I’m back. Sorry for the lay off but I was on vacation in the Smoky Mountains. We took a trip to Pigeon Forge and had a great time. I don’t care for the hustle and bustle of downtown, but the nature surrounding the place is awesome. I was able to go white water rafting for the first time. We also did some tubing down a mountain stream. Anyway, I highly recommend it.
I couldn’t post yesterday because I felt horrible by the time I arrived home from work. I went to the doctor today and he says what I think is a spider bite is merely an abscess. I think his diagnosis was based on the fact brown recluse spiders are not in Florida, but I informed him that I had been in the Smoky Mountains. He still says no way.
The market has been in a great mood since I last posted. Oil prices are dropping and the dollar is showing some strength against the euro. I found it rather troubling yesterday to read that Wachovia bank adjusted their quarterly report by adding an additional $500 million of debt for legal reserves. Looks like they are preparing to take a hit on the chin for the sale of auction-rate securities. Several investment banks are going to have to rectify the sale of these securities to their clients.
The Thoroughbred Folio has gained some ground. Losses were cut in half over the last two weeks. We only received two dividends over the time period. Wrigley, one of our leaders, kicked off another decent dividend while BB&T Corp raised their dividend. It speaks volumes that a bank like BB&T can hold up against all the turmoil in the industry right now.
There is a bit of a shakeup at the top of the Thoroughbreds. Rohm and Haas has come on to take a commanding lead sporting a 38% gain for the year. Wrigley is positioned in second with a 32% increase. Rounding out the top three is Family Dollar. FDO has been strong in the folio for some time now. I am amazed at how a company that has such low margins can turn enough volume to be so successful.
Despite a slight rally by the financials, we still find the bottom of our folio crowded with banks. Regions remains as the biggest loser with a 59% decline since we first purchased. KeyCorp is sitting in a familiar spot, right behind Regions. Finally, Gannett can’t blame the housing market, auction-rate securities, or any other ills on its performance. It just sucks.
Thoroughbred Performance (Week 32 of 52): $-190.42 (-6.35%) Dividends To Date: $58.90
Top 3 Stocks
- Rohm and Haas $28.55 (38.06%)
- WM Wrigley $24.45 (32.60%)
- Family Dollar $22.93 (30.57%)
Bottom 3 Stocks
- Regions Financial $-44.50 (-59.33%)
- KeyCorp $-33.80 (-45.07%)
- Gannett $-33.12 (-44.16%)
Stocks used in this post:
- (FDO: 25.07, 0.00%, Yield: 1.95%)
- (GCI: 6.09, 0.00%, Yield: 26.27%)
- (KEY: 6.91, 0.00%, Yield: 18.86%)
- (RF: 7.66, 0.00%, Yield: 16.19%)
- (ROH: 71.25, 0.00%, Yield: 2.25%)
- (WWY: 0.00, N/A, Yield: N/A%)
Recent Comments