“… either we have another very serious credit event with consequences at least as severe as the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, or stocks are probably a buy. . .“
It is with this quote that I introduce my January 2012 watch list. As usual it is quite diverse and extensive. So much so that it is impossible for me to cover each and every stock listed adequately.
So I am going to highlight a few of them periodically throughout the month. Another change is that I will keep my watch list located in one place (on my FBR Stock Watch Page) for easy reference. For now I would like to highlight specific ones which also happen to show up in a fairly interesting graphic (about what happens in 60 seconds on the Internet) I recently saw.
The most striking thing to me regarding this, besides the obvious misrepresentations of some of the data (example: Amazon has never broken down their Kindle sales) is the sheer volume of data and money involve.
Some Big Name companies such as Apple, Intel, Microsoft, make both this 60 second chart and my watch list. Apple, Intel and Microsoft all represent companies that make either products and or provide services that are in demand by both consumers and corporations alike. In fact they represent a broad spectrum of markets from communication, to software, to processing power, to gaming and entertainment. All of which are growing in on-line presence. There is name recognition, new market applications, and growing on-line demand for each and every one of these three companies. This, along with a decent price point for their stock, is why they make my current watch list and represent a potential buying opportunity.
Two implied names from this graphic also make it onto my watch list. IBM and Symantec.
Symantec specializes in virus protection and security services for anybody and anything connected to the internet. And we all know that the Internet is full of nothing but righteous, honest, respectable people who would never think of doing anything bad to somebodies computer or steal information. 😉
Riiiight!!!
And IBM is just a monster of applications and services for any IT, On-line, and Marketing company. IBM is the second largest publicly traded technology company in the world. So, what does long time IBM exec and recently appointed CEO Virginia Rometty see as the next big thing for IBM and the Internet?
Analytics.
Yup the boring mind numbing topic of data analysis. Otherwise known as Big Data and Data Mining.
Take another look at that graphic and think of the sheer volume of data and information being generated on a daily basis. Much of it unstructured data that can help companies learn more about all of us, our habits, our likes and dislikes. It is a virtual gold mine just waiting to be dug up and fabricated into valuable product for marketing and on-line research.
And if anybody can do that, it is IBM.
Fumbled Returns 