Investing Opportunities 2015

For 2015,your New Year's resolution should be to invest,says Winnie Sun of Sun Group Wealth Partners.If you're looking for value and opportunity,I really like the story of investing in Europe.The most important thing is time horizon.If your time horizon is long,there's no reason to be afraid of investing in Europe.*
David Seaberg of Cowan&Co. says that energy is setting up to be a massive trade.I think you saw a massive de-risking.I'm absolutely set up.A lot of managers came in and sold positions out.The higher quality names,I'd be buying them across the board here.
Europe could be a big opportunity.I think small caps are going to continue to move forward.*
Michael Farr of Farr,Miller&Washington says to place bets carefully in the stock market.JP Morgan Chase is trading at 10 times earnings,with a 2.5% dividend.I think they're doing fine now,and banks are poised to do well when the Fed raises rates.
I like Chevron.It might not be at the bottom yet,but it pays a 3.8% dividend.
Google has a solid balance sheet,with double digit earnings growth.They've moved away from a dependence on search.They've continued to evolve into a multi-media company and have settled down in Asia.*
iShares Europe Etf(IEV),Chevron(CVX),Exxon Mobil(XOM),JP Morgan Chase(JPM),Google(GOOG)

Upgraded and Under the Radar Firms

Katie Stockton of BTIG Research likes Google.The stock has underperformed.It is oversold.There's a pretty good risk-return profile from the technical standpoint.*
Stifel Nicolaus has raised eBay to a buy,with a 65.00 price target.They believe eBay is the real deal in ecommerce.*
Bernstein Research has raised United Technologies to a buy.They like the new CEO,Chief Financial Officer Gregory Hayes.*
Goldman Sachs has given Chipotle a 790.00 price target.It is cheap in proportion to its cash flow.*
Morgan Stanley has raised LaSalle Hotel to overweight.They raised its price target to 45.00 from 35.00.*
Don Wordell,CFA,Managing Director at RidgeWorth Investments,likes Mattel.The yield is very attractive compared to any of the bonds.Also,it's undervalued.
We like Tyco for the fundamental catalysts.They have a tremendous pipeline of deals in the near future.
A company called Tidewater has supply vessels running equipment and crews to offshore oil rigs.They have all new equipment,and utilisation and day rates are going to hold up better than most.They also pay a 3.5% dividend.I'm very,very comfortable that offshore drilling will remain strong,and this company is very,very attractive at these levels,Mr.Wordell concluded.*
Google(GOOG),United Technologies(UTX),Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG),Mattel(MAT),eBay(EBAY),Tyco International Plc(TYC),Tidewater Inc(TDW),LaSalle Hotel(LHO)

What to Buy:JC Penney;Amazon;Throwback Tech

CNBC host Jim Cramer has been handing out JC Penney gift cards to his coworkers.You can get a lot of really high quality merchandise at JC Penney-a shirt and tie combo,Cramer says.The stores look great.Give me JC Penney.Memorial Day,JC Penney's gonna be crowded.*
I like throwback tech.I like Cisco and I like Apple.I just think Apple is an inexpensive stock.*
The trade is,when the economy is slowing,you buy the consumer packaged goods,because they're not gonna miss the quarter;but people have to be very careful with that kind of trading,because the market's heading down right now.I find that things aren't as great as I'd like,but that's not the material of a recession.The 18-35s are still living at home with their parents at a record level,and that's something people forget about.*
Amazon has invested 20 million in China's food delivery site YUMMY77.They're learning from the hard lessons they learned in the past about competing in China with Amazon China,adds analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray.They're struggling in China.This seems to be striking the right balance.Let Amazon in Seattle do what they do best:focus on Western Europe and the US.I think its a phenomenal stock to own with a five year perspective.*
Microsoft can get things right,Cramer continued;there's no law written that Microsoft must get things wrong.Microsoft makes Xbox,the most popular gaming system.*
Google is the top global brand,according to a new study.They have pulled away from everyone.My charitable trust owns it,though it's been a tough stock to own the past couple of months.*
As for McDonald's,people want to buy things that are down with a good yield.The Europeans are fleeing their bond market and coming here.What's going on is global,the author and master investor Jim Cramer pointed out.
JC Penney(JCP),Amazon(AMZN),Microsoft(MSFT),Google(GOOG),Cisco(CSCO)

