Rock Your Stock

The Top Five Investment Books Of All Time

Will Ashworth — Mon, 28 May 2007 16:46:00 GMT

We thought we'd provide our readers with a little light reading material for the upcoming summer months when many of you will be vacationing with your families. I can guarantee that if you read all five books on this list, you’ll be well prepared to invest your hard-earned capital without losing your shirt. Despite the heading, this is not a list of bestsellers but rather a list of best helpers. Many books and their authors claim to have all the answers but rarely do they meet your expectations....(read more)

Recreational soccer is big business in the UK - Is America next?

Will Ashworth — Mon, 28 May 2007 15:27:00 GMT

Earlier this year soccer player David Beckham announced that when his contract with Real Madrid expires in June, he’d begin a new $250 million, five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer, the ten-year-old semi-successful professional league operating in the United States. The press went nuts and sports radio, from LA to New York were buzzing about the great one’s arrival on the North American soccer scene. Will Beckham’s popularity translate to more people watching professional...(read more)

Answers to our weekly finance quiz

Mark — Mon, 28 May 2007 12:58:00 GMT

Happy Monday morning, everybody. One of our loyal RYS readers, Dheenu Sivaligam, has suggested that we start posting the answers to our weekly Friday quiz on Monday morning, and we think this is a great idea. From now on, we’ll be leaving the answers as a comment on the quiz post, so if you want to check your answers after the deadline has come and gone, feel free. Speaking of the deadline, I’m wondering now if we’re not giving you all enough time to take the quiz. We usually post it sometime on...(read more)

Avenue – where America’s plus-size women shop

Will Ashworth — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:01:00 GMT

We’ve all heard the statistics about America’s ever worsening obesity problem. Yes, it’s true we are overweight and we do eat too much but we still need clothes to work and play in that make us look half flattering; a reality met head on by United Retail Group ( URGI ), who operate 485 stores in 37 states catering to plus-size women between the ages of 25 and 55. Not only do they provide fashionable clothes that flatter larger women, they do so at reasonable price points. An excellent combination...(read more)

Take our quiz and WIN A FREE T-SHIRT

Mark — Fri, 25 May 2007 13:48:00 GMT

It’s Friday and around here at Rock Your Stock we LOVE giving away free stuff on Fridays. But if you took our quiz from a couple of weeks ago , you’d know that we don’t yet have any cool swag of our own, so we’ve resorted to giving away swag from some of our sister sites. This week’s prize was donated by a very cool and very important website called WorkSafely.com , which provides some really great workplace safety resources and articles . It’s edited by my coworker Heather and features celebrity...(read more)

Duvel is Dutch for good beer

Will Ashworth — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:37:00 GMT

While I don’t drink as much beer as I once did I still like to have the occasional pint. When I do, I tend to order something unusual and more flavorful then your typical American beer. One of the best in my opinion is Duvel ( DUV ), a Belgian strong ale, given high marks by Rate Beer , the online leader in suds reviews. Even more interesting is the acquisition of Ommegang , the Cooperstown, New York craft brewer with some very flavorful barley pops. I’m sure this will help infiltrate the American...(read more)

The Top 10 things the investment industry doesn’t want you to know

Will Ashworth — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:41:00 GMT

The crack team at Rock Your Stock put our heads together and came up with a list, in no particular order, of some of the little known truths about Wall Street. We hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to add to the list in the comments section. Thanks. Only your broker makes money The 1940 book Where Are the Customers' Yachts? or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street points out that the only one making money in the traditional broker-client relationship is the person getting all the commissions. The truth...(read more)

RYS Pick of the Day – Entertainment Properties Trust

Will Ashworth — Wed, 23 May 2007 17:23:00 GMT

When I was six my grandfather retired from his job as President of Famous Players, the largest cinema chain in Canada. He spent his entire life in the entertainment business and it rubbed off on me to the extent I love movies and pretty much anything else entertainment related; which brings me circuitously to today’s financial services pick – Entertainment Properties Trust ( EPR ), the largest owner of entertainment related real estate in North America. Their properties cover 7.1 million square feet...(read more)

RYS Pick of the Day – Cobra Electronics Corp.

Will Ashworth — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:16:00 GMT

Anyone who does a lot of highway driving might know about today’s pick. Cobra Electronics ( CBRA ) is a leader in radar detection products but also produces two-way radios, citizens band radios, marine electronics and mobile navigation systems for the consumer market. The company has definitely seen turbulent times over the years, 2006 among them. Last October the company bought a British firm, Performance Products Ltd., makers of the Snooper line of mobile GPS navigation systems. I believe that...(read more)

Tired of high gas prices? Don't get mad, get even!

