Like its Dynamite

If you haven't heard the song Dynamite by Taio Cruz you have got to check it out. Great song and it describes how our picks have been lately. My goal is to hopefully post more but write less. In this turbulent market, I think we have the right strategy for investors: wait for huge discounts in stocks and don't be foolish... take gains where they make sense. I try to frequently summarize recent picks and give status updates on older picks:

American International Group (NYSE:AIG) - I am trying to track down the most recent post of AIG. If my tracker is finally up and running I will look to see when I bought the shares. AIG was a pick that practically hit me in the head. I had a hard time recommending this stock but to be honest I listened to Bill Gross awhile back who said buy what the US Government is buying. I will write more later, as to my opinion on why this would be the case with stocks that are basically owned by Uncle Sam.
Disclosure: I own share of AIG

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) - Not a stock for weak stomach. But this company has made an acquisition and bounced high recently on publication about their defibrilator devices. This is one where I would continue to buy on dips. Dollar cost average in and be patient and this company is in a restructuring mode.
Disclosure: I own shares of BSX

Exar Corp (NASDAQ:EXAR) - Appears to have found a nice floor around the 52 week low mark. This could have good upside from here. Moving nicely already.

Audiovox (NADSAQ:VOXX) - Moving above recommend price.

Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX) - This one was a really solid call. It ripped up from recommended level after positive news based on FDA comments.

I also written recently about these stocks and continue to see solid upside going forward:

Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) Up very nicely from recommended price. I watched this closely and there was a chance to buy this stock at an even further discount around the $20.80 and above. Doing well so far.

Comcast - Note there are two tickers for this company. Its up over the recommended price. I will write more about the difference in a new post.

Long-Term Stocks:
I love these names and they continue do very well:
Enterprise Partners (EPD)
Radisys (RSYS)
Disclosure: I own shares of RSYS
Collectors Universe (CLCT)
Disclosure: I own shares of CLCT
Visa (V)
Disclosure: I own share of V

Portfolio Spring Cleaning...

It is technically still spring, right? I know judging from the mid 50 degree weather here in Chicago that this seems about right! Although I have been really busy I am starting to understand my investing habits a little. I think I tend to get more interested in the markets when volatility begins to pick up. This could be it or maybe I am finally drinking my own Kool-Aid and using the volatility to find deeply discounted bargains. Well, lets hope its the latter because I have been tuning in alot more lately. I continue to write about the extraordinary run that we've been on lately. It started earlier in the year when one of our largest holdings was liquidated due to a buyout of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI). I felt good here because we owned this position for almost two years, and held strong (thanks to the dividend) through the downturn and watched the company get bought out by Berkshire Hathaway.

Next, we've seen positive moves in the stocks we screened so diligently during the market downturn and decided to keep. I've gone with a concentrated portfolio and this has served well since the market stabilized. Besides BNI, my concentrated portfolio includes:

Radisys Corporation (NASDAQ: RSYS) - Largest Position
BNI - Second largest, liquidated
Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT) Now second largest position.
Visa (NYSE: V) - Liquidated most of this position for a nice gain; Still retain a minor position
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) - New, small position

I'll keep beating the drum on RSYS as it went from $4 to now $10. It was a rough ride but we should be seeing some upside as they outsource their production model and grow with new products.

Collectors Universe is easily my second largest holding and has been on an outright tear and we owe thanks to new management cutting costs and reimplementing the dividend. This has brought investors searching for yield running to this stock. It has seen a run also from $4 to now roughly $14 bucks. A recent increase in the dividend yield now it paying out a whooping 30c a share!!! This healthy dividend allows me to continue to grow ownership in the country.

Visa was a classic buy during the downturn as we began accumulating a large amount of shares at roughly the IPO price. This was a no-brainer as the downside risk could not have been much lower than the levels that analysts had expected for a public offering. So at one point V was my fourth largest position behind RSYS, BNI and CLCT, because I had a conviction that V wouldn't slip much further. After a nice return, I sold most of V but retained a small portion which I still hold.

URB Update: Visa is experiencing some downside risk in their stock due to some recent legislation. The CEO recently spoke about the amendments passed in the Senate and the affects they could have. Being in the industry I need to better understand what's in the potential amendment but it seems like there could be some additional regulation around the "interchange" or swipe fees that are paid by merchants. I do believe this could have the most impact in their bottom line because this is how they make their money on a per transaction basis. I think investors are concerned with this and with the fact that a major part of the amendment is limiting the fees around debit and even credit transactions. This part would only impact V if their issues see a significant decrease in volume.

