Today, I started new positions in Unilever (UL and UN).

Bought UL @ $27.31/share.

Bought UN @ $28.18/share.

The stock showed up in my screens last night, and after running the numbers, it looks like a great buy here.

They own over 30 well-known brand names, including All Detergent, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Bryer's Ice Cream, Caress, Dove, Klondike, Lipton, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Slimfast, Snuggle, Vaseline, and many more.

The P/E ratio is lower today than at any point in over 10 years.

- Vooch

Check out the latest project I've been working on:  http://www.NationalGuardWarrior.com

It features Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the latest music video by Kid Rock called, "Warrior".

Be sure to check it out and tell your friends!

Thanks,
- Vooch

EBAY already wrote-off Skype in Q3 2007 for a -$0.69 loss.

2008 EPS estimated at $1.58, which is double what it was two years ago. In 2009, it goes up to $1.78.

If you look at ANY alternative to eBay (eg. Amazon, Overstock, uBid), they are all doing less than 1% of what eBay does, so none of them are a threat - they're all circle jerkin' themselves.

EBAY's power is in it's brand name and Network Effects. Many have tried to duplicate, but no one has been able to replicate their success.

The depressed stock price is because Meg Whitman sold off a lot of her shares, and the one-time -$0.69 charge last year.

13% of the stock is pure cash - and they have zero long-term debt.

Over the past 3 years, EBAY's Price/Book has fallen from 10:1 to 3:1, which means we're near the bottom. Ever hear of See's Candy? Buffett bought them when their Price/Book was 3:1.

And if you still think I'm dumb, take a look at all these famous Value Investors who paid more than I did recently:
http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?symbol=EBAY

As you see, there's nine of 'em buying millions of shares.

Not only that, EBAY's CFO bought the stock recently. Now, when does the CFO buy stock? When it's gonna go up.

People keep saying auctions are down and they're toast, but look at the revenue numbers - they are UP every year for the past 10 years. This stock will not stay down forever.

In fact, I bought more EBAY just now for $25.39/share as I am building this into a core position slowly.

The Fed announced no change in the Fed Funds rate today.
 
From the Business Cycle perspective, we're still in the bottom of the trough.
 
Recommended sectors to review/buy:
 - Consumer cyclicals
 - Retailers
- Homebuilders

Sectors to sell/avoid:
- Consumer staples
- Utilities
- High Yield dividend stocks

- Vooch

Buffett bought BNI, KFT, M&TBank, SNY and sold Ameriprise, and reduced Iron Mountain.

- Vooch

This past Saturday marked my third year as a Value Investor. So far, I've been doing great - beating my benchmark, the S&P500, by almost a double. My annualized return comes out to around 12%/year, which I think is pretty good in these harsh market conditions. I'm not a guru yet, but my game seems to get better with time.

My goal is to beat the S&P500.

I've learned a lot over the past 3 years, and I hope to do better in the future.

http://www.quantinetics.com/images/vooch-20080503.jpg

- Vooch

Yes, we're still in a bear market.

Judging from all the bad news lately, it's probably time to start buying up some great stocks.

I've been busy buying some stocks last week, and I'm sure I'll probably be buying more this week.

- Vooch

P.S.  Click on the image to enlarge

I just got finished reading Eddie Lampert's letter to the shareholders. I started a new position in SHLD at $97.75/share recently.

After reading it, I had so many key points I wanted to post here, I decided to just provide the link:
http://www.searsholdings.com/invest/

It's jam-packed with great information.

Eddie Lampert is a superstar in my book. I have never lost money with him when I invested in AZO and SHLD in the past.

- Vooch

P.S. I wonder if they'll start selling DieHard batteries at AutoZone soon?