Will Ashworth — Sat, 19 May 2007 11:00:00 GMT

As I was filling up my tank this morning on the way to work, I thought about gas prices and the rising cost of fuel. As my car slowly sucked the money out of my wallet, I looked over at a man filling up a behemoth of a vehicle. I wondered how much he must spend to fill the tank. Upwards of $75, I’m sure. It hurts just thinking about it. This thought led to another until I had the ultimate solution: if you can’t beat them, join them. Let’s face it, gas prices are going to keep moving higher until...(read more)

Microsoft To Buy AQuantive For $6 Billion: does this mean the Yahoo! merger is off?

Mark — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:19:00 GMT

Microsoft is at the top of the financial news this morning by announcing it will buy online advertising firm aQuantive Inc. for a staggering $6 billion. The deal will see aQuantive receive $66.50 a share in cash, an amount 85 percent higher than the stock’s closing price yesterday. The offer dwarfs the earnings forecast that AQuantive anticipated for 2007: the company had predicted it would bring in about $70 million in net earnings, up from $54 million in 2006. While most of the media seems focused...(read more)

RYS Pick of the Day – Bjorn Borg AB

Will Ashworth — Fri, 18 May 2007 14:48:00 GMT

Back in the mid to late 1970s, a tennis player from Sweden captivated the crowds at Wimbledon, winning five straight titles and nearly a sixth in 1981. His name was Bjorn Borg and he was as smooth off the court as he was on it. Women adored him like no other. Not even Andre Agassi can compare to the Swedish sensation. Fast-forward 26 years and Bjorn Borg is making a comeback, just not in tennis. The man’s legacy carries on in the form of an apparel brand, and it’s a hot one to boot. In 2006, the...(read more)

Take Our Quiz and Become a Millionaire

Mark — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:48:00 GMT

Boy howdy do we have a great book to give away for this week’s Rock Your Stock finance news quiz. It’s called Secrets of Millionaire Moms: Learn How They Turned Great Ideas into Booming Businesses – and How You Can Too! by Tamara Monosoff. You certainly can’t go wrong with a book with an exclamation mark in its title, right? If your mom was a bit disappointed with the gift(s) you gave her for Mother’s Day last Sunday, this book will surely make up for it. The quiz rules are quite simple. Send in...(read more)

The Price of War: What Iraq is doing to – or for – your stock portfolio

Mark — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:46:00 GMT

If you’re a shrewd investor with few or no scruples, chances are you beefed up your portfolio’s Halliburton shares right around Q1 of 2003. And why not? Anybody with even a modicum of market sense could tell that the Texas energy giant’s shares would rise like so many Kuwaiti gas fires from the Bush administration’s irrepressible march towards war. And boy, have they: Halliburton stock has more than tripled in value since the invasion began, and has doubled in the last year alone. Its back-room dealings...(read more)

RYS Pick of the Day – Retail Food Group Ltd.

Will Ashworth — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:01:00 GMT

Today I’m headed down under to the land of the koala bear, Billabong, and Crocodile Dundee. Our pick is a growing baked goods franchise that went public last June at a buck a share. Now trading around $1.50 a share, Retail Food Group ( RFG ) is making things happen in the world of donuts, pastries, gourmet breads and specialty coffee. At present, the company offers two franchise opportunities to would be entrepreneurs – Donut King and bb’s Café – with most of the growth coming from the donut chain....(read more)

Business, journalism and the business of business journalism

Mark — Wed, 16 May 2007 19:45:00 GMT

After reading the news yesterday, I was beginning to wonder if members of the Bancroft family were reconsidering their position on Rupert Murdoch’s $5-billion bid to take Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal off their hands. After all, yesterday was the day that Thomson, a Canadian financial data provider, announced it was buying the Reuters news wire for about $17 billion – which, on its own, shakes up the business journalism landscape rather significantly. That deal could help slingshot Reuters...(read more)

Financial Wednesday Weekly Pick – SEI Investments helps financial service providers operate their businesses more effectively

Will Ashworth — Wed, 16 May 2007 18:20:00 GMT

The financial services industry is neck high in paper work and it’s not getting any better. A Pennsylvania company helps make this nightmare disappear through outsourcing. SEI Investments ( SEIC ) provides pre-packaged as well as custom solutions to financial service professionals helping them focus on the important part of their business, serving clients. Outsourcing works and the company’s results speak volumes about the need for their products and services. SEI, in business since 1968, has four...(read more)

