Alan Brochstein

7 Ways to Profit from Asphalt and Highway Construction

You hit one of my favorite names which tends to be under the radar (ASTE). I would throw in MLM as well, but, like VMC, it is plagued with a bad balance sheet. A stretch might include MSA. CX and TXI have some exposure too.

Investing in Stocks in a Deleveraging Economy

I agree with you and stated as such on several occasions. There are people, though, who have to invest in stocks (by charter or psychological impulse), so the other ideas besides "owning as little as possible" if not zero are directed towards them.


On Dec 15 09:19 PM investor88 wrote:

> A sensible and thoughtful article by Alan. However I do not agree
> " one has to be in stocks" thinking. Why not short if profitable,
> why not all cash if the overall portfolio is too risky - these are
> other options too.

Investing in Stocks in a Deleveraging Economy

First of all, the stocks I mentioned are core holdings. I disclose all of my holdings, though, on my company website. Second, I adhere to the rules of Seeking Alpha and refrain from trading in stocks in which I disclose positions for three days. Maybe I wasn't clear, but I wasn't suggesting that my thematic ideas are the ones that should be traded. I have traded names like BBBY (still small position), LOW, etc. Maybe I should have explained what I meant better, as the 4 highlighted stocks aren't really ones that I would recommend as in that same genre.

You know, it's funny. I wrote a negative article about gold and disclosed no position. A thoughtful reader emailed me that he enjoyed the article but found that my lack of a position was telling. Damned if I do, damned if I don't!


On Dec 15 03:34 PM Jackson Cash wrote:

> Though thoughtful, the author underscores one important attribute
> with the premise of his commentary:
>
> Buy equities, and then publish an article on Seeking Alpha pumping
> those equities, and then "be willing to trade".
>
> Sounds like a winning model to me.

4 Sectors to 'Buy in May'

I don't know HURC or FARO, but FARO looks good both technically and valuation-wise. HURC seems to have a ton of inventory - haven't looked to see if there is a good reason. I like SKX too. I have some exposure through another holding of mine, SCVL, which trades below book value. Thanks for your comment!

4 Sectors to 'Buy in May'

Some great comments - thanks. Bearfund, you make a lot of excellent points. I know that not everyone is familiar with my views, but I am not a permabull and not even a strategic bull right now. I just think that the market is going to screw with everyone, as it usually does. I was known as "Armageddon Alan" to my clients earlier this year, but I now have a more balanced view that on the economy is muddle along and on the market is drift higher. I refused to be bullish until I observed that the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government began to address the issues to some degree with anything but "rate cuts". I think that there are a lot of companies that can do well, even while others will clearly face a lot of obstacles in a world of diminishing credit and perhaps an increasing propensity to save. As long as the 10yr Treasury remains below 4.5%, I think that stocks are attractive enough in aggregate to own the right ones.

Recycling for Higher Returns: Potential Conservation Investments

WDC, I think it goes higher. The fact that it is taking so long to play out is probably a bit bullish longer-term (in terms of reducing the odds of a new low). The gaps from 3/31 to 4/1 have been filled

Small-Cap Growth: Analyst Coverage Discount?

That's a good point. I do tend to use high analyst ratings as a negative input, though WHQ didn't really have such strong opinion behind it. I think that there is a persistent investment arbitrage potential in buying the names that aren't so recognized and trading them out potentially when they become recognized.