March flew by and Easter was alot earlier than it has been in a long time. But the markets didn't disappoint and here are some things that are on my mind as we move into April. (no particular order):
Phillip Morris break-up: Yeah I know cigarettes are almost a thing of the past. You can’t even smoke in a bar/club…thank goodness for my clothes, hair, and lungs. But a new target is in sights for the tobacco industry. With less restrictions, tobacco companies are growing overseas and fueling growth for these companies. Now this is an industry that often gets labeled as a "sin" or "vice" stock/industry...no arguments from me but once Phillip Morris (NYSE: MO) spins of Phillip Morris International (NYSE:PMI) it will be off to the races. With double digit growth in the pipelines, many hope this will be a cash cow like its poppa in the US. There are some concerns with how the spin-off will be taxed so I won't be jumping in before that.
said.
WiMAX - Think wireless radio and other devices anywhere you go. Some say this new technology that provides wireless access acrosss metropolitan cities will be the wave of the future. Does this mean goodbye to Satellite Radio...we'll see. A number of big players are onboard, Intel, Sprint, Time Warner, Comcast, and Clearwire to name a few.
Private Equity Firms don't play nice - After getting my heart crushed by private equity (JC Flowers & others) dissing Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) and all my gains, these guys are at it again. Private equity firms just dissed Clear Channel and sent the stock spiraling down...guess the contracts just weren't written that tight in the first place!
Rebound in Financials and Mortgages - This rally spurned by the "life preserver" handouts by Ben Bernanke caused a rally on these stocks. But this is short lived in my opinion. Remember, consumer confidence is still very low, banks are still getting downgraded, and the housing situation is till a mess.
Federal Reserve Intervention - Nuff said on this topic, throw me a life preserver, playa.
Kenyan IPO – Safaricom (SCOM.NR) A good friend gave me the heads up on this telecom giant in Kenya. The window for the IPO opens March 28 and it should be interesting across many fronts. The IPO is priced to get a large local participation across the East African countries...not just Kenya. And like my idol Warren Buffet preaches, go with something you know. And after my trip to West Africa last year, I know that mobile phones are the hottest commodity in emerging markets (okay maybe not the hottest, but close). With costs being cheaper to put cellular towers up instead of wired phone lines many emerging countries are embracing cell phone. And with the ability to send someone minutes (almost like exchanging them as currency) this will be the backbone of technology growth across the world. But let's focus on Safaricom... its got the backing of Vodafone who is 40% stakeholder...which isn't a weak amount. And it has an 80% marketshare!!! Yeah take a minute to let that settle. I would be all over this like white on rice, but my brokerage firm said that they may not have access to this IPO, but note Morgan Stanley is a playing a role as a transaction advisor so if you can get in on through Morgan...make it happen.
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