Financial Fracas:Prince Alwaleed versus Forbes

Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is still engaged in a tussle with Forbes magazine that resulted in his filing a defamation claim in London's High Court on April 30.Appearing on Bloomberg TV's Charlie Rose show Wednesday,the prince said Forbes magazine characterised the Saudi stock market,the Tadawul,as being a casino,whereas it is actually tightly regulated.They got my company's market cap wrong.I didn't even care about that;but to say Saudi Arabia is a casino,that's crossing the red line,Prince Alwaleed complained.
The conflict began even before Forbes published its celebrated Rich List of the world's wealthiest people in March,which the prince heartily disagrees with.He was ranked number 26,with a Forbes estimate of his net worth of 20 billion dollars.His advisors had been intermittently lobbying the publication to boost his ranking,Forbes asserts.In the event,he feels the magazine undervalued his Kingdom Holding firm by 9.6 billion.The Rich List was flawed and innacurate,displaying a bias against Middle East investors and fiancial institutions,he told The Sunday Telegraph.
In a March 25 Forbes article called "Prince Alwaleed and the curious case of Kingdom Holding stock,"it was asserted that the Saudi stock market was subject to manipulation by the wealthy individuals who dominate it,and that King Abdullah had ordered a stop to it.A former Kingdom Holding executive referred to the market as a gambling site,the article reports.
The High Court claim names Forbes publisher Randall Lane,an editor and two journalists,Kerry Dolan and Francine McKenna,a source familiar with the matter said.It contends the Rich List caused harm to his reputation and the finances of his company,Kingdom Holding.
To win a defamation suit,the prince must prove that his reputation in England and Wales suffered serious harm and that Forbes caused Kingdom Holding serious financial loss.London is known as the center of libel tourism,as it is supposedly easier to prove such a claim there than in the US,for example.*
Kingdom Holding consists of large stakes in Apple,Twitter,Newscorp and Citigroup,as well as hotels such as the Savoy in London,plus the Four Seasons and the Plaza in New York,and the George V in Paris.Prince Alwaleed is the largest individual investor in the United States.He said the US economy is great and spectacular.Long term investors have no choice but to look to the United States.It will take decades for China to come even near to the United States.I'm optimistic in general about the world economy and about the United States particularly.America is down in many areas,but is not out,His Royal Highness Prince Alwaleed insisted on Charlie Rose,citing entrepreneurs such as Google and Twitter.

News Notes:Citi's Internet Calls;Best Investment Banks 2013

The IMF has reduced its estimate of world growth to 3.1%,down from 3.3% in April.For 2014,it sees China growth at 8.2% and India at 6.2%. Citigroup has initiated coverage of major Internet stocks.LinkedIn,Netflix and Facebook are rated neutral. Facebook is a relatively young company going through a transition,said Citi analyst Mark May.Amazon,Google,eBay and AOL are buys.Yelp is a sell. Key Internet themes are the shift from PCs to mobile;the emergence of adtech;and the proliferation of data. The US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue has begun,led by Secretary of State John Kerry.BMW sees China as its top 2013 market,based on its growth in small cities. GE Oil and Gas is establishing its global headquarters in London. Global Finance magazine has named its Best Investment Banks 2013.Global winners include J.P.Morgan,Best Investment Bank;Bank of America Merrill Lynch,Best in Emerging Markets;Qatar National Bank,Best in Frontier Markets;and Goldman Sachs,Best M&A Bank. Global Finance said J.P.Morgan grew market share across the board because of its loyal client base;a long term startegy of embracing regulatory reform;a legendary corporate lending legacy;and the integration of equity underwriting talent from Bear Stearns,which it acquired in 2008. It made a world-leading 465 billion dollars for its clients through 2,164 bond deals;and earned more than 5.6 billion in investment banking fees,the best in class. JP Morgan Chase(JPM),Amazon(AMZN),Goldman Sachs(GS)