Estee Lauder Companies (EL) is one of the leading players in the global cosmetics space and commands a strong portfolio of well-established brands. The company is currently undertaking initiatives to reduce overheads and optimize inventory levels, which augur well for future operating performance.

Furthermore, Estee Lauder has a consistent track record of returning cash to shareholders in the form regular dividend payments. Our long-term recommendation on Estee Lauder is Outperform as we anticipate it to perform well above the broader market.

However, intense competition from established as well as regional and local players in its markets may limit the above-market performance of the company.Zacks Investment Research

DeVry (DV) is a leading provider of post secondary education in North America and commands a strong portfolio of well-established brands. Moreover, DeVry is also taking initiatives to diversify revenue streams and optimize its real estate strategy, which augurs well for future operating performance.

The company has a consistent track record of returning cash to shareholders in the form dividends and share buybacks. Our long-term (6-month) recommendation on DeVry is Outperform as we anticipate it to perform well above the broader market.

However, intense competition from public and private colleges and risks associated with seasonality of business may limit the above-market performance of the company.Zacks Investment Research

As for July’s market performance; chalk up three bad years in a row. Subsequent August performance was good each year. Will that pattern repeat? Well, stay tuned.

Today was a typical Monday in early August and volume was rather light. But the heaviest volume we had was mostly on the downside. We have some folks still trying to straighten Yahoo/Finance out. They’ve acknowledged their math problem and have been given the remedy. When they incorporate it is another matter.

Good news? Oil prices continued to build on their downtrend as tropical storm Edourad was dismissed as a problem. I think that pretty much sums up the good news.

Bad news? Citigroup reported losses on credit card loans; Challenger reported a 141% increase …

LFC tripled its net profits in 2007, gaining most from the rise of equity markets, however the capital market downturn in 2008 has significantly shrunk LFC’s net profits. This has made LFC’s generic growth a key determinant to its prospects. In 2008, LFC generated a considerably increased premium income as a result of promotion of participating products and increased demand for insurance protection. This can be due to increasing awareness of insurance protection after consecutive occurrence of the natural disasters.

In addition to the limited negative impacts of the earthquake, combined with a concern about the uncertainly of equity market performance, and we recommend…(you have to subscribe)

1. Strong Share Market as the main driver of the Tripled 2007 Profit

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Banks have had a rough time lately and the market performance of their stocks reflect that. Now that Secretary Paulson and some others are calling a bottom for the financial crisis, it is timely to look at the Keefe Bruyette & Woods Large Bank Index and the ETF that tracks it (KBE).

Technicals:

The five-year chart shows the KBW index (BKX in black) versus the S&P 500 (proxy SPY in gold). The BKX 200-day average is shown in blue and the 50-day average is shown in violet.

The YTD chart shows the KBW large bank ETF (proxy KBE in blue) versus the S&P 500 (proxy SPY in red).

The KBE candlestick chart provides alternative detail of the YTD performance of KBE alone, along with its 200-day and 50-day day moving averages.

KBE has massively underperformed the S&P 500. As of May

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Let's see quick comparison between emerging markets and developed economies. I used ETF as a tool. IShares MSCI EAFA (EFA) as a benchmark for international stocks from developed economies. And IShares MSCI E.M.I.F. (EEM) for emerging markets. You can see there is only slight difference in P/E valuation.P/E ratio:EFA 11,5EEM 12,8Someone can say EEM is not real ETF to measure emerging market performance. That's partially true. More than half (53%) holdings are listed on US markets as ADR. In addition to that big share is from already developed countries like South Korea, Taiwan.The important thing is to compare EPS growth. From attached chart you can see that estimated earnings growth for 2008 is by 4,6 % faster than for EFA. Moreover both ETF are traded currently with premium against ...