"GE is the only company that has remained in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from day one, the company was founded in 1890 by none other than Thomas Alva Edison to market his various inventions.
"GE’s broad diversification is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it affords the firm plenty of protection from a major decline in any one business.
"On the other, it has led to a very complicated enterprise with inherently limited growth prospects. Yet despite the company’s size, it has still managed to increase its revenues internally by about 9% a year.
"Currently, only about 10% of GE’s revenues are derived in Asia, but the company is rapidly trying to expand its presence in fast-growing economies like China. I think there is tremendous growth potential there, particularly for GE’s infrastructure business.
"The company has been paying a dividend in each quarter for more than a century, and it has raised its payment for 32 years consecutively.
The market has really been neglecting this stock lately, pushing GE down to multi-year lows. I believe investors are worried (rightly) that the company’s consumer finance services business could see additional weakness in the short-term.
"However, other parts of GE can more than offset problems in a segment or two. Bottom line: I think there’s a huge opportunity for long-term income investors to scoop up these blue chip shares at a very attractive price."
Ken Kam follows 70,000+ stock pickers who run virtual portfolios on Marketocracy; he looks for stocks bought by the 'best' while being sold by the 'rest'. Here's his two latest ideas.
"We've recently seen a nice assortment of stock splits," says Neil Macneale, whose 2-for-1 portfolio only include stocks announcing splits. Here's his latest buy: Graham Corp. (NYSE: GHM).
In The China Trader, editor Keith Fitz-Gerald looks at two plays in Chinese online gaming, noting, "Each has spectacular numbers in recent months and stellar growth prospects."
"Despite the expected pullback in oil, we're as bullish as ever," notes Larry Edelson, editor of Real Wealth. Here, he looks at Canadian pipeline operator, Enbridge (NYSE: ENB).
Although not yet formally recommending the ETF, fund expert Doug Fabian takes a look at the a new ETF invested in dividend-paying Middle Eastern stocks in his Making Money Alert .
Mark Skousen's latest book, “EconoPower: How a New Generation of Economists is Transforming the World” (Wiley & Sons), is available for $16.47 (plus shipping) from Amazon.com (retail price is $24.95).
Included is a discussion of the new field of behavioral finance, with economists as Richard Thaler, Robert Shiller, and Jeremy Siegel.
Global ETF expert Carl Delfeld of Chartwell Advisors is hosting a investment tour from January 26th to February 2nd, 2009. The luxury tour visits Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand plus 3 days on the Orient Express. For information, call 877-202-4939.
Sy Harding, editor of Street Smart Report, has just published Beat the Market the Easy Way -- an in-depth review of seasonal market patterns and their application to long-term timing.
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