prior to dropping after its last quarterly report. The Wall Street darling is being tracked since it is of broad interest to the investing public and internet users alike. Google closed December 28, 2006 at $462.56, rose in January, then traded downward for a few months before hitting new highs in June, followed by another all-time high of $558.58 in July. A 3-cent earnings miss, based on analysts’ expectations, caused an immediate drop of about 10%. But coming on strong, Google ended October at $707.00, for a solid YTD gain of $244.44 per share (+52.85%), more than doubling last month’s YTD gain. Google does not pay a dividend.

In Closing

I continue to watch the sad state of affairs at Time Warner, which has faltered all year long for what I consider to be no good reason, or maybe there is: Time Warner (TWX): No catalyst or no leadership? Some comparisons. I am still waiting for my invitation to a board meeting to share my thoughts personally. No doubt Jim Cramer would like to do the same with the boards of Rite Aid, as well as Level Three, considering it is a tech stock but has been a disaster for him. I will continue to report during the week following the closing stock prices each month.

James Cramer of TheStreet.com has the distinction of making both the best and worst picks of the year so far. The past few months have been dismal for the financial sector and anything lingering near its giant shadow. Neither of us wandered near the banks although Cramer does have Goldman Sachs, which has been on a roller coaster ride. No telling where it will end up.

This Chasing Value post marks my 436th story for BloggingStocks over the last 19 months, and the 10th report where I compare my stock picks to Cramer’s and the indices. Some months have been remarkable, and some have been rather blasé. Many of our readers have contributed some thought-provoking commentary and made this time a more interesting journey.

I created the Chasing Value section after discussions with Senior Editor Amey Stone, and it seems to be doing well with a modest but growing following. I hope readers appreciate the depth to which I am sharing ideas and eating my own cooking. The ideas I present are the basis of our investment strategy for my own small private investment company and personal portfolios. I hope readers will continue to share their ideas, I am still learning too.

I must close again with this: It would be very unusual for someone to expect a beginning investor or novice to hold just a single stock in their portfolio, but if they did, that stock could very well be Google. For that reason, in this unique circumstance, such a person would have beaten Cramer and myself at stock picking, and 99% of Wall Street, and tripled the return of the indices as well. You all know it’s often better to be lucky than good, and this proves it again!

Disclosure: I own shares of BRK.B, DOW, DUK, HNP, PTR, SE, TWX, and VLO.

To find more potential opportunities and verify my track record read Chasing Value or Serious Money.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the design and research principal for an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.

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