Considering the select group of investment funds that we cover at the Mutual Fund Site, one might think that arriving at a list of the Ten Best Equity Mutual Funds to watch in 2011 would be a simple task. After all, the 50 different mutual funds that we cover and continue to monitor are, by [...]
As the stock market continues its two year surge and long bonds prices slump in response, the PIMCO Total Return Fund (PTTRX), which grew nearly 100% over the last ten years, appears to be receding into the background as investors jump into equity funds. Although it has recovered a portion of its 5% decline in [...]
A day after the Dow Jones closed about 12,000, stocks traded in a narrow, virtually flat range. The pause in the rally provided time for some equity growth funds to breathe, many of which have realized returns greater than 3.5%, which is roughly what the S&P 500 has gained so far this year. Despite the [...]
One of Apple’s most popular products has been losing steam and the general fear among equity mutual fund investors is that the iPad’s loss of market share could result in a weaker returns for their funds. Without question, an investment in Apple stock has resulted in tremendous gains for the equity funds that hold this [...]
The US Economy has begun the new year on something of a tear according to data out of the Commerce Department and the Institute for Supply Management. According to information posted at both websites, consumer spending rose 0.7% in December and the ISM showed that the business barometer increased to 68.8 (figures above 50 generally [...]
As a staple among energy shares held by equity mutual funds, ExxonMobil Corporation came through with spectacular results for its fourth quarter as well as 2010 as a whole. In a press release filed by the company, earnings excluding special items increased 57% for the year to $30.5 billion from $19.4 billion the year before. [...]
Earlier in the week, there was talk about the Dow Jones Industrial average hitting 12,000. Although the intraday average might have hit that magic number, the it failed to end the trading day above 12,000. For many, this meant flat day-to-day performance for their domestic equity funds throughout the week. And then Friday happened. Despite [...]
Shares of e-tailer Amazon.com sold off sharply in the after-market after the company announced its fourth quarter sales of $12.95 billion, a 36% increase over the previous year. Despite its strong numbers, the earnings fell short of analyst estimates of $12.98 billion. Despite missing the sales number, Amazon.com’s earnings per share figure of $0.91 beat [...]
Two American Funds Equity Funds To Piggyback on Microsoft Earnings The world’s largest PC Software, Microsoft, announced record second-quarter earnings despite a slowdown in computer sales for the month of December — see our earlier report on Durable Goods. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft’s diluted earnings per share of $0.77 exceeded analyst targets [...]
The Commerce Department announced today that durable goods orders continued to climb, up in December after having climbed in November as well. While the overall trend is certainly promising, deeper investigation into the numbers reveals how some equity mutual funds will benefit and others may suffer. One of the key statistics reported by Bloomberg News [...]
The world’s largest mobile phone maker, Nokia, lowered its outlook for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year. Its toughest competitors, Apple and Google’s Android, have been putting pressure on margins. Nokia Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Elop, forecasted that margins would drop in the 7 to 10 percent range, lower than its current margins [...]
One of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips announced earnings today, pushing its share price up by 2.09% or $1.41 to $68.89 at 11:01AM Tuesday. The company saw an increase to its adjusted earnings to the tune of 79.6%, an increase in earnings to $8.8 billion compared to adjusted earnings in 2009 of $4.9 [...]
Amidst its efforts to rebuild its reputation, Toyota Motors Corp. issued a recall on 1.7 million vehicles. This latest recall will most definitely irk Toyota President Akio Toyoda who underlined his company’s goal of repairing Toyota’s reputation as a safe and reliable auto maker at the Detroit Auto Show. This latest recall will most certainly [...]
Consumer confidence, one of the key measures of where the economy and, by default, markets are headed rose more than economists had forecast in January. While economists had forecast an increase from 53.3 in the prior month to 54, the confidence in fact rose to 60.6, well beyond those expectations. According to a report at [...]
The Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller housing price report released Tuesday shows that housing prices continued their downward trend in November from October. As an average of the 20 cities surveyed by S&P/Case-Shiller Index, prices were shown to have dropped by an additional 1% with 19 of the 20 cities showing declines. The only city showing a [...]
