Autos/related: Looks like '08 is going to be a very poor year for US car sales. Some of this is already reflected in the beat down prices of the publicly-traded car retailers. Down enough to where they start to be attractive to me again (p/sales;p/book).
I'll put more emphasis on these retailers than in the manufacturers. The retailers have more flexibility in adapting to adverse changes. Also they are diversified by brand, by model, by geography, and their profit centers aren't limited just to new car sales.
Out now of BMW. (Thanks for the assist here, Spekulatius.) Trimming TM. (Still holding all HMC shares for now.)
Recently added to retailer GPI. Holding shares also of LAD, SAH, PAG, Starting an exploratory position today in AN. Eddie Lampert of Sears fame, has been a buyer, fwiw. ("Billionaire investor Edward Lampert raised his stake to 55.3 million shares (30%) by buying 2.87 million from Nov. 13 to 26 for an aggregate price of $47.57 million", per Barron's.) I'm not a follower of his though, -- my impression (without having actually checked any facts), is that after his Sears success, his other activities/results have been mediocre.
finance.yahoo.com
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I'll take a few shares now of China Yuchai International (CYD), a strong and growing diesel engine manufacturer.
bloomberg.com |