My recommendation is to wait for this legislation to play out. V and other networks will not be impacted as much as issuers are. Keep the stock if you own it and use the dividend to accumulate more of a position. I will be keeping the small position that I own, however for the tracking portfolio I will take some profits.

Boston Scientific - I like this sector but my research shows that there may be too much risk involved in holding this stock. I may look to stay in this sector by finding a stronger company that offers a dividend.

I am exhausted but here are the stocks that I am still watching:

• Energy Partners
• Legg Mason
• Becton Dickinson
• CapitalSource
• Theravance
• ViaSat
• ADC Telecommunications
• Solar Capital

Been Busy...

Some would say being right on the money. Well lets look back at over four months ago, when we told you to re-allocate your portfolios because the worst ain't here yet. And what have we seen is that are call is right on. The Dow has continued to plummet to the level I thought we wouldn't hit for awhile. and that is roughly around Dow 8000. This is a compelling moment because months ago I said that I would recommend that we all start inching back into the market, but at this point the news continues to be bad. Just searching articles on the internet you may come across these themes: Banks Need the rest of the TARP Bailout - Citigroup is selling their brokerage unit! - Bank of America is showing signs of cracking Retailers are not looking good. - Even Walmart sales are declining - Circuit City can't find a buyer and is liquidating all their stores!! Unemployment rates continue to rise - GE Capital is set to shed 11000 jobs Downgrades send stocks to their 52week/all-time/all world lows There is no strategy when the headlines read like this. The only thing is to stay the course with the consistent message that we've had before. I repeat I am and have recommended that you are completely out of the stock market and fully allocated to Treasurys and cash assets. This is especially true for your 401K portfolio because it primary purpose is capital preservation...not appreciation. A portion of your portfolio needs to be exposed to the market and I recommend that you have your own trading account where you can DO IT YOURSELF (DIY)...I don't need Bernie Madoff or any other scandalous investors out there losing my money...when I can do that on my own. It this portfolio you should be shorting more that buying things. Find attractive price points (see previous posts on price points) for both buys and shorts:

SHORTS:
- SSG: ETF that shorts the Semiconductor Sector
- KBE: EFT that shorts the Retail Banking Sector
- Also short the retail, and credit sensitive sectors
BUYS: - BBY: Best Buy is primed for increased earnings now that Circuit City is going BANKRUPT
- V: VISA is down towards their Initial Public Offering (IPO) again after being downgraded

I'll be back to update this post later

Best Performing Stocks

Patience is something that cannot be taught. And as I have evaluated some of the best performing stocks of this year so far, I am pleased to note that one of our recommendations comes in on all the lists with big returns this year. It is Clayton Williams Energy Inc (CWEI). This stock has been with us so long that if patience is your weakness it would have been exposed. If you gave up on this stock that was in a sector we have constantly talked about week after week you would have taken part in these great gains. Need more proof check out these:

Urbanomics post on Clayton Williams, and other energy plays...notice the date of the article and the message from 2 years ago to stick with Energy stocks, Clayton Williams and Weatherford, and Chesapeake Energy.

http://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2006/04/portfolio-alert-ballin-of-wall-street.html
http://urbanomics.blogspot.com/2006/01/stock-update.html

Motley Fool's take on this year's top stocks:
http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2008/04/17/the-years-top-stock.aspx

Seeking Alpha's write-up on top stocks:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/75107-another-month-of-08-in-the-books

I like to note that a few of my friends are making great recommendations at this point and one of their stocks is actually topping the list. This stock is Finish Line (FINL) and what I love about this stock is that we were 100% on the money with our analysis. Now I did not buy into this stock but my recommendation was to wait for the legal proceedings from the Genesco trail to end and look to accumulate this stock in the event that the judge allows Finish Line to walk away from its original deal to acquire Genesco. I didn't like the potential acquisition and it looks like the street agreed with me. Also I would like to point out that another one of my friends has been enjoying an incredicble ride with the credit card network processors Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V). Again, I do not own shares here but I think these are great plays due to the fact that the networks don't have exposure to customers with deteriorating credit concerns like the big credit card issuers do (Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup)...they just run the transactions back and forth.