What Investment Professionals Are Looking For-and avoiding

In the hedge fund space,one of the most popular trades has been dollar strength,avoiding energy and shorting it,said Troy Gayeski of Skybridge Capital Partners.Two to three quarters from now,energy distressed credit will be sought.Six months ago,private equity was raising money to invest in energy.
Volatility has expanded dramatically since QE was ended.There will be stock market gains of 3-10% in 2015,but with increased volatility as Fed tightening begins.*
German,Japanese and Swiss bond yields are very low,notes John Brynjolfsson of the Armored Wolf hedge fund.The US inflation rate is falling,and US bond yields are among the lowest in the world.I previously thought the Fed would move quickly,but we're probably looking at negative inflation rates,and it's almost impossible for the Fed to tighten interest rates with negative inflation.*
We're looking for high quality companies with good returns on capital,added Kevin Tony of American Century Investments.We are classic value investors.LifePoint is a hospital company with a broad footprint throughout the US.We think as people get jobs,or get insurance through Obamacare,hospitals will do well.Waste services company Republic Services Group has a high return on capital and low volatility.*
Intel reported earnings per share of 0.74 versus an estimate of 0.66;while revenue came in at 14.72 billion versus the 14.71 billion estimate.Data center revenue was 4.1 billion,and better than expected.The company's guidance was strong,although it continues to lose money on mobile and the pc client group was down as well.Intel is ranked number two in mobile processing,but since its stock is already up 40%,it will need a lot to push it up further,CNBC's Tim Seymour observed.
LifePoint Hospitals Inc(LPNT),Republic Services Group(RSG),Intel(INTC),American Century Value Fund(TWVLX)

Chief Financial Officer:Intel's Vision of Growth Drivers

Intel has reported Q1 earnings greater than estimated.With that achievement on the books,what lies ahead for the tech titan?We have a hundred designs in the pipeline,said Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith.You're gonna see touch enabled;thin and white products.We're well on the way to 40% of the pc market by the end of the year.As we look forward,we think we can grow the data center business over the next five years. Windows 8 will be positive for sales.The performance and very thin form factor,along with touch,really sets us up for an exciting set of products for the end of this year.We've announced smartphone design wins.You're gonna see them with Intel architecture inside. Things are getting incrementally better in the U.S. economy.We still see robust growth in the emerging markets,leading to high unit sales growth,Mr.Smith observed. Led by CEO Paul Ottelini,Intel draws on the very considerable talents of some 92,000 workers worldwide. Intel(INTC)

CFO:Intel's 2012 Story

We had an extraordinary year in 2011,says Intel Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith.We saw growth across every line of business.The story for us in 2012 is a refurbished product line.I'm very excited about the Ultrabook.It will move into a more mainstream price point.
In terms of demand,2011 saw growth as expected,with good growth in the emerging markets.We had a strong enterprise segment,and the data center group was very strong.
The mature market consumer was sluggish,especially in Europe.The supply chain impact from the Thailand flooding was no hard disk drives,so inventory levels were brought down.We expect the impact to ease by Q2 2012.
This is a product story for us.We can build better products for our customers.The growth drivers in 2012 will be the same as in 2011,Mr.Smith predicted.
Intel employs about 90,000 workers at some 200 facilities worldwide.The company has locations in the Americas and Asia,as well as Europe,Africa and the Middle East.
Intel(INTC)