Tech Tuesday Weekly Pick – Get online fast with Website Pros

Will Ashworth — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:32:00 GMT

Last October, before I joined Geosign, I set up my own blog using an internet provider where I live. Part of the yearly deal included some software for creating your own web sites. The product was NetObjects Fusion , and although very interesting, I decided to use Word Press instead. This morning I was searching for a tech stock to blog about when I came upon Website Pros ( WSPI ), a profitable Florida-based company that offers small and medium-sized businesses the tools to get their online presence...(read more)

Sports Monday Weekly Pick – Speedo is doing swimmingly

Will Ashworth — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:34:00 GMT

My niece is a competitive swimmer. One of the tools of the trade for her is the Speedo swimsuit. In late 2003, I suggested to my sister that since her daughter was an avid swimmer, she might think about buying some stock in Warnaco Group ( WRNC ) as a neat way to teach her about investing. As far as I know, my sister never followed through on my recommendation (who really listens to their siblings?). That’s too bad because the stock has appreciated three times as much as the markets as a whole. While...(read more)

Private equity isn’t the solution for Liz Clairborne

Will Ashworth — Fri, 11 May 2007 18:57:00 GMT

It seems to me that private equity is the elixir of the investment world. Got a problem with your business (publicly traded) and no short-term solution, sell it to a private equity firm who’ll shade you from those pesky shareholders who want returns now, not in five years. It’s a utopian thought but hardly the reality. Private equity wants returns just as fast as their public counterparts do, if not faster. A recent example of the quick turnarounds taking place in fashion deals is the sale of Jimmy...(read more)

Rock Your Stock Pick of the Day – Buckle up for the ride!

Will Ashworth — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:39:00 GMT

Today is fashion Friday and I was struggling to come up with a stock pick when I looked at the same store sales numbers for April . There was blood in the streets, carnage everywhere. Red numbers pretty much across the board, especially among fashion retailers. Then I noticed the number for a company I’ve liked for some time but have never thought about owning, until now. I’m referring to Buckle ( BKE ), the Kearney Nebraska retailer of medium to better-priced men and women’s clothing. They managed...(read more)

Take our weekly quiz and win – free socks?

Mark — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:55:00 GMT

It’s time again for our finance news quiz, but to be honest we were struggling to find a prize to give away this week. Because Rock Your Stock is still in its infancy, the bean counters around here have not yet blessed us with a budget to order some cool swag to give out. Thankfully, a number of our sister sites have generously donated some of their swag to the cause. This week’s prize is a bag of wonderful work-out socks from Fitness Gear 101 , a site edited by writer, personal trainer and all-around...(read more)

Our Fruit Basket provides healthy returns (Part Two)

Will Ashworth — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:25:00 GMT

Ok, this morning I wrote about the first five stocks in the Fruit Basket portfolio. Here are the remaining five. In the next few weeks, we’ll start showing readers how each of the stocks have performed since our launch April 10. Maui Land & Pineapple Co. ( MLP ) If you go to the north end of Maui for a vacation, chances are good you’ll stay at the Kapalua Resort, the company’s pride and joy. Maui L&P does three things: produces and sells pineapples, operates the Kapalua Resort and Condominiums...(read more)

Neeleman removed as JetBlue CEO

Mark — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:23:00 GMT

Demotion or not, JetBlue founder David Neeleman has been booted out of the role of CEO and made a “non-executive chairman” following an embarrassing service disruption on Valentine’s Day. Reuters is reporting that President Dave Barger, 49, will replace Neeleman as CEO effective immediately. An ice storm on February 14 stranded hundreds of JetBlue passengers for hours on several planes. Nearly 1,200 flights were cancelled and the company lost an estimated $30 million. The Valentine’s Day snafu exposed...(read more)

Our Fruit Basket provides healthy returns (Part One)

Will Ashworth — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:23:00 GMT

Today we cover the fourth and final Rock Your Stock featured portfolio. It’s called the fruit basket because each of the stocks in the portfolio either has a fruit in the name or is somehow related to fruit. While it’s meant to be funny, we believe each of the stocks chosen make good investments long-term. May the fruit be with you! Here, in bullet format, are the 10 companies that comprise the fruit basket. I’ve cut the post in two. The second half will come later this afternoon. Apple Inc. ( AAPL...(read more)