Shares of Limited Brands, Inc.  (Public, NYSE:LTD) have fallen to levels that haven’t been seen since 2003. At $15 shares, is the stock worth a look? You may or may not know, Limited Brands owns the Victoria’s Secret Brands, along with Bath & Body works. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about them; Limited Brands needs a checkup at least once a year. Since I touched on them last, they divested their interest in both the Express and Limited Stores. What did that leave them with? Not a lot in terms of Revenue and Growth. This is one of the reasons I believe shares haven’t bottomed out yet. Why? Because of the Economy and Retail  are sagging like Jack Nicholson’s Man Boobs. It's every man's worst nightmare. You saw it on the ...

This Thursday, 07/17/08, Yum! Brands, Inc.  (Public, NYSE:YUM) will host its Q2 Earnings Call. Yum! Brands, which owns, operates, licenses and franchises the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, LJS and A&W brands on an international level, has fallen -12% since May first. What I like about YUM brands is its so recession proof. Where else can you get a meal for under $5? Not the grocery store these days. But their international exposure is where the growth is. One of Yum! Brands key business strategies are to drive profitable international growth. In 2007, ...

A Dang Good Year for AUDCAD … So Far!

If you bought the Australian dollar and simultaneously sold the Canadian dollar at the beginning of the year and you’re still positioned like that then you’re probably a pretty happy camper. That’s because year-to-date AUDCAD (Australian dollar vs. Canadian dollar) has jumped 1,000 PIPs – or 11.4%. And in the world of forex, that’s a huge move.

And having just tested its highest level in more than three years, we begin to wonder if this pair could be running out of gas. Buy-and-hold strategists will tell you the trend is your friend, so keep buying and holding. But we’ve got a different philosophy that keeps us asking: when is the trend not your friend? And when is the trend going to reverse and take you to the cleaners?

 

Right now may be one of those times … or it might not. But

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Michael Santoli had a great one liner in his StreetWise column.THE OUTSIZED FOCUS LAST WEEK ON THE DOW'S REACHING "official" bear-market status with a 20% decline from a recent high is a bit like fixating on the moment that storm winds go from 73 to 74 miles per hour to formally become a hurricane.He also mentioned that oil was up 25% since May 1. I hadn't thought of it in those terms but anyone's perception of fundamentals notwithstanding, 25% in two months creates a meaningful headwind for further price rises in the near term.In an environment like this that headwind could be overcome to be sure but with energy now 16% of the S&P 500 an equalweight position takes on a little more risk for downside volatility than some folks may realize.

No video this week. We have guests and other dogs with us for the holiday.The chart is YTD for the Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX) versus the S&P 500.You know the fund for its very long streak of beating the S&P 500. A look at the stale holdings on Yahoo Finance shows that it makes what I think are big bets and sometimes big bets do not work out.It has United Healthcare (UNH) which has a 4.45% weight after a 41% drop. The fund is overweight financials versus SPX and it has zero in energy. Zero?This is a good example of how actively managed funds can be problematic. A contrarian might have guessed that after a long run of outperformance the fund would lag. That makes sense. But the issue that ...

Impressive bounce off that 1260 level on the S&P. Like a magnet the market bounced to S&P 1275…. (thanks PPT) and away we go to 1280s. Reader Shax is happy and smug somewhere in Asia with his 100% long exposure. I just cannot see a break through that 1260 on the first attempt with all the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men here to socialize the market, all over again. They have charts too and realize how important this level is. It’s going to take repeated attempts I believe, to break through their purchasing power.Frankly at this point we have 2 outcomes (a) crash i.e. a 10% drop in the markets (June) followed by even more rampant selling layered on top or (b) an oversold bounce.I wrote last week I was done for now with Ultrashort Financial (SKF) as …

In the CNBC.com Video Roundup, “Volatility-Beaters: Steel and Internet Stocks”, what steel name did Timna Tanners pick?

“We like U.S. Steel (X)…They’re the biggest tubular pipe player in the U.S.  Prices are going to rise steadily with energy demand there.”

- Timna Tanners, UBS Steel & Building Materials Analyst

US Steel scores well for earnings momentum and price momentum in the models I follow.

MondayEconomic: Chicago PMI (48.5)Earnings: Robbins & Myers (RBN), H&R Block (HRB)TuesdayEconomic: Truck & Auto, Construction (-0.6%), ISM Index (49.6)Earnings: Constellation Brands (STZ), MSC Ind (MSM), Apollo (APOL)WednesdayEconomic: Weekly Crude, ADP (28K), Factory Orders (0.6%)Earnings: Acuity Brands (AYI), Family Dollar (FDO)ThursdayEconomic: Weekly Claims (375K), Jobs Report (-50K, 5.4%, 0.3%), ISM Services (51.5)Earnings: NAhttp://stockweb.blogspot.com/atom.xml

In Fast Money’s Web Extra segment “Najarian’s Sweet Trade” which food & beverage purveyor did Pete Najarian praise?

In Wednesday’s Web Extra Pete Najarian reveals why sweet tea makes him sweet on McDonald’s.

I haven’t tried MCD’s sweet tea. However, I like the strong scores it posted for earnings momentum, earnings quality and price momentum. It’s score on return potential, however, is low.

“Beloved Characters as Reimagined for the 21st Century” told of toon & toy updates. What was “the industry’s nightmare”?

Earring Magic Ken is the industry’s nightmare.